Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> August 3, 1998
S.SCOTT CRUMP is Founder, Chairman and CEO of Stratasys, Inc. In 1987,
Mr. Crump went to work in his garage and began developing a product that
would change the rapid prototyping industry. Crump envisioned a machine
that could sit near an engineer's desk and generate three-dimensional
models at the touch of a button. He invented Fused Deposition Modeling
(FDM)' technology that uses an additive process extruding molten
thermoplastic layer by layer until a 3D part is built. Introduced in
1992, the 3D Modeler was Crump's first product. Stratasys now
manufactures three FDM products, including the FDM1650, the FDM2000 and
the FDM8000. These systems are all based on the same FDM technology.
Stratasys' patented QuickSlice' software mathematically slices. STL
files horizontally and prepares the file for building. The company has
also developed several types of thermoplastic modeling materials for its
RP systems, including ABS. New in 1996 is the Genisys 3D printer that
uses similar technology to generate quick iterations of concepts. This
system is based on technology acquired from IBM in 1995. He and his wife
started Stratasys with an initial investment of $300 and a vision.
Stratasys' success can be attributed to many factors. Any industry that
produces a tangible product can benefit from Stratasys RP systems.
Stratasys customers come from a broad spectrum of industries including
aerospace, automotive, consumer, electronics, general manufacturing,
government and medical products manufacturers. Always focused on
customers' changing needs, Stratasys continues to invest in research and
development. Mr. Crump has served as President, Treasurer and Director
of the company since the company was founded in August 1989. He also
served as Chief Financial Officer from February 1990 until April 1997.
From 1982 to 1989, he was a co-founder and vice president of sales at
IDEA, Inc. (now called Structural Instrumentation, Inc.), a public
company that manufacturers on-board scales for the trucking industry.
Mr. Crump remains on the Board of Directors and is a significant
Stratasys shareholder. He is a registered professional engineer with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington
State University. He completed the Executive Management Program at
UCLA's Graduate School of Management.
Company Description
(EAW606)(12250) Profile
TWST: Could you give us a brief summary a bit of a background sketch onthe company?
Mr. Crump: Stratasys is in the three-dimensional imagining business; we
accelerate our customers products