Banking & Finance

3D printer Immensa looks to fund global expansion

August 25, 2023

3D printing machine creating cogs — 3D printing can be used to create parts on demand for sectors such as oil and petrochemicals

$15m facility in Saudi Arabia
Workforce of 110
Plans for Oman and US

Immensa, a company focused on 3D printing and digital warehousing, is preparing to close a second funding round.

Founder and CEO Fahmi Al Shawwa said the funding will be used to fuel international expansion of the company, which uses data and technology to streamline warehouse operations.

The company is based in Dubai, but opened a new $15 million facility in Saudi Arabia in June to serve the markets of Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

The 1,500sq m operation is the first private sector centre in the kingdom for industrial-grade additive manufacturing – better known as 3D printing.

It will produce on-demand parts for sectors such as oil and gas, energy and petrochemicals.

Immensa bought Saudi companies Shakl3D and LayLabs in 2020. They were combined into an Immensa KSA subsidiary and described at the time as the “largest and most advanced 3D printing platform in the region”.

3D printing Immensa — Immensa’s 1,500sq m facility is the first industrial-grade 3D printing site in Saudi Arabia

The new manufacturing centre also forms part of Immensa’s regional expansion plans, which includes setting up in Oman and reopening a small operation in the US.

“This new funding round will take us global,” Al Shawwa told AGBI.

The company is also preparing to open its renovated 30,000sq ft facility in Dubai Production City following investment worth $12 million.

According to the report Middle East & Africa 3D Printing Market Outlook, 2028’ published by Bonafide Research, the market is expected to reach $4.06 billion by 2028.

Founded in 2016, Immensa works with leading players including Saudi Aramco, Kuwait National Petroleum, Shell and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Immensa Fahmi al Shawwa — Immensa CEO Fahmi al Shawwa says demand ‘skyrocketed’ during the Covid-19 pandemic

Al Shawwa explained that Immensa was achieving revenues in the region of $500,000 to $1 million before the coronavirus pandemic, but this quadrupled at the height of the health crisis.

“When supply chains got massacred, demand for what we do just skyrocketed,” he said.

Immensa has offices in Dubai, Dammam and Kuwait and boasts a workforce of 110. It closed its Series A round in November 2021, raising $7 million.

“As a company we are profitable,” said Al Shawwa. “We have been cash-flow break-even for a couple of years.”