Stratasys Expands Manufacturing

Stratasys is adding manufacturing capacity in 2026 as it pushes 3D printing from prototyping into repeat production for industrial parts. (stratasys.com) The company’s contract manufacturing arm, Stratasys Direct, said on January 16 that it had moved into a shared headquarters with Stratasys and was entering the year with expanded capacity, new capabilities, and new digital tools. It said the setup is meant to support programs “from prototype through production.” (stratasys.com) Stratasys Direct said all three of its facilities are certified to International Organization for Standardization 13485 for medical manufacturing, and that it is expanding aerospace- and defense-certified capacity, including Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification readiness. The company also added vapor smoothing, a post-processing step that improves the finish on printed parts. (stratasys.com) Additive manufacturing is a way to build a part layer by layer instead of cutting it out of a larger block. Stratasys sells printers, materials, and software across five additive technologies, and says those systems are used for tooling, production parts, and other industrial applications. (stratasys.com) That matters for infrastructure supply chains because many public-works jobs depend on custom brackets, housings, fixtures, molds, and replacement parts that are needed in small batches and on tight schedules. A 2025 review in the *Journal of Information Technology in Construction* said additive manufacturing in construction and civil engineering has been drawing growing interest for decades as firms look for new ways to make components and structures. (itcon.org) The push is broader than one facility. In June 2025, Stratasys and Automation Intelligence opened the North American Stratasys Tooling Center in Flint, Michigan, with F3300 and F900 printers aimed at jigs, fixtures, end-of-arm tooling, and other factory equipment. (3dprintingindustry.com) Stratasys has kept adding materials and software to make printed parts more usable in production. On April 7, 2026, it announced new materials including ULTEM 1010 filament for the F3300 printer and software updates in GrabCAD Print Pro, saying the changes were intended to make additive manufacturing faster, more accurate, and easier to scale. (businesswire.com) The company is also leaning on regulated and government work as proof that printed parts can move beyond one-off demos. On March 30, 2026, Stratasys said its Stratasys Direct unit had been selected for the Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptability IV Pilot Parts Program and that it already ships more than 100,000 parts a year to the defense industry. (markets.financialcontent.com) For construction and infrastructure buyers, the near-term takeaway is less about printing entire bridges or buildings and more about building a dependable pipeline for specialized parts. Stratasys is spending 2026 on the less visible work—capacity, certifications, finishing, and software—that determines whether 3D printing can fit into ordinary procurement and maintenance cycles. (stratasys.com)