Who is (y)our Business Process Manager?
My name is Wim Verstraeten. Consider me a battle scarred veteran in the field of the online ordering of 3d printed models. I date back from the era where Materialise was the only firm to have an online 3D printing service with its NextDay service which was started in 1997. I’m talking about the time when only the happy few had a mobile phone and Amazon and eBay had existed for almost 4 years.
I started in 1999, when I walked into the Materialise office to offer my services. I was intrigued by Magics Communicator, a free online collaboration tool for 3d models. At that time online video meetings were not free and broadband usage was expensive. Magics Communicator helped people to discuss and visualize their project, allowing them to instantly see the operations of their communication partner on the 3D model.
It was that tool that I upgraded to interact with the renewed NextDay Service internet website. Later on I converted the NextDay service to what we now know as OnSite.
2008 was the year where the consumer 3d printing market was starting to take off. Software packages that output 3D models became affordable or free. When Spore Creature Creator and FigurePrints emerged, we were experimenting whether there was a business in printing figures that people could easily create. Second Life was at that time a hype. We constructed a photographer figure in Second Life that took pictures in the virtual world of the figures standing in front of him. Then we turned these images into 3D prints.
Me at DHUB Barcelona.
It was time for i.materialise. I took the role of consultant for all process and project related matters and haven’t regretted it since. Seeing fantastic 3d printed designs pass by each day is really great !
Personality
I’m not an internet-exhibitionistic type that puts his private life on Facebook so this post is totally against my nature.
If you would meet me in real life, I believe you would come across a no-nonsense person that doesn’t beat around the bush and whose body language reveals what the mind is thinking. I’m the kind of guy that during meetings might be tempering the joy of a nice idea with some critical questions.  I’m a number cruncher. My specialty is knowing sufficient enough about a lot with the ability to specialize where needed. Seeing people being excited about the model we printed them makes my day.
After Work
After work, I can enjoy active leisure with a healthy competition. Sports like soccer, cross country / marathon, cycling, hiking and skiing are my cup of tea. Dancing Salsa makes me happy.  You’ll hardly find me discussing abstract philosophical situations or reading novels. I prefer to spent this time to my family and friends for a chat about life and some good laughs. As a Master of Civil Electrical Engineering I have a weakness for electronic devices, the pc and science magazines.
