Lake Forest-based MatterHackers Inc. won its largest contract to date with the U.S. military, a deal worth up to $5 million.
MatterHackers, which bills itself as the largest U.S.-based retailer of desktop 3D printers and materials, was awarded the five-year contract with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
MatterHackers will deliver Ultimaker 3D printers and training to Navy and Marine bases across the U.S. and overseas.
“We provide essentially the support, the materials, the training and the hardware on a third-party basis,” Kevin Pope, chief operating officer of MatterHackers, told the Business Journal on Nov. 11. The contract also covers industrial-grade filament for use in the process.
MatterHackers was No. 25 on this year’s Business Journal list of fastest-growing midsize private companies in Orange County, reporting 24% revenue growth over a two-year period and $25 million in revenue last year.
The company has a selection of more than 70 desktop 3D printers.
The printing is a manufacturing process through which 3D solid objects are created and is also known as “additive manufacturing.”
Pope said the 3D-printed parts to be made in the Navy contract include customized tools, personal protective equipment and small replacement parts such as console knobs, bolts and panels.
Camp Pendleton
“We do work on a very regular basis with all parts of the Armed Forces,” according to Pope, including the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton.
“This is the biggest single contract with the Armed Forces that we’ve had to date,” Pope said of the latest $5 million contract.
“We probably do 100 to 150 contracts a year” with the U.S. military, he said, though they are smaller in size than the one announced earlier this month.
Over the past two years, the federal government sector has increased from about 5% of the company’s revenue to 10%. MatterHackers also works with the civilian side of the federal government.
The company now has 65 employees in Lake Forest and that should grow to about 80 by the end of next year, the COO said.
This is the largest military contract ever awarded for desktop 3D printers, and demonstrates the Navy’s commitment to widespread adoption of the process known as additive manufacturing, according to the company.
MatterHackers has been one of the largest resellers of the Ultimaker printers since 2015. Ultimaker is based in the Netherlands.
Internal Development
MatterHackers produces the Pulse line of 3D printers, and thousands of filaments and resins under its MatterHackers Pro Series brand.
“We also do a lot of internal product development, materials development, things like that,” Pope said.
MatterHackers was awarded the five-year contract, along with sub-contractor, a Veteran-owned small business from Alexandra, Va., called Building Momentum.
Building Momentum is an immersive training and interactive learning company. 3D printers are a standard tool used in their training programs.Â
