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ExOne plans public offering
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The ExOne Company, a North Huntingdon manufacturing company that relies on technology some speculate will fuel the next industrial revolution, has filed plans to raise up to $75 million through a public offering of an undisclosed number of shares.
Documents the company filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate ExOne will use the proceeds to expand its capacity and capabilities, to pay off a $9.6 million line of credit it has with its majority stockholder, and $3 million to repurchase production equipment it leases to two related entities.
The filing indicates ExOne lost $11.1 million in the first nine months of last year on revenue of $15.9 million. The company lost $8 million in 2011 on revenue of $15.3 million.
ExOne is one of a growing number of companies that rely on 3-D printing to make complex parts using digital imaging. Its customers include Boeing, Ford Motor, BMW, Caterpillar and Deere & Co.
The technology, also known as additive manufacturing, involves slicing digital images of industrial pumps, automotive equipment and other products into hundreds or thousands of layers the width of a human hair.
That data is sent to a 3-D printer similar to an ink jet printer. But instead of ink, the printer emits alternating layers of sand and powdered metal, plastic or other materials into a box, where a liquid binder holds the layers together, resulting in a physical version of the digital image.
The technology eliminates weeks of bending, molding, punching, grinding and machining metals that must then be assembled into a finished product. Advocates say it will revolutionize industry by bringing more manufacturing back to the United States.
ExOne grew out of Extrude Hone Corp., which was acquired for $7.2 million in 2007 by S. Kent Rockwell, ExOne's chairman and majority shareholder. Mr. Rockwell and other owners have invested another $40.7 million in equity or debt since then, the document states.
The filing indicates Mr. Rockwell will sell an undisclosed number of his shares as part of the offering.
First Published January 9, 2013 11:59 am
