“If we do only 1/2%, that’s still $70-billion,” - Mohammad Ehteshami, GE’s vice president of additive integration.
The burgeoning technology is becoming a new product line as well as a central component of GE’s effort to modernize its manufacturing operations, boost productivity and reshape how everything from locomotives to medical scanners to jet engines are made.
Industrial 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, uses lasers and other technology to fuse ultra-thin layers of material such as metal powder or polymers, building parts from the bottom up. other technology?
New applications are emerging and GE’s aggressive push into the market may lead to quicker adoption of the machines across the factory sector. The global market for industrial 3-D printers and materials increased 17 percent last year to $6.06 billion, according to data from Wohlers Associates Inc. The research firm projects the market to balloon to $26.2 billion by 2022.
GE is even more optimistic. The technology could take a piece of the roughly $14 trillion market for traditional manufacturing, said Mohammad Ehteshami, GE’s vice president of additive integration.
“If we do only half a percent, that’s still $70 billion,” he said.
The Boston-based company is in prime position, having spent more than $1 billion late last year to take majority stakes in European printer makers Arcam AB and Concept Laser GmbH.
Offer Rejected
GE has aggressively sought out deals. Before striking the Concept Laser pact, the company made an offer for Germany’s SLM Solutions Group AG. GE walked away after failing to receive support from SLM investors including billionaire Paul Singer. GE also approached Germany’s EOS GmbH but was rebuffed.
“I said, why should we become part of a customer when there’s a market to develop?” recalled Hans Langer, the founder and CEO of closely held EOS.
Repeated from an earlier post. Relevant here because GE's leadership will speak.
We seem to be getting a lot more information about Arcam from GE. Why that is escapes me.
But with that in mind it may be worth posting the following dates:
GE 1st Quarter 2017 Earnings Webcast Friday | April 21, 2017 Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO - GE; Jeff Bornstein - Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer - GE; and Matt Cribbins, VP Investor Communications – GE will host a webcast to discuss 1st quarter 2017 results.
GE 2017 Shareowners Meeting Wednesday | April 26, 2017 GE Chairman & CEO Jeff Immelt will present. The event will be held at the GE Aviation facility at 502 Sweeten Creek Industrial Park Road in Asheville, North Carolina.
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