Rapid Fusion is targeting €1m in new business as it accelerates its international expansion through a strategic partnership in Italy.
The Exeter-based large format additive manufacturing (LFAM) specialist has signed an exclusive agreement with Italian innovation consultancy Aivox, marking its entry into the country’s industrial market and strengthening its growing global footprint. The firm already supplies LFAM solutions to customers across Australia, Dubai, Greece and the United States.
The deal will see the two companies collaborate to showcase Rapid Fusion’s portfolio of LFAM systems to Italian clients operating in sectors including architecture, fashion, medtech and the region’s extensive naval industry.
As part of the agreement, Rapid Fusion’s Zeus robotic system is being installed at Aivox’s dedicated laboratory in Monza, where it will be mounted on rails to support live demonstrations, customer trials and ongoing product development. The facility will act as a hub for introducing the UK company’s technology to prospective clients, with discussions already underway with several potential customers.
Jake Hand, founder and CEO of Rapid Fusion, described the partnership as a significant milestone in the company’s European growth strategy: “This is a very exciting moment for our business and takes us into a new European territory that is on the verge of really embracing large format additive manufacturing and all the speed, quality and design flexibility it gives you.
“Having Aivox on board is a massive coup. It is one of Italy’s leading innovation consultancies and a company that thrives on delivering new solutions to real-world engineering problems.”
The collaboration builds on initial discussions that began last year between Aivox CEOs Matteo Lomaglio and Francesco Perego, centred on developing bespoke LFAM solutions using Rapid Fusion’s PE320 extruder technology. Following a visit to the company’s Exeter demonstration centre, both parties agreed that an exclusive partnership would maximise commercial opportunities.
Under the agreement, Aivox will deploy and integrate Rapid Fusion’s systems — including Zeus, Apollo, Medusa and the containerised Cerberus platform — into tailored manufacturing solutions for its industrial clients.
Hand added that Aivox’s technical expertise and industrial heritage, as part of the LITIX Group, made it an ideal partner for scaling adoption of LFAM in Italy.
“We believe there is a €1m opportunity by the end of this year and — from there — who knows? The potential is huge in Italy for our technology,” he said.
Aivox CEO Francesco Perego said the partnership aligned closely with the company’s multidisciplinary approach to innovation.
“Our approach is to work at the intersection of design, software and manufacturing, which gives us a fantastic opportunity to identify and embed Rapid Fusion’s solutions into our work and with customers in Italy,” he explained.
Co-CEO Matteo Lomaglio added that the Italian market is reaching a tipping point in its adoption of additive manufacturing technologies.
“Traditionally there has been slow adoption of 3D printing in our market, but this is changing, and we believe this is the right time to help educate the market and demonstrate what can be achieved with LFAM,” he said.
“Speed, repeatable quality, ease of iteration and an increasingly wide material portfolio has seen it move from a prototyping tool to a powerhouse of manufacturing.”
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