New Dutch Yard Aims to Revolutionize Boat Building with 3D Printing Innovation
By Robert Wielaard
CEAD co-founders launch Dutch Boat Factory BV in the Netherlands.
Maarten Logtenberg and Charléne van Wingerden have started a new boat yard after 12 years working at CEAD (Connecting Engineering and Design), a Dutch engineering company they co-founded to make large-format, thermoplastic composite 3D printers for heavy industry.
The newcomer was founded in response to a growing problem in the Netherlands. The country has a long history in ship building but is losing production capacity. What can fix that, says Logtenberg, is CEAD’s technology for sectors such as maritime, automotive, aerospace, and infrastructure. In 2024, CEAD started a project of printing 3D-printed boats, “mainly to market the adoption of our technology,” says Logtenberg, CEAD’s co-founder and former CTO.
He and former CCO Van Wingerden are also 3D printing small boats at Dutch Boat Factory BV. “CEAD should not run a factory. That’s why it stopped boat printing and its Maritime Application Center (MAC),” says Logtenberg. But he and Van Wingerden like the boating sector. “We felt this deserved full focus.”
Van Wingerden sees some challenges. “We cannot currently print classified boats,” she says. “But our goal is to boost automation in the boat industry such as hulls and spare parts. I want CEAD’s MAC to be a maritime game-changer. Dutch Boat Factory restores production capacity by combining automated manufacturing with sustainable thermoplastic composites. We take pride in building boats and hulls that support the future of Dutch boatbuilding: strong, clean, ready for the next generation.”
Using CEAD’s technology, Dutch Boat Factory BV specializes in automated production and large-format 3D boat printing to build boats and hull structures faster, cleaner, more scalable.
Logtenberg and Van Wingerden remain CEAD shareholders. The two see a market for 3D boat printing technology, pioneered at CEAD’s MAC, saying its HDPro outperforms high-density polyethylene (HDPE), is twice as strong and only 10% heavier.
Dutch Boat Factory is fully operational and has already built and delivered multiple boats and USVs (Uncrewed Surface Vessels). Logtenberg is preparing a seed round to attract partners, build a team, and boost production capacity.
Recently, CEAD and Damen Compact Crafts, a unit of the Damen Shipyards Group, announced a partnership to build a 3D-printed workboat in HDPro.