ServiceBretten, GermanyFounded 2002· One of 2010 Service companies tracked by AMPulse
Provides integrated engineering, full-color 3D printing, and 3D scanning services for rapid prototyping and reverse engineering.
CEO / Founder
Stephan Hinzmann
Team Size
11-50
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$33M
Latest Round
Series C
Key Investors
Amadeus Capital Partners, Meltwind, Puhua
Technology & Products
Key Products
3D Scanning & Reverse Engineering; Full-Color 3D Printing (PolyJet); Rapid Prototyping; Special Machine Design & Construction; Product Development & CAD
Technological Advantage
CLAIMED: Integrated scan-to-print workflow with PolyJet full-color capabilities for high-fidelity visual and functional prototypes. VERIFIED: Long-standing automotive industry relationships and specialized engineering know-how in Bretten/Karlsruhe region. DEFENSIBLE: Trade secret engineering processes and established client relationships.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Cuts prototype development cycles by 50% and eliminates hard tooling costs for low-volume runs by combining 3D digitization, CAD engineering, and full-color PolyJet printing in a single regional workflow.
How They Differentiate
Focuses on high-mix, low-volume engineering services with integrated CAD design and full-color PolyJet capabilities, contrasting with Materialise's high-volume automated bureau model and Trindo's broader rapid prototyping focus. Delivers faster turnaround for complex automotive fixtures and legacy part digitization.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Automotive OEMs, medical device manufacturers, and industrial machinery developers requiring low-volume prototyping and reverse engineering.
Industry Verticals
Automotive; Medical Technology; Special Machinery; Consumer Goods
Competitors
Trindo; Materialise; Protolabs
Growth & Milestones
Major Milestones
Founded as HIC Interface Construction in Eppstein; Established HIC InnoTec GmbH in Bretten for AM and special machinery; Expanded into full-color 3D printing and 3D scanning services
Notable Customers
Automotive OEMs (e.g., Mercedes-Benz, BMW suppliers); medical device manufacturers; aerospace firms in Germany.
HIC InnoTec occupies a niche in the DACH region as an integrated engineering service bureau that combines special machine design, full-color 3D printing, and 3D digitization in a single workflow. Founded in 2002, the company targets automotive OEMs, medical device manufacturers, and industrial machinery developers that need low-volume prototypes and legacy part reverse engineering without hard tooling costs.
The core offering centers on a scan-to-print pipeline: 3D scanning captures existing parts, CAD engineering adapts or redesigns them, and full-color PolyJet (MJT) printing produces high-fidelity visual and functional prototypes. This integrated approach claims to cut prototype development cycles by 50% compared to fragmented workflows that separate digitization, design, and printing across different vendors.
HIC InnoTec serves automotive suppliers to Mercedes-Benz and BMW, medical device firms, and aerospace clients in Germany. It partners with EOS for additive manufacturing solutions and collaborates with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology on R&D. The company is also a member of the VDMA Additive Manufacturing working group, reflecting its regional industrial engineering roots.
The company's defensible position rests on trade secret engineering processes and long-standing client relationships in the Karlsruhe/Bretten region, not on patented technology. While a patent for color binder jetting (DE102012108293A1) is cited, the core moat is the ability to deliver complex automotive fixtures and digitized legacy parts faster than larger bureaus like Materialise or Protolabs. The key open question is whether this regional, high-touch model can scale beyond its DACH base without diluting the engineering-led service quality.