2013 Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year Finalists: Stratasys

The phenomenon of 3-D printing has already been used to create everything from toys and models to guns, houses, and even medical devices. Advocates of the technology are calling 3-D printing the future of manufacturing. 

Earlier this year Stratasys, a manufacturer of 3-D printers for healthcare applications including rapid prototyping and R&D, positioned itself to become the power player in the 3-D printer market when it acquired MakerBot, the maker of a popular line of consumer-level 3-D printers.

Stratasys has been at the forefront of 3-D printing, even to some ignominy when its printers were used to 3-D print gun components (the company withdrew its support of this and repossessed the printers). With the acquisition of MakerBot, Statasys is looking to solidify a more positive position as the leader of the pack and will likely become the go-to company for engineers, designers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs looking for 3-D printing applications in healthcare technology.