A few months ago, Haddy, a contract manufacturer based in Florida that leverages robotic arm additive manufacturing (AM) systems to produce furniture, announced that it had opened what it was calling “the world’s largest 3D printing factory,” based on total throughput and machine count.While it’s somewhat impossible to truly determine what the world’s “largest” 3D printing facility is, Haddy’s 32,000 square-foot site certainly has the capacity to turn out a lot of products.One company whose attention Haddy has caught is Disney, which has selected the furniture manufacturer to be one of just four startups in the 2025 Disney Accelerator program.
Every year since 2014, Disney Accelerator has selected a handful of startups that align with the company’s goals in entertainment, theme park management, and hospitality, allowing those companies to “…gain access to the range of creative expertise and resources of The Walt Disney Company to help them develop new entertainment experiences and products.” Thus, rather than straight-up financial backing, the program gives startups an asset that’s potentially far more valuable to their long-term development: a chance to witness and partake in the inner workings of one of the world’s most innovative and successful brands.The selected startups will work with teams from Disney both virtually and in-person in Glendale, California, a process leading up to Disney Accelerator Demo Day in November, at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.As the Disney press release on the 2025 Accelerator class alludes to, Haddy’s production capabilities extend far beyond furniture, with the same core competencies lending themselves perfectly to applications such as set design and theme park scenery.
Haddy’s extensive use of AI also means the company has the potential to rise to the forefront of the new generation of manufacturing automation, a theme that will continue to gain in significance as nations like the U.S.attempt to bring greater proportions of their manufacturing supply chains back into their domestic economies.In a press release about Disney Accelerator’s selection of four startups for the 2025 program, including Haddy, the GM of Disney Accelerator, Bonnie Rosen, said, “From thousands vetted, the Disney Accelerator is thrilled to welcome these four companies, who are already proving themselves to be leaders in their respective verticals.
We look forward to seeing how they work alongside our executives to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for Disney fans.” The VP of Innovation for The Walt Disney Company, David Min, said, “The emergence of new technologies is having more impact on the entertainment industry than ever before.With the Disney Accelerator program, we have a dedicated structure for Disney to embrace these technologies and create new storytelling experiences at the pace that our audiences expect.” Getting to work with Disney would be a coup for any company, under any circumstances, and especially a startup like Haddy.But with Disney and Universal spending unprecedented sums to expand their theme park businesses — including $30 billion from Disney for Disneyland and Disney World, which the company announced back in 2023 — now is an especially opportune moment for a new company that’s offering new tech to get into the theme park market.
While there’s no guarantee that the companies selected via Disney Accelerator will go on to establish long-term business partnerships with the parent brand, the program does seem like a solid gateway towards that outcome.For instance, Fortnite developer Epic Games was selected for the Disney Accelerator program back in 2017, and in 2024, Disney and Epic Games announced the formation of a partnership, which included a $1.5 billion investment by Disney in the video games and software brand.Along those lines, Haddy’s location in Florida, less than two hours from Disney World, could give the furniture startup a better-than-average shot at converting its Disney Accelerator credentials into a bonafide deal.
That would also give Disney the ability to flex some support for U.S.manufacturing, as well as sustainability — recycling is a big selling point for Haddy — which are both significant considerations for giant U.S.multinationals these days.
Images courtesy of Haddy
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