Solid Concepts To Be Acquired By Stratasys

VALENCIA, CA – April 2, 2014 — Solid Concepts Inc., a California based additive and custom manufacturing service provider, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for its acquisition by Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS), a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions. In conjunction with its acquisition of Solid Concepts, Stratasys also announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Harvest Technologies, a Texas based additive manufacturing service bureau. Solid Concepts is the largest independent additive manufacturing service bureau in North America and a fast-growing partner to RedEye, Stratasys’ existing digital manufacturing service business. The transactions are expected to be completed early in the upcoming third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, and are expected to be accretive to Stratasys’ Non-GAAP earnings per share within the first 12 months after closing. Upon completion of the transactions, Stratasys will combine Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies with RedEye to establish one additive manufacturing services business unit. Joe Allison, President of Solid Concepts, will join the Stratasys management team and lead the combined parts business, supported by the strong management teams of Solid Concepts, Harvest Technologies, and RedEye.

Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies are leading providers of additive manufacturing services. With the addition of Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies, Stratasys is creating a leading strategic platform focused on meeting customers’ additive manufacturing needs through an expanded technology and business offering. Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies provide Stratasys with significant manufacturing and end-use parts production capabilities, infrastructure, capacity and process knowhow, which are expected to accelerate and enable further adoption of additive manufacturing. The combination of Solid Concepts’ deep knowledge of manufacturing and vertical focus, such as medical and aerospace, and Harvest Technologies’ experience in parts production, as well as materials and systems proficiency, together with RedEye, strengthens Stratasys’ direct digital manufacturing and parts production expertise.

Solid Concepts, based in Valencia California, is an industry pioneer, having provided additive manufacturing solutions to customers since its founding in 1991. Solid Concepts has developed extensive U.S.-based capacity and infrastructure with six U.S. facilities staffed by approximately 450 employees. Solid Concepts maintains a broad variety of technology platforms and processes for additive manufacturing and serves a diverse customer base across a wide range of verticals, including medical, aerospace, and industrial, among others. Solid Concepts provides an overarching platform that, with the integration of Harvest Technologies and RedEye, is expected to create a comprehensive additive manufacturing solution provider. Solid Concepts generated revenues of approximately $65 million in 2013.

Harvest Technologies, based in Belton, Texas, is a specialty additive manufacturing service bureau established in 1995, with approximately 80 employees. Harvest Technologies has deep manufacturing process knowhow and focuses on advanced end use parts applications. Harvest Technologies was the first additive manufacturing company in North America to become AS9100/ISO 9001 certified, and continues to produce end-use parts for multiple industries.

“We are pleased to announce these strategic transactions, which will enable us to provide customers with a comprehensive offering that addresses a broad spectrum of additive manufacturing solutions,” said Stratasys CEO David Reis. “With Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies, together with RedEye, we expect to create a strategic platform to meet our customers’ additive manufacturing requirements by significantly expanding our offering, targeting new applications, and strengthening our customer relationships. As our customers’ requirements continue to expand, we must evolve to create full service offerings that provide a variety of technologies and custom manufacturing solutions and focus on high-end production applications. Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies are industry pioneers and innovators in the additive manufacturing space. In acquiring these two unique companies, Stratasys is gaining a broad solutions offering with technologies and decades of application and manufacturing experience which, together with RedEye, are expected to create an industry-leading additive manufacturing and parts production platform.”

“These transactions are consistent with our core strategic imperatives and M&A strategy, which is focused on acquiring leading companies to support our goal of continued leadership in the segments in which we operate, as well as reaching new niche verticals,” Mr. Reis continued. “We will apply our integration expertise to combine Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies with our existing RedEye digital manufacturing service business to form a single business unit focused on additive manufacturing services. Importantly, with our shared cultures of innovation and customer service, we believe this will be a smooth transition. We look forward to welcoming the talented teams of Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies to Stratasys – we are confident we have a very bright future together.”

Joe Allison, President of Solid Concepts, said, “We are excited to be joining forces with Stratasys, a global leader in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. As part of a larger company with a broad customer reach and market coverage, Solid Concepts will be even better positioned to meet the significant demand for our additive manufacturing offerings. We look forward to working with Stratasys to ensure a smooth and orderly integration of our businesses.”

David K. Leigh, President of Harvest Technologies, said, “We are delighted to join forces with Stratasys and Solid Concepts in a transaction that will enhance Harvest Technologies’ leadership in producing end use parts using the most advanced additive manufacturing technologies and processes.”

About Stratasys
Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and Rehovot, Israel, is a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions. The company’s patented FDM® and PolyJet? 3D Printing technologies produce prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Systems include 3D printers for idea development, prototyping and direct digital manufacturing. Stratasys subsidiaries include MakerBot and Solidscape, and the company operates the RedEye digital-manufacturing service. Stratasys has more than 1800 employees, holds over 550 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than 25 awards for its technology and leadership. Online at: www.stratasys.com or http://blog.stratasys.com.

About Solid Concepts
Solid Concepts Inc. provides custom manufacturing solutions via additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, CNC machining, cast urethanes, injection molding and tooling. Since 1991, Solid Concepts has provided engineering expertise from multiple fields to bring success to new products in the aerospace, medical, consumer product industries and more. Capabilities in PolyJet, Stereolithography (SLA), Plastic and Metal Laser Sintering (SLS & DMLS), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), QuantumCast? Cast Urethanes, CNC, Tooling and Injection Molding allow for low to high volume production of plastics, urethanes, and metals directly from design data, resulting in significant time and cost savings. ISO 9001 and AS9100 certifications.

- Read less