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Pierre Gonnetan

Global Business Manager - Arkema High performance polymers

People of 3D Printing: Pierre Gonnetan

Who is Pierre Gonnetan?

I am the Global Business Manager for 3D Printing at Arkema – High Performance Polymers. My role is to shape our product offering, coordinate regional teams and drive innovation for this activity worldwide, always with our customers’ needs at the center. And I am lucky to work with an incredible team of passionate and talented people at Arkema who make this journey even more rewarding!

Where does Arkema stand in the 3D printing market?

Backed by decades of expertise in specialty materials, coatings and adhesives, we support our customers throughout their journey in AM. Arkema positions itself in the 3D printing market by offering a comprehensive range of solutions tailored to the diverse needs of industrial customers from thermoplastic powders for Powder Bed Fusion to photocurable resins for UV-curing and granules for Material Extrusion technologies. We emphasize local production to serve customers locally as closely as possible with nearly 20,000 employees across 150 sites worldwide, including France for instance for the manufacturing of PA11 and PA12 powders. This blend of industrial know-how, customer proximity and intense technological innovation makes Arkema a trusted partner in the 3D ecosystem.

As a material manufacturer, collaboration with machine manufacturers seems to be key to achieving success. What difference do you make between the 3 families of material mentioned before in that perspective?

Collaboration is key to success in 3D printing. For resins, our broad portfolio of monomers and oligomers offers virtually limitless combinations—enabling the co-development of highly specialized formulations.

In powder-based systems, the landscape is more selective: few players offer fully automated, industrial-grade solutions. That’s why close partnerships across the value chain are essential to ensure seamless integration and optimal material performance.

As for granules, the diversity of technologies, whether filament-based or not, opens the door to a wider use of unique materials and advanced compounds.

What developments do you anticipate in materials over the next few years ?

Today, the cost per part is one of the main drivers in the materials development roadmap.

Pierre Gonnetan

Compared to traditional manufacturing methods such as injection molding, the material palette for additive manufacturing is still limited, but this is good news: It means that there is even more room for innovation!

In powder-based 3D printing, open systems may allow for faster material development. But closed systems, where full validation is required, play a crucial role too, offering reliability and consistent performance that industrial customers can count on.

Looking ahead, cost per part will remain a key driver in the AM industry. But it’s not just about the price of raw materials, it’s about how efficiently those materials can be reused. Powder reusability is a game-changer: the more powder you can recover and reuse for the next print job, the lower the overall cost. That’s why our material development efforts focus on reducing the Total Cost of Ownership for 3D users, making large-scale production not only possible, but economically viable.

Given Arkema’s strong commitment to sustainability, what initiatives are currently underway?

At Arkema, sustainability is not just a commitment, it is embedded in our materials. Take Polyamide 11, one of our flagship products: it’s bio-based, with a significantly lower carbon footprint than fossil-derived long chain polyamides.

We call it an ‘ABC’ material, which stands for Advanced Bio Circular:

Advanced: This material offers excellent mechanical properties, including high impact resistance, ductility, and overall mechanical performance.

Bio: Polyamide 11 is a plant-based polymer derived from castor beans, which predominantly grow in semi-arid regions of India. During the growth of the castor plant, carbon is absorbed from the atmosphere, rather than relying on fossil carbon as in petrochemical-based materials. When the seeds are processed, oil is extracted, and from this oil, long carbon chains are synthesized to produce polyamide.

Circular: This polymer can be recycled almost indefinitely. Arkema has integrated a recycling entity and launched Virtucycle® program that gives a second life to Polyamides, producing pellets that can be reused in automotive components, sports equipment or consumer products.

Beyond PA11, the launch of new Orgasol® PA12 (PA12 S) powder solutions marks another step toward more sustainable additive manufacturing—thanks to improved material reusability. It’s this blend of innovation, responsibility, and circularity that shapes our vision for the future of materials.

Can you tell us more about how the castor seed is cultivated?

Castor is considered a cash crop by local farmers, often cultivated on small, family-owned plots. Most of these farmers focus on subsistence agriculture, dedicating only a portion of their land to castor, which provides a valuable source of supplementary income. It’s a low-risk, drought-resistant crop grown on marginal lands, with no competition with food crops and no link to deforestation. Therefore it makes castor a sustainable choice from the start.

And beyond the PA11 material itself, we invest in responsible sourcing through the Pragati Sustainable Castor initiative and via our newly launched Castor Education Fund, supporting local farmers and sustainable agriculture.

Sculpteo has recently released a new material developed by Arkema : The PA12S, can you tell us more about this ?

About PA12S : This outstanding surface quality is directly linked to the technology we use: the powder particles are manufactured by a unique process to be almost perfectly uniform in size and highly spherical in shape.

Pierre Gonnetan

The PA12 S is a great example of collaboration between a material supplier and a machine manufacturer. HP 3D PA12 S, “S” standing for “Smooth”, is the name HP has given to this material, which is based on Arkema’s Orgasol® PA12. And we are very proud to see Sculpteo and other key players in AM adopting this solution with enthusiasm!

Parts produced with PA12 S are remarkably smooth and soft straight out of the printer. This outstanding surface quality is directly linked to the technology we use: the powder particles are manufactured by a unique process to be almost perfectly uniform in size and highly spherical in shape.

This results in parts with an exceptionally clean and smooth finish that often require little to no post-processing.

More importantly, it’s also a win for sustainability and cost-efficiency. The material offers excellent reusability, as often only the fused powder needs to be replenished, which significantly reduces waste and lowers the cost per part compared to conventional PA12.

In recognition of this successful partnership, Arkema recently presented HP with an award at the K 2025 trade show, celebrating the close collaboration that led to the launch of this innovative 3D printing material.

Would you like to share advice for people wanting to pursue a career in 3d printing?

If you are thinking about a career in 3D printing, my advice is simple: Stay curious and keep experimenting. This industry moves fast and in all directions. To truly advocate for 3D printing, you need to use it, explore it, and challenge it.

My first encounter with 3D printing was during my engineering studies. Our team had a bold idea: make people ‘fly’ by controlling a drone with head movements tracked by a VR headset. Ironically, we didn’t 3D print the drone, but we used 3D printing to create small rewards for our crowdfunding backers! Today, it’s exciting for me to see Arkema’s materials powering high-performance, lightweight drones. So, start small, embrace failure and keep pushing forward, your 3D journey might just take you from a FabLab to an industrial innovation!