It’s typically at a commerce present the place trade challenges and alternatives current themselves.
How typically have you ever heard of a producer, with permission to purchase, not know the place to begin? A whole lot of distributors, a bustling exhibition corridor, and just a few days to take all of it in. This overwhelming expertise is usually the difficult begin to an additive manufacturing (AM) success story.
When Dan Kehr visited RAPID + TCT round 5 years in the past, he was no much less overwhelmed, however he wasn’t surveying the room as a purchaser. He was as an alternative targeted on how the lots of of exhibitors had been promoting to the 1000’s of holiday makers.
Not how they marketed themselves, nor how they pitched their merchandise, nor even how they turned leads into gross sales. He was questioning on what phrases these machines had been bought.
The commonest reply when he engaged exhibitors in dialog was that a purchase order order of, say $300,000, $500,000, or upwards of $1 million could be lower, and if the client didn’t have the price range for that, it was powerful luck.
“That’s the place I recognized an actual alternative,” Kehr advised TCT, “for, not only a transactional focus from a monetary supplier, however a real vendor focus the place it’s a go-to-market technique that’s a differentiator on the market, and permits for extra folks to undertake the know-how, to get into know-how refresh cycles as these producers come out with new, higher, improved merchandise.”
Kehr speaks to TCT in July 2025 as Senior Director of Enterprise Improvement inside GreatAmerica Monetary Companies – a task he was appointed to in February. He has been trusted to face up a division devoted to the additive manufacturing house that’s an middleman between patrons and sellers of AM know-how.
Kehr desires GreatAmerica to realize what different monetary companies firms haven’t: to basically remodel the best way enterprise is performed within the additive manufacturing trade.
“You’ve seen different monetary companies establishments dip their toes in after which bounce out,” Kehr stated. “And I believe it’s primarily as a result of folks don’t perceive the trade. They suppose they perceive it once they go in, after which it’s a completely totally different factor than what they anticipated. It’s a matter of rolling up your sleeves and understanding the challenges the trade has confronted and addressing these.”
Under, in a dialog edited for brevity and readability, Kehr [DK] outlines how GreatAmerica is aiming to deal with these challenges.
TCT: First, may you define GreatAmerica’s imaginative and prescient because it pertains to industries just like the additive manufacturing sector?
DK: GreatAmerica has at all times believed in strategic development, not simply development for the sake of development. Additive manufacturing is an trade that’s adjoining to many industries that we already service and really feel that we are able to make an actual impression in serving to facilitate development.
TCT: You got here into the organisation earlier this 12 months, however for a way lengthy and to what extent has GreatAmerica been engaged with the additive manufacturing house?
DK: GreatAmerica already had a long time of expertise within the building, healthcare and automotive industries. It’s by way of working in these areas that they grew to become conscious of additive and sought to develop into that market. That’s once I got here into the image a 12 months in the past. GreatAmerica was trying to discover somebody skilled within the additive house to assist develop a devoted Additive Manufacturing group. Working for different tools finance firms, I can recognize their strategy and dedication to the additive trade.
TCT: When it comes to creating relationships with purchasers and trade stakeholders, how a lot progress has been made up to now?
DK: We’ve got already onboarded and labored with some the most important producers and resellers within the trade. Our objective is to make the know-how accessible to finish customers and assist our distributors remodel their go to market technique.
TCT: You say that folks and organisations new to the additive manufacturing sector are shocked by what they discover once they enter the house. So, what do folks count on once they come into the AM trade?
DK: I believe lots of people count on additive to exchange subtractive. I believe that is a standard false impression – it is one or the opposite, and it isn’t essentially the case. Additionally they count on that there was, amongst these folks promoting the know-how, a well-defined go-to-market technique, which I am not saying there is not, however I believe it may at all times enhance.
There are quite a lot of very technical people on the market. I believe the trade is flooded with among the finest minds I’ve ever labored with. How will you educate and empower the technical purchaser (person) to promote the ROI upstream to the monetary purchaser? How do you guarantee they’re profitable from then on, to hopefully purchase extra? Or no less than refresh as you come out with new merchandise and applied sciences? That’s one of many challenges.
Financing and fee options have been an afterthought within the additive manufacturing house.
TCT: How is GreatAmerica Monetary Companies addressing that?
DK: My major objective is to see this trade profitable with extra finish customers adopting the know-how however not adopting it within the unsuitable manner. Our choices present a path to adopting new applied sciences as we speak and sooner or later. It’s not a one-time buy, it a plan to undertake and leverage additive applied sciences for the long run.
What we’ve created are a set of monetary merchandise that permit for distributors to rethink different approaches to accruing tools, both by way of CapEx or OpEx. As an alternative of getting everybody dry up CapEx, which is a really restricted pool of cash that they use for different know-how, we are able to take into consideration this a unique manner the place people can nonetheless have flexibility as their enterprise wants change.
TCT: So, your major contact level is with suppliers of 3D printing methods?
DK: Appropriate, which is slightly bit totally different to how this trade has approached it previously. I believe financing and fee options have been an afterthought on this house. Financing isn’t for firms that “can’t purchase”, it’s for firms of all sizes and for all functions. It creates a number of buy choices by aligning the acquisition with the enterprise wants.
I believe, for me, I’d deem my actual prospects the distributors, the producers, resellers of the know-how, however their prospects are additionally my prospects. It’s a proactive and devoted channel focus.
TCT: Would you take into account present vendor approaches prohibitive to the adoption of AM know-how?
DK: I believe the phrases that they provide typically may be. Most people require a sizeable down fee, adopted by one other giant lump sum, and that’s even earlier than the unit is shipped. You’re speaking lots of of 1000’s, or tens of millions, of {dollars}. Individuals should allocate that within the price range yearly. The gross sales cycles as an entire for this trade are prolonged. You need to await the following price range cycle to even begin earlier than contemplating making that buy. The place I’d like to see a change is extra folks offering a fee answer as an providing upfront. By providing a fee answer upfront, a extra knowledgeable purchaser has the power to leverage totally different price range sorts, shield money move, and higher align the know-how to their long run objectives. So, that is the place I wish to see the trade begin to shift. Proper now, the most important objection to adoption within the trade is value, and we wish to create options to beat that.
TCT: What do you suppose is the motivation behind requiring 50%, in some examples, of the price of a machine to be paid upfront?
DK: I believe it’s money move, income recognition, lead time and having to construct the tools. I believe their phrases are their phrases for a motive.
The great factor about working with somebody like us is that we pay distributors as if it’s a money sale. We’re functioning as the client in that situation, so we’ll observe their money phrases, no matter they might be, however the end-user buyer doesn’t really feel that burden. They don’t begin paying for the tools till it’s there. We’re completely happy as a result of we’re coming into into an settlement with an finish buyer and serving to drive gross sales for a vendor. The seller’s completely happy as a result of they’re getting paid as if it’s a money deal. And the client is completely happy as a result of they’ve a fee answer that matches inside their enterprise wants.
Clients have had a little bit of a adverse connotation to the phrase ‘finance’. My objective is to assist drive adoption of additive manufacturing applied sciences with straightforward buying choices.
TCT: What’s the extent of your capability to help distributors and customers of AM know-how?
DK: I’d say this trade does, round $21 billion yearly. To say 10% of that, even 5%, is leased or financed by way of a 3rd social gathering is an understatement. It may get to an area the place that shifts to 25%, even 50%, and long-term, the sky is the restrict. GreatAmerica is worked up to help the additive manufacturing market and its thrilling mixture of producers, resellers, associations, and end-users.
TCT: Does the additive manufacturing trade want extra organisations providing these sorts of companies?
DK: My place has at all times been that it’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy. The way in which this trade is constructed, it’s very customized, it’s very distinctive, and due to this fact we have to have distinctive merchandise to service it and there must be a number of gamers. Wholesome competitors is at all times good. I’ve not seen anybody but, apart from GreatAmerica, make a full dedication to this house. It’s both been checked out as a transactional, one-off strategy, or people have gotten in after which gotten again out as a result of no one’s taken the time to grasp the trade itself, or the know-how and the way it may be used to drive general manufacturing.
Having quite a lot of gamers who make a full dedication to the house could be very, very useful for everybody. Traditionally, because of the lack of dedication and presence, prospects have had a little bit of a adverse connotation to the phrase finance. My objective is to assist drive adoption of additive manufacturing applied sciences with straightforward buying choices.
GreatAmerica is the most important, family-owned nationwide industrial tools finance firm in the US. A $3.3+ billion firm with life-to-date finance originations of $18 billion, GreatAmerica was established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1992. Devoted to serving to producers, distributors, resellers, and franchisees be extra profitable and hold their prospects for a lifetime, GreatAmerica presents revolutionary, complementary companies along with financing.
