Matthäi Opens a Construction 3D Printing Division After Printing Its Own HQ

Matthäi Schlüsselfertigbau, one of Germany's twenty largest construction groups, has turned a single printed building into a permanent business unit. The company completed its new two-story headquarters in Selsingen, Lower Saxony, using a COBOD BOD2 printer and Holcim's TectorPrint cementitious material. The walls took roughly 105 hours to print. The building is now occupied, and Matthäi has formed an in-house construction 3D printing division to sell the capability to clients.

The structure stands about 7.4 meters high, 22.5 meters long, and 13.5 meters deep. It offers 364 square meters of usable space split across two floors. The foundation, base slab, floors, and roof were all built using conventional methods. That split is intentional and reflects how construction 3D printing actually works today: the printer handles the vertical envelope, and traditional trades finish the rest.

Why This Is Different

Matthäi could have kept hiring printing work project by project. Instead, it used a building where it was its own client to justify a permanent division. PERI 3D Construction acted as technology partner and supervised the printing phase, but Matthäi will run the equipment itself going forward.

That ownership model is spreading. In April 2026, Alquist moved from pilots to production with its A1 robotic arm platform through a fourteen-unit deal in which the general contractor FMGI takes ownership of the printers. In Qatar, contractor UCC Holding operates two COBOD BODXL printers on a school project rather than subcontracting the printing. In each case, a construction company, not a printing specialist, ends up running the equipment.

The Practical Case

Curved walls are the clearest early win. In conventional construction, complex curves require bespoke formwork, and the cost of that formwork usually kills the design at the permitting stage. Printing removes the intermediate step entirely. The Matthäi headquarters uses curved concrete walls to frame interior corridors and seating areas, with the company name carried across the printed exterior.

Engineers say the technology can reduce construction time by as much as 50 percent while producing walls that meet local building standards. The company is already looking at designs up to ten stories and is seeking developer partners for larger residential and commercial projects.

The broader signal is that construction 3D printing is shifting from pilot projects to repeatable business units. A 364-square-meter office printed in 105 hours is not a science experiment. It is a reference building for a company that plans to print more.