Failing to Accurately Forecast Our Growth in 3D Printing

By Christian Saurman, Vice President, New England Orthodontic Laboratory, Andover, MA

My biggest mistake to date happened just recently: I failed to accurately forecast the impact of 3D printing on our growth. After moving into a new 7,000-square-foot laboratory back in early 2010, we got involved in digital technology and our growth skyrocketed—we added five 3D printers for ortho models, doubled our client base to 1,000 and almost tripled the size of our staff to over 80 people.

So, just five years later, we spent a small fortune on a 5,500-square-foot addition—the maximum our town allowed—and expanded into the new space in August 2016. 

At first I thought we had it made in our new digs and that the addition would get us through at least the next five years....