Makerbot, the hardware darling that closed on a $10 million round of funding in 2011, has just announced that they will open their new factory and warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Friday. The space is part of the old Brooklyn Navy Yard and will be set up in a complex of older warehouses that dot the waterfront.
The company is looking to hire 50 new employees at the Sunset Park location to work alongside the current staff of more than 100 “productors” who assemble and ship Makerbots in Brooklyn. They also recently hired an office manager for the space.
The company has also shown new shots of their Digitizer 3D scanner at work. They were, for example, able to scan an old statuette and reprint and paint it, creating a nearly perfect replica of an oddly shaped, if endearing, panda.
The company, run by Bre Pettis, has been the poster child for the “Made in Brooklyn” movement and did most of its assembly in Downtown Brooklyn for years prior to the move. You can watch our visit to the factory here.