Anthong Huang (Copyright: The Nation)
XYZprinting has revealed that the company “views Thailand as the core market and hub for its 3D printers in Southeast Asia.”
The Nation reveals that Anthony Huang, who is both the Sales and Marketing Director of Greater China and Asean at XYZprinting, as well as being the Senior Manager of New Kinpo Group (of which XYZprinting is a subsidiary), also said that Thailand could additionally be “the largest potential market”, as a result of its many SMEs and designers.
Earlier in November, the company unveiled its “da Vinci Colour” on the Thai market, and Huang explains that “promoting Thailand 4.0 is in line with the marketing strategy of XYZprinting and that Thailand is the target to open and expand our 3D printing business in the whole Asean region”.
“We have used Thai designers as our market resources. And 3D printing and design industries are more relevant” in Thailand, he continued.
XYZprinting, which was launched in 2013, first opened in Thailand in 2015 with a sales and marketing division called XYZprinting Thailand.
“The Asean [potential] is just beginning, and Thailand’s market keeps upping its performance, and based on these years of validation, we can reach our goal,” Huang said.
He cited the main obstacle to increasing Asean sales as being “insufficient knowledge” about 3D printing.
“A lot of people have never even touched it, and this is the most basic problem. And 3D printing is a high-end industrial-grade application. Its price and technology is also hard for individual people to afford and adopt,” he said.
“We face that challenge. However, our research and development should continue to improve and provide the best products in the market at more affordable prices.”
The company has taken the route of educating people about the benefits of 3D printing, including collaborating with schools “to expose students to the new technology”, and has also “participated in events to increase exposure” as well as using social media and online platforms to their advantage.
However, Huang revealed that “accurate statistics about the potential 3D market in Asean have not yet been produced by authoritative market institutions”.
“Because the entire Southeast Asian market economy has taken off, we are now optimistic about the overall market. We do not have a clear assessment of the annual growth of the market, but at present our good performance keeps on doubling,” said Huang. “We have seen strong domestic demands for 3D printers in the region from individual designers and from do-it-yourself (DIY) [hobbyists]. A huge number of printer factories have also applied our applications to bring their cost down while raising efficiency in their manufacturing process,” he said.
While for the time being, 3D printing “will continue subverting some of the industry’s traditional production processes”, in the long run, Huang says, “it will affect global trade”.