Personal history of Juan Segurola

Juan Segurola is the sole founder, owner, and administrator of the 3D resins company Resyner Technologies S.L., and of its commercial brand “3Dresyns”, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Juan Segurola has 30 years of industrial experience and is an internationally recognized industrial scientist with extensive experience as a sales, technical, and commercial director, as well as an entrepreneur. He has a unique combination of PhD-level academic credentials, practical "hands-on" and "minds-on" scientific research, and a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship, sales and market driven management. He has written around twenty scientific articles on polymers.

Before creating 3Dresyns, Segurola had several international senior management positions in multinational and family-owned companies in research, development, sales, marketing, technical service and applications of a broad range of printing inks and coatings, including solvent based, water based, 100% solids, and light curable polymer systems.

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Academic and professional career

Juan Segurola studied Chemistry (1989-1994, 5-year degree), specializing in polymers, at the Faculty of Chemistry of San Sebastian at the University of the Basque Country (Spain). During his academic education, he combined his studies by working as an intern at Krafft (now the Illinois Tool Works ITW company) and at companies such as UPS.

He completed the fifth year of the degree with an Erasmus scholarship at Manchester Metropolitan University MMU (UK), where he completed the academic year and carried out a final project in synthesis of photoinitiators with Professor Norman Allen.

After graduating in 1994, he worked in the Basque Country at the research centre CIDEMCO (today Tecnalia), where he coordinated two European Craft projects between the University and several European companies for the development of water-based and silicone-based photo curable resin systems.

During the coordination and development of the two European Craft projects he noted the shortcomings and limitations associated with obtaining beneficial results for society from the use of European funds, in dispersed and too bureaucratized work teams.

Disillusioned with the misuse and low profitability for society of European funds, he resigned from his responsibility in 1996 as coordinator and went to work to England at Swale Process, a manufacturer of printing inks and ultraviolet varnishes (acquired by Sun Chemical, the largest ink manufacturer in the World), to reformulate all its ultraviolet and water based printing inks and overprint varnishes OPV´s. Within a week of starting work at Swale Process, he proposed to the company to start a collaboration with Professor Norman Allen of Manchester Metropolitan University to access the resources and analytical instrumentation of the university. The result of the proposal materialized with the financing by the company of Juan Segurola's doctorate at the university (years 1996-1999), maintaining his job as a researcher in the company.

During the next two years, Juan investigated different photochemical systems, including new cationic, anionic, and radical photopolymerisation systems, and analysed a wide range of raw materials on the market and selected the ones with the highest added value to reformulate the whole range of printing inks and OPV´s of the company. As a result, the cost of all the company's formulations and the production time were reduced by an average of 15%.

As result of the collaboration with Swale Process and Manchester Metropolitan University, Segurola wrote 9 non classified publications of non-trade secret research. Key discoveries and findings, including key raw materials and formulations, were classified by the company as trade secret, which were not included nor published in the publications nor in the PhD thesis.

Segurola finished his PhD in a record time, submitting his dissertation manuscript just after 2 years and 4 months since starting it. Afterwards, Segurola accepted in 1998 the position of technical services and applications manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa EMEA for the graphic arts, specialty papers, and nonwovens departments of the multinational company BFGoodrich (later on Noveon, and nowadays Lubrizol) located in Barcelona (Spain), where he led the technical service, aplications, and marketing in EMEA for water-based (emulsion and dispersion polymerisation systems), solvent based, and 100% solids polymer synthesis technologies.

In 1999, nearly one year after working at BFGoodrich and submitting his PhD thesis Segurola travelled back to UK just to defend and receive his PhD (dissertation defense or oral examination). Immediately after receiving the doctor degree Segurola continued working at BFGoodrich in Barcelona, spending multiple stays at the company's headquarters at Akron (Ohio, USA), where he was trained in synthesis of emulsion polymers, and in graphic arts, specialty papers, ad nonwovens applications. He also travelled around and visited few american cities and trekked in the US national parks.

During his stays in the United States, Segurola was trained in market driven management directly by Dr. Hlavacek (The Corporate Development Institute, Inc.), an internationally recognized executive educator and industrial strategy consultant. Afterwards, due to his excellent performance, Segurola received the President´s Award in 2001 for the best technical service manager in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Family time

In 2004, the company Kromachem, a manufacturer and distributor of raw materials for inks and coatings, proposed to Segurola the position of sales and technical service manager in Spain, a more local position that he accepted since he wanted to be close to his family and kids. While working at Kromachem from 2004 to 2017, Segurola besides selling and providing technical service in Spain, and to spanish speaking countries, such as Mexico, supplied consulting services for solvent and water based polymers and 3D printing around the World, without incurring competition with Kromachem.

Publications

As a result of his PhD and industrial career Segurola has written around 20 non classified polymer publications related most of them to photochemistry of polymers, which have been published in several scientific and industrial Journals.

Since the launching of his own company Resyner Technologies S.L. and registration of its brand 3Dresyns in most developed countries (3Dresyns trademark), new disruptive 3D resin chemistries have been developed with improved safety and functionality versus conventional tecnologies investigated in the past during his early academic and profesisonal career. 

Publications of the key discoveries, innovations, technologies, and secrets have not deliberately published to protect 3Dresyns trade secrets and its proprietary information (3Dresyns restricted publications) developed before, during, and after the creation of 3Dresyns.

Since 3Dresyns launching in 2017 hundreds of publications about 3Dresyns products and its technologies have already been published by 3Dresyns customers, collaborators, and the media in few scientific journals, market studies, etc. The publications evaluate the properties of 3Dresyns products and its contribution and commitment to develop safe and environmentally friendly added value functional materials to the 3D printing industry. Some of 3Dresyns innovative products and technologies have been published in some World-renowned journals, as well as in the international journal "nature",  recognized for publishing the best peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology.

As example, in this article published in "nature" water-soluble 3D sacrificial resins developed by 3Dresyns (the only supplier of solvent and water soluble sacrificial 3D resin technologies), were used to print 3D printed sacrificial materials: Patient-specific cerebral arteries molded as a flexible ghost model using 3D printed water-soluble resin.

3Dresyns research, innovations, and trade secrets, as a private for profit company, are classified to protect its inventions. The Company has no interest in publishing, nor in patenting its innovations and secrets to protect its trade secrets. Read: 3Dresyns restricted publications and About patenting inventions.

New chemistries: innovations and achievements

Since the setup of Resyner Technologies S.L. and its duly registered commercial brand 3Dresyns (3Dresyns trademark), new chemistries have been explored, including new cationic, anionic, and radical photopolymerisation systems. For more related info read: 

3Dresyns discoveries and innovations have been classified as 3Dresyns trade secret, and have been applied in the design, development, and commercialisation of 3D resin systems with improved performance and safety in comparison to conventional photopolymerisation technologies used in 3D printing.

Discover 3Dresyns over 50 Worldwide innovations, and achievements and its immense portfolio of 3D resins, collections, and  nano & micron products for 2D & 3D printing exotic materials.

Consulting

Since 1999 up to date Segurola has provided polymer consultation services to 2D & 3D companies around the World (without entering in competition with his employers) becoming an active independent consultant in eco friendly and high performance polymers and resin systems for photo curable, water based, solvent based, and 100% solids printing inks and coatings, and for a diverse range of 2D and 3D resin system applications.

Later on, from 2002 to 2004, Segurola was appointed secretary of Expert Solutions International Ltd, a british consulting company for UV printing inks and coatings.

Since 2005, Segurola decided first to offer consulting services on his own and later through his own company Resyner Technologies S.L and its 3Dresyns  commercial brand.

In the last years, Segurola and Resyner Technologies S.L. have provided consulting services and created a network around the world of collaborators, suppliers and customers, which has facilitated the research, development and promotion of new eco friendly 2D & 3D resin technologies.

3Dresyns consulting services

Nowadays, high level consulting services are supplied by 3Dresyns, the commercial brand of Resyner Technologies SL, for the most comprehensive range of 2D printing inks and coatings, and 3D resins for 3D printing in the World, including:

Non-profit interests

Juan Segurola´s non-profit projects and interests, such as the funding of ambulatory medical projects and analysis of water quality in Mali (Africa), development of eco-sustainable bio-construction projects built with natural and recycled materials, such as the use of traditional lime mortars for construction and of metal containers, the use of solar panels, the design of eco-sustainable gardens with native flora to minimize dependence on irrigation, the selection and design of functional cost effective fog nets for fog collection, etc. Discover more about Juan Segurola´s non-profit interests and 3Dresyns contribution to fight against COVID-19.

3D printing leading the democratic digital manufacturing revolution

The opportunities that digital technologies such as 3D printing and additive manufacturing present for democracy and for the benefit of mankind are immense. For years Segurola felt captivated by the potential of 3D printing and additive manufacturing for leading the democratic digital manufacturing revolution, empowering citizens and companies to produce their own goods with a minimum investment.

The 3Dresyns team envisioned that 3D printing and additive manufacturing might contribute significantly to the sustainable development goals of no poverty, zero hunger, good health & wellbeing, quality education, gender equality and women’s empowerment, clean water & sanitation, affordable & clean energy, decent work & economic growth, industry, innovation & infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities, responsible consumption & production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice & strong Institutions.

3Dresyns identified several limitations of the existing photopolymer resins used in 2D & 3D printing in the market, such as:

  • low safety for printer users, for end customers, and for the environment
  • low functionality, such as low physical-mechanical properties, reflected in an excess of fragility (eggshell-like materials)

These limitations reduce the use of photopolymer 3D resins to 3D printing of models and prototypes, and restrict their use in environmentally friendly functional applications with high safety and technical performance requirements, such as high mechanical strength "toughness", durability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, etc.

Segurola and his team are pioneering and contributing to the digital manufacturing transformation. Segurola invested in his own "3D resin" project and setup a state of the art lab facility where with the support of a focused technical team researched and developed new photopolymer chemistries with improved functionality and eco-sustainability for a broad range of 2D & 3D printing technologies.

In 2016, the company Resyner Technologies S.L. was created to design and produce functional and safe 2D & 3D resins. Its online brand 3Dresyns and its website (www.3dresyns.com) was launched in 2017 already with an immense offering of new 3D resins, technologies, and services.

Nowadays, 3Dresyns is renowned for being the most innovative and creative 3D resin company and for having the most comprehensive and diverse portfolio of 3D resins in the World.

3Dresyns launching

Since the launching of 3Dresyns in 2017, the company has already provided products and services to over 300 universities and research institutes and 3000 companies in 50 countries around the World. Discover 3Dresyns Collaborations, our customers and final users.

3Dresyns stands out

3Dresyns has developed around 500 high tech products and over 100 collections for 3D printing and rapid additive manufacturing, which are functionalized by customers online to make over 10 billion final products, to help make 3D printing technology the entrepreneurial compass and growth vehicle for companies around the World.

3Dresyns has developed the first online offering of multifunctional 3D resins based on multivariate / multivariable, multiresponse, predictive, interpolative / extrapolative, and corrective artificial Intelligence AI algorithmic systems, which are ideal for designing online proof of concept and functional products.

3Dresyns also stands out from its competitors by having the most extensive portfolio of durable and biodegradable multifunctional 3D printing resins in the global market, as well as for its 3Dresynspedia, the most comprehensive source of non restricted 3D printing technical documents fitted with a meta search tool where any chosen keywords, contained in any text source in 3Dresyns website, including products and technical documents, can be fast and easily found. 

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For more info read: CV of Dr. Juan Segurola

Examples of interviews and articles about 3Dresyns: