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Altem Technologies at NDTV’s India Small Giants

Every entrepreneurial journey begins with a collection of dreams. There are times when you think you are ready to take the leap, but you always stop yourself. Till that one fateful day, when you close your eyes and leap.

We had been working in the additive manufacturing industry, and personally, I was blown by the immense potential this technology had for everyone. The technology had been repackaged as 3D printing and made commercially viable, and I believed that in a few years, technological leaps would make this available to every single person.

In India, however, only a handful of companies had heard of it, fewer companies were using it and most people believed this was a privilege of the big companies.

I had been restless for a while, and strongly believed that this was an opportunity to leave our mark on the world. When the train docked at this station, we had decided to quit our jobs and begin working with this new technology, with our vision.

Altem started in a small room, barely 100 sq ft. We had our vision, our life savings and unshakable faith and support from our family and friends.

Our first challenge came in recruiting a task force. Most people were unaware of this industry and its potential, and were further discouraged when they saw our little, startup space. We did not want to be ‘just another 3D Printing company’. Anybody could sell machines.

We wanted to create solutions. We wanted to help people tailor an entire 3D printing world for themselves, suitable to their specific needs. We wanted to help them realise their potential and make it bigger. We tied up with Stratasys Ltd, the global leader in 3D Printers; Dassault Systemes, for design software.

Our vision was that any customer who approached Altem Technologies should be able to get all their 3D Printing solutions in one place, including support & training help.

Our first win was when Stratasys recognized our work and chose us to be their “Strategic Partner in the Asia-Pacific region”. Stratasys understood the need to educate people about the technology. Their team were equally passionate about the potential of 3D Printing and its growth in India.

It was this vision that led us to create the initiative – printmyCAD.com – wherein designers & engineers could submit their designs to be 3D printed for free. It allowed people to experience the potential of this technology.

The next step in this universe of 3D printing was an alliance with Artec 3D Scanners. We also partnered with MSC Software, for simulation software, completing every possible requirement of a potential client.

Our dream that started on a fateful train journey has led to a new dream. We hope to see a day when 3D printing is used by companies & people across the country to realise their design. We hope to see a day when a school kid is able to understand mathematics better because of this technology.

India is a beautiful, imaginative country. 3D printing can be used in so many diverse ways to improve our productivity and design capabilities, and Altem is equipped to provide 3D Printers, Scanners, PLM Solutions & Training required for this future.

Awards such as India Small Giants Award 2016 give us the motivation to continue with our journey.

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