David Unleashed

This an industry first and I am proud to be part of it. I think I am rapidly becoming addicted to disruptive technologies. PRWeb was a disruptive technology that has now gone mainstream.

In October of last year I started a company in Springville, UT. I hired a killer team gave them enough funds and a mandate to change the rapid prototyping industry. The result, the new Tangible Alliance Program. This program allows users to own fractions of a rapid prototyping machine rather than making a capital outlay of upward of $750,000. The press release was, of course, sent out over PRWeb. Here is the link to their press release about rapid prototyping fractional ownership.

So, how did we get here?

As many of you may know, I have developed what is becoming an obsession with the aviation industry over the last 5 months. I purchased my first plane, a Cessna 183, in October, 2006 and placed my order for a Pilatus PC12 (due to arrive in December 2007). As I have studied the aviation industry, in particular fractional business jet ownership, I began to uncover a business model that could be applied to the rapid prototyping industry. I then had Alex Linde develop a business model around the concept and the response has been phenomenal.

Why is fractional ownership make sense for the rapid prototyping industry?

As it turns out, there are probably too many reasons to ennumarate here so here is a short list of five.

1. Rapid prototyping machines are expensive, between $500,000 and $750,000. It is hard to justify the cost of full ownership for a machine that a company will use about 300-400 hours a year. Fractional ownership makes it possible for a company to own fractions of a machine, as little as 1/16th for about $30k plus a small monthly operating overhead assessment of $600-800.

2. Overhead of operating a machine can be costly. Our solution eliminates the need for the purchasing company to hire, train and staff the operation of the machine. Since we are following the established fractional models closely we also eliminate machine downtime. If a machine goes down we are able to guarantee access to another machine.

3. If a company were to purchase a machine outright they would have one technology available to them and one or two materials. Materials are generally sold in vats and that can be expensive. We leverage the ownership of various technologies and materials allowing owners to trade hours between technologies and move to platforms offering different materials.

4. Fractional owners can realize the benefits of carrying their asset on their books as an asset and realize the benefits of depreciation.

5. Fractional owners are guaranteed liquidity at fair market value.

The team is still working on their Web site. Stop by and visit http://www.tangibleexpress.com.