The origins of Filabot could best be described as humble. The company was started by Tyler while he was still attending college in 2011, and the first years of operations were carried out between his dorm room and his father’s workshop. In 2015 the company found its first dedicated commercial space in the form of a derelict granite shed located in Montpelier, VT. Though the granite shed had ceased being used for its original purpose many years prior, the dust had never truly settled, still wafting through the building on errant breezes. Nothing could ever really be cleaned, but the joy of having a larger space to work out of brought the company great joy and excitement for the future.
By 2016 the company had outgrown the granite shed, and Filabot packed its bags and headed to the nearby town of Barre, VT. Despite being the historical “granite city” of Vermont, this time operations were not placed inside of a granite shed. A simple warehouse with attached office spaces provided ample room for the machine shop, lab space, and fulfillment. Ample, at least, for two years. By 2018 the space was packed to the proverbial gills, doors bowing outwards as more and more was made to fit inside of one space. This was the same year that the Massive Dimension brand was launched, which meant an expanded extrusion testing lab, a profusion of prototypes filling up shelves, and gaylords of plastic stacked to the ceiling. It was once again time to upsize by moving to a new location, and the perfect opportunity was presented when a warehouse across the parking lot became available for rent.
For the past three years in this third space the company continued to expand. The additional office space was filled with new team members, more and more shop tools were purchased to aid in prototyping, and 3D printers proliferated as if they might in fact be breeding. It turns out that large format printers take up a large amount of space. We kept adding electrical drops until there was twice as much copper in the building as when we first occupied the space.
Against our best efforts to organize, recycle past projects, stack things vertically, and sweep things under the rug, the space has once again been filled.
This week marks the beginning of our transition to our newest office and warehouse space. This new space will give our team, customers, and vendors the needed space for the expansion of our operations. There are once again more offices to house current and future employees, as well as a showroom floor to highlight the newest additive manufacturing technology. A dedicated filament extrusion laboratory will provide even more space for testing, and there will be room for more robots for large format printing as well! In time, this new location will house the research and development team, customer service, and even fulfillment, while also providing the opportunity for customer visits and tours for those interested in seeing our facility.
As we prepare to begin the transitional period that will be staged in phases over the next year, we found ourselves nostalgically looking back at these distinct phases of the company, and decided to share, in brief, the story with all of you. The new facility is a long way from the dorm room where Filabot started, and we feel empowered to look at not only how far we have come, but to peer ahead to where this next location might take us. More so than ever, we are driven to innovate, and endeavor to provide solutions for the additive manufacturing industry as it moves into an increasingly prominent position. This new space will allow us to continue to grow, and we hope you’ll continue to follow along with us in this next chapter of our journey.
