ZARE acquires majority stake in additive manufacturing medical company Proxera®

3D printed acetabular cup, used in hip-joint surgery: the ball fits securely inside the socket and rotates easily within the smooth cartilage lining.

After joining the BEAMIT Group, ZARE has now acquired a majority stake in the additive manufacturing (AM) medical company Proxera®. This means that the leading AM service provider in Europe now also enters the high-growth market for 3D-printed metal implants.

Boretto (Reggio Emilia), Italy, 22 January 2021 – The Proxera® brand has successfully specialised in 3D-printing of highly advanced dental applications for many years, and it will from today also serve a broader purpose with its strategic approach and cutting-edge niche technologies and materials. The Proxera® brand will play a pivotal role in applications for the wider medical sector with a uniquely high-value offering thanks to a fully integrated additive manufacturing value chain, to oversee every stage from the sourcing of the metal powders to the most advanced post processing and surface finishes.

Proxera® will operate as an independent company, controlled by ZARE which is already part of the BEAMIT Group. It is fully equipped with lines and plants that satisfy the demands of the medical sector and meet all the strict criteria applied to products for the medical implant market.

Andrea Scanavini, CEO of ZARE and newly appointed President of Proxera® explains, “Although the world is still struggling due to Covid-19 developments, we are looking at the future with great confidence and an unchanged sense of social responsibility. With Proxera® we want to be extraordinary leaders in technological breakthroughs and have a wider impact on society and people’s life. With this acquisition we are immediately ready to use one of the most revolutionary technologies; one that is destined to transform how patients are treated, hence their quality of life.”

Through its strategic partnership with Sandvik – holding one of the world’s most cutting-edge titanium powder plants certified ISO 13485:2016 also for the use of Osprey® titanium powder in medical applications, BEAMIT Group has already proven undisputed leadership throughout the entire additive manufacturing value chain by leveraging Sandvik offering of the widest range of certified alloys on the market for 3D printing to serve the most demanding industries.

Andrea Pasquali, CEO of Proxera® explains, “Technological advances in the medical field are always fascinating. With implants for example, a lack of customisation and the lead-times for a finished medical device can have a negative impact on the quality of life for patients who need urgent surgery. The world is only now realising that additive manufacturing is the most revolutionary manufacturing technology”.

Having a value chain that is managed and integrated from start to finish is a distinctly significant competitive advantage. Technological developments will always be a strategic driver for Proxera® to ensure meeting future market demands with state-of-the-art solutions increasingly more tailored to patients’ unique characteristics to improve the lives of those living with prostheses.

As Andrea Scanavini concludes, “Certain personalised solutions and designs cannot be obtained with anything other than additive manufacturing, which guarantees maximum precision within extremely tight timeframes. Our team’s vast wealth of experience, combined with a supply chain driven and managed internally, enables us to maximise the potential of 3D printing to produce lightweight, sturdy, tailor-made components exceptionally quickly.”

For additional information, see downloadable PDF.