Wacker Chemie
Developed ACEO® technology, a patented drop-on-demand 3D printing method for creating objects from industrial-grade silicone materials.
- CEO / Founder
- Christian Hartel
- Team Size
- 10000+
- Stage
- Public
- Total Funding
- Publicly Traded
- Latest Round
- IPO
- Key Investors
- Dr. Alexander Wacker Familiengesellschaft mbH, Blue Elephant International Plc
Technology & Products
Key Products
Wacker Chemie offers a wide range of products across four main divisions: Silicones, Polymers, Polysilicon, and Biosolutions. Key products include VINNAPAS, HDK pyrogenic silica, GENIOSIL, pharmaceutical proteins, cyclodextrins, and cysteine. They provide solutions for adhesive development, automotive, construction, and healthcare industries.
Technological Advantage
The core advantage is the material itself. ACEO technology uses real, industrial-grade silicone, which provides superior thermal stability, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties compared to competing flexible materials. The process allows for high precision and design freedom, including multi-material printing with varying hardness or colors.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Enabling the additive manufacturing of complex, functional parts with genuine silicone rubber, offering properties like temperature and radiation resistance, biocompatibility, and flexibility that are not achievable with silicone-like resins.
How They Differentiate
Wacker differentiated itself by being a primary materials manufacturer that developed its own printing process (ACEO®) to work with pure silicones. While competitors like Carbon use resin-based approaches (DLS) and others like Elkem also provide silicone materials, Wacker's integrated approach as a technology pioneer was unique. However, the company shut down its ACEO 3D printing service at the end of 2021, and now its differentiation lies primarily in its specialized silicone material formulations for AM.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Prototyping companies, medical device manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and industrial service providers requiring high-performance silicone parts.
Industry Verticals
["Medical","Automotive","Industrial Manufacturing","Soft Robotics","Electronics"]
Competitors
Elkem Silicones; Carbon; Spectroplast
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
The ACEO 3D printing service was discontinued at the end of 2021 after five years of operation due to slower-than-expected market development. The service launched in 2016 and expanded with Open Print Labs in Burghausen, Germany and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Wacker Chemie's overall sales were €5.72 billion in a recent year, down 11% from €6.40 billion previously, but no specific revenue figures are available for the ACEO division.
Major Milestones
["2016: Launched the ACEO® brand and the world's first industrial 3D printer for silicones.","2017: Opened the ACEO Open Print Lab in Burghausen, Germany.","2019: Launched the first U.S.-based ACEO Open Print Lab in Ann Arbor, Michigan.","2021: Discontinued the ACEO 3D printing service to focus on material sales."]