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MakerBot celebrates opening of new factory at Industry City

July 24, 2015 Jaime DeJesus

BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Jaime DeJesus

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Sunset continues to go 3D!

Desktop 3D printer company MakerBot celebrated the opening of its new and larger factory at Industry City on Wednesday, July 23. The company’s CEO Jonathan Jaglom and Plant Manager Diana Pincus were joined by Borough President Eric Adams, Ryan Grepper from The Coolest, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering at SUNY New Paltz Dan Freedman, and Randy Asher, principal of Brooklyn Tech, for the celebration.

Jaglom expressed how excited the company is to be a part of a growing borough. “We established ourselves in 2009 in Brooklyn. Everything we’ve done has come out of the borough,” he said. “We are very proud that is the case and the expansion of the factory is just evidence of the fact that we are committed to remaining here.”

The event celebrated the launch the expanded factory, which is now 170,000 square feet, allowing the growing company to manufacture thousands of printers. According to Jaglom, the space currently has 140 staffers on the line, with room to grow.

In addition to discussing the impact MakerBot has made globally, which includes having 80,000 of its 3D printers distributed around the world, Jaglom stated that he’s determined to use the company’s tech for local education. “We want eventually to have printers in every school here,” he said. “We are having great discussions with the borough president and have already donated a few printers to schools across the borough and a lot more to come.”

Two years ago, MakerBot partnered with SUNY New Paltz, creating the nation’s first MakerBot Innovation Center. “It’s not just another niche piece of technology. It will have a profound effect on every field you can think of like personal computers did in the 1980s,” said Freedman. “We decided to go all in and establish New Paltz as one of the leading educational institutions in the country that uses 3D printing technology.”

Adams discussed how the company will help future generations. “When you have great people like the president of MakerBot and principal of Brooklyn Tech who have shaped many young lives around technology, we’re not only making items out of 3D. We want to make sure that Brooklyn embraces the tech boom.”

After the ribbon cutting, an extensive tour was conducted. “I consider myself very lucky to have built a factory not only here in the states, but Brooklyn, my home,” Pincus said.

According to Pincus and Jaglom, a job fair was held a couple of weeks ago, with positions available that require a high school diploma along with some experience.

MakerBot is committed to Sunset long term. “Every printer that we manufacture on the back of it says designed and built in Brooklyn, New York City,” Jaglom said. “That is how proud we are and how committed we are to this borough and to the city.”