From C-SPAN to 3-D
<p>Bob Kitsch, co-founder of C-SPAN, talks about economy, technology and jobs creation during a private reception prior to a fireside chat hosted by Innovation Collective Wednesday at The Cellar in Coeur d’Alene.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Robert Titsch, a media businessman who co-founded C-SPAN back in the 1970s, has made the leap to the world of 3-D printing.
He today runs the world's largest 3-D printing trade show with his sons.
Not bad for a guy who's trying to retire and enjoy what has already been a lifetime of success. The 71-year-old currently lives in Hayden.
"I think the industry has a future," Titsch said. "It's a little bit mixed-up right now, and it doesn't really know what it is yet."
Still, he is looking for some big companies - like Hewlett-Packard - to invest more in the industry soon.
Titsch spoke Wednesday night during a private reception hosted by Innovation Collective, prior to the group's monthly Fireside Chat at The Cellar in Coeur d'Alene.
Nick Smoot, CEO and founder of Here On Biz, said Titsch is a "neat man who has an incredible story."
Titsch said some 6,000 people are scheduled to attend his upcoming trade show in January, in Burbank, Calif. Last year, there were less than 4,000 people who attended with approximately 40 exhibitors, and that was the first time he hosted the trade show.
"This year we have already passed twice the number of exhibitors," Titsch said.
In this semi-retired phase of his career, he has been drawn to projects and fields which pique his curiosity.
"I'm interested in technology; it's my hobby," he said.
Technology amuses him enough that he usually has 10 to 12 cellphones, just because he likes to see what they can do. (His favorite right now is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.)
"I was in at the beginning of the cellphone business, the cable television business, the vitamin industry, the supplement industry," he said. "I found the 3-D industry has all of the hallmarks of what you see of something that is going to be really big."
He said there are a lot of medical applications for 3-D printing technology.
"There are people who have hands that are made from 3-D machines that actually work, that move fingers and stuff like that," he said.
He said a copy of a patient's heart can be created using 3-D machines.
"But the important part is you copy the inside of the heart," he said. "These kinds of things are being done all over the country."