UPS, Fast Radius to open 3D printing factory in Singapore

Package delivery company United Parcel Service Inc said on Monday it will expand its 3D printing services to Asia with a new facility in Singapore run by its partner Fast Radius that will open by the end of 2016.

UPS rolled out a similar service in May in the United States. The company owns an undisclosed stake in Fast Radius, which has a 3D printing factory at the Atlanta-based package delivery company's hub in Louisville.

In the United States, UPS customers can have parts printed at the Fast Radius factory or at one of 60 UPS Stores equipped with 3D printers and then shipped to them.

UPS also plans a 3D printing hub in Europe. The company sees 3D printing as a potential threat to its warehousing business where it stores parts for manufacturers, so its strategy is to embrace the new technology and incorporate it into its business model instead.

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing works by laying down successive levels of material, mostly plastics at this point, to create an object.

(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)