Mexico is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the push to diversify manufacturing out of China.This development is perhaps inevitable given the current global trade environment, but even with that in mind, the effects of (mainly) policy decisions have been quite dramatic in a short period of time: after falling out of the top 10 in inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) between 2022 and 2024, Mexico moved up a spot in 2025 — back to 10th — largely thanks to manufacturing investments.Relevantly, EOS just named Axiomatek as its sales partner for Mexico, citing “rising demand for industrial AM” in the nation as the reason behind the move.
Axiomatek, a distributor of industrial equipment and provider of technical services primarily for the plastic injection molding market, has also increasingly moved into the AM market over the last decade.The company has previously done distributor deals with Roboze, BigRep, and Nexa3D, so it is notable that, in its partnership announcement, EOS stated that Axiomatek will also serve as its resale channel for metal systems.In a recent post about Phase3D and Phillips, I discussed how growing sales channel partnerships can be indicators of the technical maturation of an industry, using as an example the Japanese CNC machining industry as it rose to global prominence in the 70s and 80s.
Third-party resellers are particularly important for machine tool industry segments because of the after-market customer service they can provide, which is why Axiomatek has experience serving the injection molding market and reselling AM systems.Equally valuable is the location, and while Mexico has benefited from diversification of manufacturing supply chains, that is far from the only reason why it is a favorable market for EOS and for the AM industry generally.Rather than viewing the situation as Mexico’s manufacturing base gaining support from increasing localization of production, it is more appropriate to see increased localization of production in North America as a process largely enabled by the strength of Mexico’s manufacturing base.
The EOS P3 NEXT polymer printer.Mexico, in fact, has the seventh-largest manufacturing sector globally, just a spot behind South Korea, with manufacturing representing around 19 percent of the nation’s GDP.An article published earlier this year by FTSE Russell Insights referred to it as “the manufacturing hub of North America”, and in 2025, the Sheinbaum administration introduced Plan Mexico, which aims to invest nearly $300 billion in the nation’s industrial capacity by 2030 and create 1.5 million new manufacturing jobs.
Any AM company looking to help manufacturers reshore production to North America should prioritize its presence in Mexico as much as, if not more than, its presence in the US, but the wisest approach seems to be a dual strategy, which is what EOS is doing in practice, if not by design.The company has a nice physical footprint in Texas, which could be just as useful for its customers in Mexico as it is for its customers in the US and Canada.One thing to keep an eye on with regard to the topic of third-party sales channels is their potentially growing importance as OEMs shift focus to newer product lines.
EOS recently discontinued the FORMIGA line of SLS printers, but customers will continue to use them for some time, and EOS has stated that it will provide support for up to 10 more years.As more legacy systems from EOS and other firms enter this phase of their lifespans, companies like Axiomatek should become even more indispensable to the industry’s growth.Finally, watch for how rising AM adoption affects the strong plastic injection molding market in Mexico.
The technologies are both synergistic and, in a growing number of instances, competitive with one another, depending on the application.Mexico could be an interesting test case for examining where the two processes are synergistic versus where they’re competitive.Images courtesy of EOS Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.Powered by FacFox Powered by 3D Systems Powered by Craftcloud Powered by First Mold Powered by Xometry 3DPrinting Business Directory 3DPrinting Business Directory
Read More
