LAMA Introduces Recycled Plastic 3D Printing to Latin America

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April 1, 2026 News 9556

Chilean startup LAMA, founded in August 2025, utilizes industrial robotic arms equipped with Italian REV3RD extruders to transform recycled plastic waste into large-format urban furniture and architectural structures.

The company works with materials including high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET, sourced from packaging, agricultural plastics, mining waste, fruit export crates, and discarded fishing nets. LAMA is currently the only company in Latin America operating large-format additive manufacturing at this scale.

In terms of material innovation, LAMA has replaced conventional stabilizing additives with powdered mussel shells from Chile's Chiloé archipelago, creating a secondary circular loop within its production process. This technology was showcased at Formnext 2025.

According to Juan Cristóbal Karich, Co-Founder and Director of Design and Technology at LAMA, this digital fabrication approach transforms waste into products with high design value and low environmental footprint. The materials are lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and mechanically robust, with service lives reaching decades.

The company targets architects, municipalities, designers, and businesses. Co-Founder and General Manager Francisco Cruz notes that Latin America has enormous plastic waste streams while facing growing demand for urban infrastructure—large-format 3D printing connects these two worlds. LAMA is committed to using recycled plastic as primary feedstock to promote robotic printing applications in bridges, housing, and other areas across the region.