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Truer

MaterialsShanghai, ChinaFounded 2009· One of 955 Materials companies tracked by AMPulse

Manufactures metal powders and powder-making equipment for 3D printing additive manufacturing, targeting industrial applications with a focus on replacing imported products.

CEO / Founder
Dr. Li Wei (李伟)
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$17.8M
Latest Round
Series C
Key Investors
Shanghai Tech Venture Capital, Angel investor Zhang Hao, Sequoia China (红杉中国), Sinovation Ventures, Hillhouse (高瓴), Matrix Partners China (经纬中国), Temasek Holdings, GGV Capital

Technology & Products

Key Products

Truer Metallography Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. specializes in R&D, production, sales, and technical service of Plasma Rotating Electrode Atomization (PREP) equipment and high-quality spherical PREPed metal powders. They also offer metallographic equipment for cutting, mounting, grinding, polishing, microscopic analysis, and hardness testing, along with related consumables.

Technological Advantage

Proprietary integration of powder-making equipment and metal powder production, with a focus on high-quality 3D printing materials for engineering applications.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

Provides integrated 3D printing powder-making equipment and high-quality metal powders, reducing dependency on imported products and supporting engineering applications of additive manufacturing.

How They Differentiate

Truer Metallography Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. differentiates itself by offering integrated equipment and powder solutions, unlike pure powder suppliers. They focus on replacing imported metallographic equipment with locally developed alternatives and provide a complete production system for metal additive manufacturing, including raw materials, equipment, and final products.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

Industrial manufacturers, engineering firms, and research institutions requiring metal 3D printing materials and equipment.

Industry Verticals

Manufacturing; Aerospace; Automotive; Electronics; Materials Research

Competitors

Struers, Buehler, Allied, Parsum, REL, Pentagon Technologies, 3r Additive Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Advanced Cloud Technologies (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., Aerospace Additive Manufacturing Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Yongtai Powder Metallurgy Co., Ltd.

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

Over 10,000 customers, 10+ years in operation, ISO 9001 certified since 2014, sponsors national university metallography competitions.

Major Milestones

Established in 2009; Started additive manufacturing business in 2019; Developed comprehensive product system for metallographic preparation and analysis

Notable Customers

西北工业大学; 爱立信（深圳）科技有限公司; 中国科学院金属研究所; 中国核工业总公司第404厂; 郑州磨料磨具磨削研究所; 巴斯夫; 中核集团; 清华大学; 上海交大; 中国汽研

https://truer.cn

Why this company matters

Truer Metallography Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. occupies a dual role in the additive manufacturing value chain, both manufacturing high-quality spherical metal powders and building the Plasma Rotating Electrode Atomization (PREP) equipment that produces them. Founded in 2009, the company began its additive manufacturing business in 2019 and has since positioned itself as a domestic alternative to imported metallographic preparation and powder-making systems for industrial users in China.

The company's core offering includes PREP equipment and the resulting spherical metal powders, alongside a full line of metallographic preparation tools for cutting, mounting, grinding, polishing, microscopic analysis, and hardness testing. By integrating powder-making equipment with powder production, Truer provides a one-stop system for metal additive manufacturing, metal injection molding (MIM), and other powder metallurgy applications. The company claims a comprehensive database of metallographic preparation methods developed over more than a decade.

Truer serves industrial manufacturers, engineering firms, and research institutions across aerospace, automotive, electronics, and materials research. Named customers include Northwestern Polytechnical University, the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, BASF, and entities within the China National Nuclear Corporation. The company has accumulated over 10,000 customers and holds ISO 9001 certification since 2014.

The company's strategic moat lies in its vertically integrated model, combining equipment manufacturing with powder production, which differentiates it from pure powder suppliers or standalone equipment makers. Competitors include Struers, Buehler, and Allied in metallographic equipment, as well as domestic powder producers like Jiangxi Yongtai Powder Metallurgy. Truer has raised ¥128 million from investors including Sequoia China, Hillhouse Capital, and Temasek Holdings. A key open question is whether its PREP technology can match the throughput and particle size distribution of gas atomization systems used by larger global powder producers.