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3D-Printing Shakeup Continues: The Head of MakerBot Europe Is Out

Alexander Hafner, man who started MakerBot Europe, has been pushed out.
Image: Brian Merchant

The shakeup continues at MakerBot. After acquiring a new CEO, laying off 20 percent of its core staffoff 20 percent of its core staff, and reorienting its business to focus on professional and educational markets in the US, it appears that MakerBot Europe is following suit.

An email from Andy Middleton, the senior vice president and general manager of Stratasys's Europe, Middle East, and Asia division, obtained by Motherboard, indicates that MakerBot Europe has laid off its General Manager, Alexander Hafner as part of the effort to integrate MakerBot Europe's business into Stratasys'. MakerBot acquired Hafner's 3D-printing company, Hafner Büro, and converted it into MakerBot Europe in 2014.

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"I want to take this opportunity of thanking Alexander Hafner on behalf of all the MakerBot staff for his past contribution to the business, and wish him all the very best for his personal and professional future," Middleton wrote.

A well-informed source who works with MakerBot Europe tells Motherboard that the firing took place on Monday. A MakerBot spokesperson wrote me that "Alexander Hafner stepped down as General Manager MakerBot Europe and Andreas Langfeld will take over this position to lead MakerBot's business in Europe."

In an interview published on 3Dprint.com in March 2015, Hafner described the last six months at MakerBot as "very exciting."

"I joined MakerBot as a reseller in 2011," he said, "and at that point they were clearly a startup. I think that MakerBot, within the last few years, never lost its startup mentality and the fast iterating movement within the company. For my team, the last 6 months have been very exciting."

According to the email sent by Middleton, Hafner will be replaced by former Stratasys VP Andreas Langfeld, who was overseeing Stratasys EMEA. That marks the second major position at MakerBot to be replaced and filled with a Stratasys executive—MakerBot's new CEO, Jonathan Jaglom, hails from Stratasys, too. In tandem, the moves demonstrate Stratasys's desire to exert more control over the desktop 3D-printing pioneer.

"I am convinced that these changes and the upcoming integration of our MakerBot business will lead to the next successful chapter in our business and will further accelerate growth for us in this exciting market," Middleton wrote.