[Special Stock] TPC, Global Supply Chain Crisis Solver... 10-Year Investment Quantum Jump with 3D Printer

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] TPC's stock price is on the rise. It appears that news of a surge in companies and engineers using 3D printers to save time and costs in overcoming the global supply chain crisis has influenced the stock price.

As of 11:18 AM on the 29th, TPC is trading at 5,180 KRW, up 17.73% from the previous day.

Formlabs, a global 3D printing company, recently released the "2022 3D Printing Industry Utilization and Trends Report," based on a survey of 400 engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs worldwide regarding their use and purposes of 3D printers.

The survey found that 72% of respondents are currently using 3D printers, while the remaining 28% are not. Many cases were discovered where the "recent adopter group," who started using 3D printers within the last two years, pioneered numerous new applications that did not previously exist. Although the popular use of 3D printing had been limited to rapid prototyping and model production, a significant number of companies have begun securing 3D printing capabilities, interpreted as gaining in-house capacity to produce small customized parts and end-use parts.

TPC is focusing on its new business in 3D printers. In 2019, it invested about 1 billion KRW in Clisell, a 3D bioprinter venture company, and formed a strategic partnership to produce and distribute 3D bioprinters developed by Clisell. During the technology development phase, Clisell verified the performance of its 3D bioprinters at Seoul National University Hospital, Korea University Guro Hospital, and major pharmaceutical companies. Clisell completed product development and released the final prototype last month.

This is not TPC's first attempt at entering the 3D printer business. In October 2013, it acquired Anyworks, a 3D printer company, and pursued related business. The following year, with ambitions to compete against the market leader MakerBot in the U.S., it launched the 3D printer "Finebot." This indicates that TPC has accumulated know-how related to 3D printers. Since motion control is necessary for 3D printers, there is potential for the company's core products to be applied. TPC is also expanding its market by partnering with Stratasys, a global 3D printer company, to introduce leading overseas products domestically.