Invent 3D COO reveals how a simple hobby became a successful business

Malta has been steadily enhancing its reputation as a hub for digital innovation for a while now, all thanks to an array of investment opportunities and helpful incentives that make it easier to start and grow new businesses on the island.

One such business is Invent 3D, which, according to co-Founder and COO Alexandra Sciberras, was an idea that started as a simple hobby that led to business success.

Ms Sciberras and her husband David bought their first 3D printer as something to tinker on in the living room, but quickly spotted a knowledge gap in the market. Their first printer led to several others and, today, 150 printers take up their 500sqm factory.

“Traditional manufacturing has low product turnaround speed, limited flexibility, lacks innovation and is very expensive,” Ms Sciberras explains. “So, by using a combination of 3D printing and product development, we offer a lean and agile solution to these problems. The result can be churned out quickly and catered to clients’ specific needs, all at a significantly lower cost.”

Invent 3D’s technology was put to the test at the start of the pandemic when, amid a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment, they liaised with Mater Dei Hospital’s Infection Control Unit to manufacture and donate 10,000 face shields to various healthcare services.

Similarly, they retrofitted respirators from the Ebola era with COVID-compatible filtration at a speed that would have been impossible to accomplish with any other manufacturing process.

Buoyed by that success, the company has grown substantially, selling via online platforms to businesses and individuals worldwide. The team is now considering further growth, both in terms of scale and technological capability.

“We wrote the business plan for Invent 3D at Mater Dei Hospital in the small hours of the morning after the birth of our second child. As we’ve grown and nurtured our company to the potential it has today, it really does feel like another member of our family. It’s been fantastic to witness the potential that this sort of innovation has in the business world today, and we can’t wait to see where it will take us,” Ms Sciberras adds.

This interview forms part of a larger cover story which appeared on the latest edition of Digital Island magazine.