• The hype for 3D Printing is over and the future for Additive Manufacturing is bright • 3D printing technology is mature enough to go into real manufacturing environments • Collaboration is key for further accelerating adoption of the technology

Brussels, Belgium. April 26, 2017. The verdict is in, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 is underway and Additive Manufacturing (AM) is increasingly recognized as being integral in making it a firm reality. This was demonstrated in one presentation after another being given by industry experts over two tracks, Manufacturing and Medical, during the two-day Materialise World Summit in Brussels: April 20-21, 2017. Whats more, it became clear that collaboration is being increasingly embraced as the key to accelerating growth in the industry moving forward.

The Materialise World Summit 2017 was attended by leading experts from throughout the 3D printing ecosystem. During two intensive days of talks, more than 600 attendees listened to 50+ speakers from leading industrial and medical organizations, including Siemens, BASF, GE, Airbus, GKN, HOYA, Atos, SAP, Safilo, Mayo Clinic, Geisinger Health System, Johnson & Johnson and many others. In addition, two panel discussions were organized to allow industry experts to address the future of the technology.

Reflecting on the Materialise World Summit, Materialises Founder and CEO, Fried Vancraen, stated, "When I first entered the 3D Printing industry and founded Materialise in 1990, we had a single machine, a single material, and still, I saw the incredible potential of this technology and what it could one day mean to manufacturing. During the Materialise World Summit, it was clear that the industry has undergone an enormous transformation, and we are starting to see the real potential of AM come to fruition. This was clearly evidenced by the presentations given by industry experts, who are tapping into the Materialise backbone in a variety of ways to realize meaningful applications of AM in an impressive range of industries."

Peter Leys, Executive Chairman of Materialise, added, "Throughout the Materialise World Summit, I was amazed by the change in mindset in evidence during the presentations and in the discussions being held between. Instead of talking about the technical potential of AM, people were discussing the reality of what they were already achieving and debating the actions needed to further accelerate progress in the industry. It was especially encouraging to see how strongly both the speakers and attendees were already embracing collaboration as a key to creating ecosystems in which meaningful applications of AM can thrive."

In 2010, the first Materialise World Conference was organized to enable knowledge sharing between experts in 3D Printing, then a small niche industry, with the aim of raising awareness of what AM had to offer to a wide range of sectors. Over the past 7 years, not only has awareness of AM exploded, but for a moment it even exceeded expectations, leading Materialise to focus their 2015 World Conference on countering hype with true success cases in the industry and focus on meaningful applications of the technology. For 2017, Materialise introduced the theme Think. Beyond. Together. with the aim of inspiring the next stage of growth in the industry. In his opening keynote presentation, Materialise CEO, Fried Vancraen celebrated what had already been achieved by the industry, and urged attendees to use the summit to Think.Together.Beyond. the limitations that remain in the ecosystems surrounding 3D printing applications, especially those that are technically already possible.

For more highlights from the Materialise World Summit, please visit the Materialise blog to find more detailed overviews of both Day One and Day Two of the event.

For photos from the Materialise World Summit, please visit our flickr page.

About Materialise
Materialise (NASDAQ: MTLS) incorporates more than 25 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which together form the backbone of 3D printing technologies. Materialises open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in Belgium, with branches worldwide, Materialise combines the largest group of software developers in the industry with one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the world. For additional information, please visit: www.materialise.com.