John Croft

John began his working life as an apprentice fitter and turner, before moving quickly into the plastics industry, where he accrued many years of experience in toolmaking for plastic applications. From these humble beginnings, John’s career has seen him closely involved in every aspect of product development from concept to manufacturing – including design for manufacture. He has also run consultancies on a range of global platforms and industries. 

John has been at the forefront of the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in Australia for more than two decades. In the early 1990s he launched Interact Plastic Services, the first private company in this country to move into additive manufacturing after it purchased a Stratasys FDM 1650 3D printer. 

Commercially astute and strategically focused, John has extensive experience of providing solutions to major players in the manufacturing, defence, automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, FMCG, food and agricultural sectors. He spent more than a decade at Bosch Australia, where he was highly successful in identifying commercial opportunities, establishing a new division that would become the preferred supplier of medical device assembly equipment for Cook Medical, Fisher & Paykel, ResMed and Cochlear, as well as supplying a range of other industry sectors. 

With exemplary technical and cultural expertise in manufacturing, John has amassed an outstanding track record in driving growth in sales, revenue and customer base. Working with stakeholders from across the globe, he has a proven ability to build strong relationships at all levels and to work with key business decision-makers. John has also been involved in many talks and panels around additive manufacturing and automation.

After running the AM Hub (Additive Manufacturing) for a number of years John is now involved in large scale Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) working together within many industries from Construction through to marine, aerospace, defence and leisure.