PrintGig wins Fukuoka City Award, opening doors to Japan

From starting out with relatively basic 3D printers to manufacturing space-grade components that have made it into orbit, PrintGig has come a long way. Now the Auckland company is looking towards Japan.

PrintGig has won the Fukuoka City Award at the Auckland x Fukuoka Startup Pitch, held as part of celebrations marking 40 years of the sister-city relationship between Auckland and Fukuoka, Japan.

Held at GridAKL, the event brought together start-ups from each city, with PrintGig selected as the Auckland winner and Authentic Japan taking the Fukuoka honour.

The pitch involved Auckland Council, Fukuoka City Council, Startup City Fukuoka, Auckland Startup Week, Fukuoka Growth Next, GridAKL and RAMEN TECH, with judges including Fukuoka City Council Chairperson Hirahata and Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.  

The award will support PrintGig to travel to Fukuoka for RAMEN TECH, an international start-up event bringing together founders, investors, companies and others from across the technology ecosystem. For PrintGig, it is an opportunity to test the potential of the Japanese market and build relationships with prospective customers and partners.

Co-founded by University of Auckland alumni Caleb McIvor and Reese Chen, PrintGig specialises in additive manufacturing, supporting customers from design and consultation through to manufacturing and post-processing.

Its capabilities include working with high-performance materials for demanding applications across aerospace, automotive and other industries. Among them are PEEK and ULTEM 9085, materials suited to environments where strength, heat resistance and low weight matter.

Aerospace wasn't always part of the plan.

PrintGig placed second in the 2021 Velocity $100k Challenge and later took part in the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Venture Lab incubator. An early manufacturing project with a New Zealand space technology company helped introduce the team to the space industry and opened their eyes to the opportunities for additive manufacturing in the sector.

PrintGig later worked with another space start-up developing technology for satellites, helping the team manufacture a prototype. Through projects like these, PrintGig identified a need for 3D-printed space-grade polymers and began developing the specialised capability to manufacture them.

Those early collaborations helped open the door to a new market.

PrintGig went on to take part in an Aerospace New Zealand mentorship programme and showcase its technology at the New Zealand Aerospace Summit. It has since manufactured components that have made it into orbit.

The company has also stayed connected with the University, including hosting University of Auckland students through CIE’s Start-up Interns programme.

The Fukuoka City Award opens another door. Forty years after Auckland and Fukuoka became sister cities, the relationship is creating a pathway for a new generation of companies to make connections between the two economies.

For PrintGig, October's trip will be a chance to find out where those connections could lead next.