Read time: 10 mins.
Key highlights:
- Exclusive insights: CEO Martin Back tells TCT why Forward AM had to file for insolvency.
- Delays & disruptions: Inside the company's complex carve out from BASF.
- The new radical: How Forward AM will adopt a new strategy to get back on track.
This article was first published via the Additive Insight newsletter on December 19th, 2024.
In Heidelberg, Germany, it was business as usual.
The polymer production line was pushing out materials for packaging and postage. The service bureau arm of the business continued to provide printed parts. Up the road in Frankfurt, public-facing employees were making connections, promoting products and highlighting application success stories.
Is that piquing your interest? Probably not. It’s the same few days any AM solutions provider can expect as half the team travels to an industry trade show and the other half holds down the fort.
But just because Forward AM was procuring leads at Formnext and fulfilling client orders back home, it doesn’t mean all was well. Less than five months after carving the company out of BASF, the Forward AM management team were filing for insolvency.
The company might have been presenting calmly in Frankfurt, but 50 miles away, there can't have been the same composure. For the businesses that rely on Forward AM’s materials products or its Sculpteo service offering, there certainly wouldn’t have been.
The future of one of AM’s leading solutions providers was in doubt as insolvency proceedings were officially announced on November 26. And though Forward AM’s leadership explained it hoped to restructure the business and set it up for long-term success, there were many questions left unanswered.
This week, TCT spoke exclusively to CEO Martin Back to get some insight on what’s going on at Forward AM, and what might come next.
