Wilfried Vancraen, founder Materialise, 3-D printing

© Wilfried Vancraen

Ik ben altijd al geïntrigeerd geweest door driedimensioneel printen, zo'n rare bouwstenen waarmee men tegenwoordig alles en iedereen opnieuw kan samenstellen.  Wil je jezelf zien in beeldvorm, dan is het niet meer nodig om naar het Wassenbeeld-museum te gaan. Heb je een nieuwe knieschijf nodig? Het kan helemaal op maat via 3D printing. Een interview met Wilfried Vancraen, de oprichter van Materialise, gaf onderstaand beeld van een vernieuwend, groeiend, technologisch bedrijf uit Leuven (en van de man die het allemaal waar maakt). 

© Materialise

Are you proud to be Belgian? Why? I am very proud to be Belgian because I think there are clear advantages, being a citizen of such a small and well situated country. First of all, being Belgian puts you in a mindset that makes it easy to identify both as a European and global citizen. This is because we Belgians find ourselves at the crossroads of several different languages, trade routes, and cultures, offering us a broad perspective of the world at large.

You already achieved a lot. Do you think you can inspire the next generation? How?It is not myself, but the work of Materialise as a whole that I hope will inspire the next generation. Here at Materialise, we benefit from a unique combination of technology that 3D Printing offers and have a team of scientists, engineers and marketeers, working together to realize and distribute solutions to technical and medical problems, that could not be solved in any other way. Through the work we are accomplishing, we are increasing the quality of life for many a little and for some, a lot. As for the next generation, we here at Materialise strongly believe that future generations will be able to use this unique combination of technologies and work together to achieve even more than we are currently realizing.

© Materialise

Who or what did inspire you? The person who most inspires me also happens to be Belgian, Dr. Paul Janssen of Janssen Pharmaceutical. Dr. Janssen managed to bring drug development to new levels, resulting in one of the most impressive drug development companies that I know of. Most importantly, the work of the company has helped cure millions of people around the world. 

© Materialise

What are your plans for the future? My plan is to build Materialise into a truly global organization capable of delivering complex surgical solutions for complex surgeries and thereby, make a meaningful difference to people’s lives. My goal is also to build a company that can stand the test of time and realize our mission of a better and healthier world. I am greatly inspired by Jim Collins and his book “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” and one quote that speaks to me is the following - “Why on earth would you settle for something mediocre that does little more than make money, when you can create something outstanding that makes a lasting contribution as well?” 

Do you think you may have an impact on the next generation? As a person, no, but through Materialise and the work that we are realizing at the company, we hope that the next generation and many others coming after will be able to benefit from the products, services and solutions that we have to offer. Our mission is, and always has been, the realization of a better and healthier world and our goal is to create a sustainable company that can continue making that mission a reality for many, many years to come.

My goal was to find a niche where we could add enough value for a technology that was obviously limited at the time. Essentially, that’s the story of the last 20 years of Materialise in a nutshell: we are continually looking for the next niche market, every time with a market potential that is larger than the last. Fortunately, it’s easier today than it was back then, in the eighties,

Materialise heeft het grootste en meest gevarieerde machinepark om prototypes te maken via 3D-printing. Toen oprichter en CEO, Wilfried Vancraen 20 jaar geleden begon, bestond er nog geen technologie om de objecten te printen.  Materialise ontwikkelde de software zelf om de 3D designs te voeden aan de printer.  Deze technologie biedt veel voordelen voor diverse toepassingen in de medische, de elektronische en de autosector.

© Materialise