New HP Inc. to Include 3D Printing Business Group

There is a shakeup coming in HP’s already shaken-up printing business. According to reports from various news sources, an internal memo from Dion Weisler indicates the upcoming creation of a new 3D printing business group, to be led by current HP senior VP of imaging and printing Steve Nigro.

Weisler, who is currently executive vice president of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems group and will serve as president and CEO of HP Inc. post-split, named Nigro as head of the new 3D printing business, while Enrique Lores, who is currently head of the PC business in Europe and the Middle East will take over as head of the new printing group, with additional shuffling in HP’s international printing business.

In the memo, posted by Re/code, Weisler states, “When we announced our plans to separate, we knew that 3D printing would be a key area of innovation and growth for HP Inc. Our company is positioned perfectly to take advantage of our sophisticated intellectual property and know-how to transform industries and power the next industrial revolution.”

HP has been leading up to this move into 3D for the better part of a year. Shortly after the announcement of its plan to split into two separate companies, HP unveiled its Blended Reality ecosystem, heralding its foray into 3D printing.

It is little surprise that the new HP Inc. will be betting big on 3D. With a shaky Q3 earnings report in which printing revenue was down 9 percent, much of the focus for HP ahead of the split has been on the future HP Enterprise. With 3D a constant eye-catcher in today’s headlines, HP will want to capitalize on the buzz it generates as the Nov. 1 split draws near.

However even the 3D segment has a shadow over it. In Memjet's recent patent infringement lawsuit against HP alleging infringment of Memjet's page-wide printing technology, Memjet specifically noted HP's stated intention to use its Pagewide technology in its 3D printers. Clearly, one thing we can count on is that HP's 3D printing business will be in the news for a while to come.