Umeleon

Umeleon GmbH, based in Hannover, Germany, manufactures customised advertising-technology products — three-dimensional logos, letters, lettering, symbols and signs — using FDM 3D printing rather than conventional sign-making crafts. Products are sold under the Kennmal brand and include free-standing 3D logos, logos mounted on panels or with spacers, back-lit logos, adhesive-mounted logos and logos with moss inlays, alongside door signs, floor and room designations, toilet and wayfinding symbols, guidance systems and adhesive film lettering. Many catalogue items are configurable in colour, size and construction type, with listed prices in euros for standard articles and quote-on-request pricing for custom logos, for which the company states offers are issued within 24 hours.

Production runs entirely on polylactide (PLA) filament derived from renewable raw materials, replacing petroleum-based acrylic glass; parts use a honeycomb inner core to limit material use, and the company states its printing process saves up to 90% of resources compared with conventional methods. As of March 2024 the print farm comprised 78 3D printers, more than half of them purpose-built for Kennmal, and the quotation process was largely automated. PLA waste is shredded, dyed black and repurchased as filament for reuse in production.

The company's earlier activity centred on colour filament production: in 2019 it was developing the Umeleon 1 Pro, a compact filament extrusion machine with a cartridge system intended to produce filament in any colour and transparency on demand, supported by in-house colour-library software, colours defined to RAL and Pantone standards, printed colour registers for sample selection, and an industrial sensor for filament diameter accuracy. The team described a working prototype with software and a patent application for the process at that time.

Founding story

The founders were active 3D printing users frustrated that each desired colour required buying a new filament spool, producing unused stock and waste. They developed a filament extrusion machine able to produce the needed colour in the needed quantity independently of a 3D printer. The founding team comprised Sebastian Haase (mechanical engineer), Fabian Duske (business economist) and Marian Segelken (systems engineer), who were able to work full time on the venture from August 2018 through the EXIST founder scholarship.

Business model

Umeleon manufactures and sells finished custom signage and decorative 3D elements directly to business customers, combining catalogue products at listed prices with made-to-order items quoted on request. An automated quotation process is used to keep customisation available without the surcharges typical of the advertising-technology trade.

Revenue comes from product sales: configurable catalogue items priced individually in euros (for example door signs from roughly €24 and 3D lettering from roughly €83) and custom 3D logos priced on request, with quotes stated to be issued within 24 hours.

Traction

By March 2024 the company reported 14 employees, 78 3D printers in production, more than half of them purpose-built, three completed HRGE-funded optimisation projects, and a closed-loop scheme recycling its own PLA waste back into filament. A job platform profile lists the company in the 11-50 employee band. Customer work includes a 3D logo, 3D lettering and back-lit sign package for the retailer TRUCYS.

Latest developments

In March 2024 the Hannover Region Economic Development Corporation reported a €10,000 Green Economy grant to Umeleon GmbH for larger 3D printer nozzles, which shortened process cycles at constant quality and lowered power consumption. Planned follow-on measures include replacing older printers with more energy-efficient units, optimising or replacing the material extruder, and examining the region's HRI innovation funding programme for further projects. A recruiting profile listed no open positions at the time of capture.