Text: Thomas Masuch
Spain is HP's third most important sales market in Europe after Germany and Italy, with HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions having installed almost 150 printers here. Miquel Olivé, sales manager for 3D printing in Iberia, expects this number to rise sharply in the future. An expert on the Spanish AM market, he has identified a trend reversal among many users: “While 3D printing has primarily been used for prototyping and small series production up to now, series production is now continuing to increase.”
According to Olivé, there are many reasons for this development. On the one hand, prices per part have improved, materials are getting better and better, and printers are delivering consistently high reliability. “At the same time, it is now also becoming apparent that the mentality of designers and production managers has changed, and that more and more people with an awareness of AM are now in important positions,” he explains. As a result, those designers and product managers are increasingly tending toward AM when deciding between it and injection molding. “The decisive factors here are technical characteristics, price per part, and tolerances,” Olivé continues.
He cites a project from the automotive industry as a concrete example of the increasing shift in Additive Manufacturing toward series production. After around three years of preparation, HP reached an agreement with an internationally active OEM to produce 100,000 parts approximately 20 cm in diameter per year starting in 2026. “This marks the definitive arrival of Additive Manufacturing in automotive series production,” Olivé declares.
HP is actively supporting the establishment of AM in series production development, including with a steady stream of new specialized materials. More are planned for the future, which is why Olivé is optimistic that AM will continue to grow in importance in series production in the coming years.
Olivé also reports strong growth in the orthotics/prosthetics/healthcare sector, a user industry that grew by 30–35% in Spain last year. That makes it an important growth driver for the country’s AM industry, alongside other industrial segments (such as automotive) and consumer goods. “In O&P, for example, we are beginning a collaboration with PRIM, a company with over 155 years of innovation and expertise in its DNA. We are very excited about the opportunity to contribute to the development of innovative solutions in the field of orthopedics,” Olivé reports.
Campus in Sant Cugat
The HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions Center of Excellence is located on the HP Innovation Campus in Sant Cugat, near Barcelona. This 150,000-square-meter facility serves as a global center for innovation in industrial 3D printing. Here, HP has brought together several hundred experts from the fields of engineering, design, materials science, operations, and business strategy. The center plays a crucial role for HP in the further development of Multi Jet Fusion and Metal Jet technologies. “These enable large-volume, industrial-grade production of polymer or metal solutions, thereby transforming manufacturing,” Olivé explains.
Since the introduction of the first HP Jet Fusion 3D printer in 2016, HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions has significantly expanded its service portfolio. It now includes automated production solutions, material development, and global customer support through HP 3D Professional Services and a 24/7 customer security team. Today, HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions supports a global customer base and has enabled the production of over 200 million parts.
Further information
Further exclusive information on Spanish AM companies can be found in the print edition 03/2025 of Formnext Magazine or in the digital Fon Mag:
Spain market overview, Aimen, Aimplas, ArcelorMittal, Danobat, HP, IAM3DHub, Indart3D, Madit, Meltio, Reinforce3, Recreus, Smart Materials
