The media makes plenty of noise about how 3D printing hype has spread across Europe, the US and China, but news of adoption of this disruptive technology in the Middle East has been almost silent.

D2M Solutions - a Dubai-based manufacturing solutions provider - may not be the loudest 3D printing business on the scene, but that does not mean it is not working hard to establish itself and additive manufacturing within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

MEP met D2M at ArabPlast in January 2015, where we spoke to Managing Director Alex Papantoniou about the state of the additive manufacturing industry in the Middle East and where D2M sees itself in the wider market.

Papantoniou explained the Middle East is still some way behind Europe and the US when it comes to understanding 3D printing as a tangible manufacturing technology. The region "does tend to be a bit further behind", he said, adding that because the GCC is traditionally a contract manufacturing market, 3D printing has not been given the time or investment necessary for it to find its way into the supply chain.

However, this contract manufacturing system - whereby companies outsource to the manufacturer who will produce their product for the best price - is no longer sustainable and the industry has to adopt a change of mindset to survive.

"Until this happens," said Papantoniou, "We have focused on key areas such as obsolescence, that is parts that no longer exist."