The thrill of making an innovative product and then exporting it for the first time to Mexico while experiencing worldwide growth is what makes business tick for the CEO of Xact Metal.

Juan Mario Gomez, Xact Metal CEO, loves breaking barriers to entry. He and his partner, Matt Woods, turned previously too-pricey metal 3D printers into an affordable, usable product for businesses, forming Xact Metal in March 2017 with the launch of their successful printers.

“We call this our Robin Hood of business stories: make 3D metal printers affordable for more businesses,” Gomez said.

Now, with the partnership of SEDA-Council of Governments’ (SEDA-COG) Export Development program, they’ve completed their first printer export to Mexico. They’d wanted to grow, but being a young start-up, their capabilities were limited, and they wanted to expand with orders from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries.

“With SEDA-COG’s help, we were able to execute that shipment. Otherwise, it would’ve been very difficult to do that,” Gomez said.

Year to date, they’ve already exceeded all of last year’s orders.

Noelle Long, director of SEDA-COG’s Export program, assisted with everything from documentation requirements, duty and tariff information, product certification requirements, to freight forwarder contacts. SEDA-COG’s engagement with PA’s Authorized Trade Representative in Mexico City helped make this possible.

“With her innovative, out-of-the-box thinking, Noelle’s been nothing but fantastic as a partner on this journey,” he said.

Located at 200 Innovation Boulevard, Suite 257, Xact Metal’s high-performance powder-bed metal 3D printers can be used for company prototyping and tooling and can be tailored for each business need. Because their prototypes are metal instead of plastic, the actual prototype can be used after it is tested.

Gomez’s three-fold strategy is helping drive their success. “We’re setting up the infrastructure to have a good product, operation, and sales and service that allows us to scale,” he said.

Their next move is to continue expanding in Canada, Europe and, later next year, Asia.

They use local suppliers for their product, and Gomez said central Pennsylvania is a great place to do business.

“It is such a good ecosystem here in central Pennsylvania. The whole ecosystem with so much talent and manufacturing and technology capability in this area allowed us to start the company and stay here,” he said. “The ability to serve a global market that is one-third North America, one-third Europe, and one-third Asia right out of central PA is very exciting. We’re going around the world, and people ask where we’re based, and I say, ‘central PA.’ For me, it’s very exciting because it’s not only a nice place to live, but the talent and caliber of people are so high. It’s a different lifestyle than Silicon Valley or Boston, but people come here and want to stay here.” 

SEDA-COG’s Export Development team serves the businesses and communities of central Pennsylvania by encouraging and facilitating economic development through growth in world trade. It is funded by the state Department of Community & Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development and Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance.

Content courtesy SEDA-COG. For more information about SEDA-COG’s Export Development Program, contact Noelle Long at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 570-524-4491.