Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced that Shapeways Holdings, a provider of digital manufacturing services, is expanding in Livonia.
The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $5.1 million and create 75 jobs in advanced manufacturing.
“This expansion solidifies Shapeways’ presence in Livonia and helps drive our efforts to ensure Michigan’s manufacturers lead the way in Industry 4.0 technologies and workforce needs," Whitmer said.
Shapeways Holdings, Inc. successfully launched its expanded facility in Livonia in April 2023, which was part of a relocation from Shapeways’ previous manufacturing facility in Long Island City.
In line with this expansion, Shapeways’ acquisition of Linear AMS in May 2022, based in Livonia and Charlotte, brought with it new services such as metal 3D printing, conformal cooling, injection molding and other traditional manufacturing capabilities for molding and tooling. These solutions offer improvements in part quality, performance and manufacturing output to leading industries like automotive, medical, aerospace and other industrial sectors, resulting in reduced labor and tooling costs while streamlining crucial stages like prototyping during product development.
The decision to relocate to Livonia was also founded on Michigan’s robust manufacturing and supplier base, along with its cost-effective real estate and labor markets. The expanded Livonia facility now houses Shapeways’ U.S. fleet of commercial 3D printing and finishing equipment and has been updated with new equipment, more conference room space, and increased staff.
Michigan was chosen for the project over the company’s original site in Long Island as well as a competing site in New Jersey. Currently, Shapeways employs 36 individuals in Michigan.
The project supports MEDC’s strategic goal of growing advanced manufacturing and technology industries in the state, in addition to aligning with the Industry 4.0 initiative launched in 2020 to ensure 50% of Michigan’s small and mid-sized manufacturers are prepared to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies by 2025.
