Materialise was awarded a Visit.Brussels Ambassador trophy thanks to our biennial conference, the Materialise World Summit. This event aims to gather key influencers in order to open a discussion on the direction the 3D printing industry is evolving, and has always been held in Brussels. Last year’s edition hosted over 100 speakers and over 1000 visitors , and we were very proud to receive recognition from the city of Brussels itself for contributing to the intellectual and professional stimulation of Brussels.
Organized by the tourist board of Brussels, the Visit.Brussels Ambassador trophies are given out to a number of businesses or organizations who have contributed to the growth of Brussels as a MICE city – Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events – which make the city an attractive location for international, professional visitors. Together, the 37 winners of 2017 organized 66 trade fairs, conventions and sports events and welcomed over 500,000 participants and 9,472 speakers to Brussels!
And there was one fun touch which we appreciated in particular - the trophy was 3D printed! And not just on any 3D printer - we received the commission from 3D Trophy Factory, an affiliate of Belgium-based startup Twikit, and printed out all 37 trophies for the ceremony right here at the Materialise headquarters in Leuven. It's not every day that we get to print something and keep it later on, and it's definitely the first time we receive a trophy printed in-house!