The remarkable thing about this giveaway was that Dixon made all the Stamp pieces on site using radical laser technology, created with German company Trumpf.

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Besides Polytan, a longstanding German rival, Chinese firms have entered the fray using technology that, according to Mr Stroppiana, copies Mondo's.

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One customer, Duravit , a German bathroom-fixture manufacturer, already sells a broad line of products using Nanogate's technology.

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