2023-10-31 09:32:00
The adoption of 3D metal printing is accelerating. The high-tech industry, including semicon, is one of the sectors that is increasingly accepting technology due to supply chain disruptions and freedom of form. This is what Mark Massey, CEO of Additive Industries, has said for almost a year now.
The assembly hall of Additive Industries looks well occupied on the day of the interview. Some employees are working on the two MetalFab G2 systems that Additive Industres uses for development. Further on, employees are assembling some new systems for customers. Since the beginning of this year, the lead time has been reduced to regarding three months. At the end of 2022, when Mark Massey became CEO, it was much longer. Particular attention has been paid to vertical integration of the supply chain and flexibility. Nowadays all modules are built by NTS, the sister company of Additive Industries.
After a turbulent period, the company has entered calmer waters
Peace in the organization
The tranquility that the assembly radiates is typical of the entire organization. “We have brought peace to the organization,” says Mark Massey. The turbulent period in which a large part of senior management left Additive Industries has come to an end. Employee turnover has fallen sharply. What the new CEO finds more important is that the organization is once once more able to fill higher-level vacancies with its own employees. Massey himself is an example of this. He joined Additive Industries in April 2021 to set up the sales organization; A year and a half later he became CEO. The knowledge of former CTO Mark Vaes, who switched to ASML earlier this year, has also been secured by giving him a position on the Advisory Board. “After a turbulent period, the company has entered calmer waters,” says Mark Massey. “There are now plans with a high degree of reality.” He believes that Additive Industries partly blamed itself for the troubled period by shouting all kinds of things. “We were too hasty in announcing the large printer.”
Plans for MetalFab 600 on hold
The project to develop a MetalFab 600, a large machine with even more lasers, has therefore been shelved. For a longer period of time. “The development of his large machine requires significant investments. Moreover, you lose focus on the MetalFab, our still unique concept in the AM market. The technical plans are on the shelf; but it is a conscious choice not to do anything with it now,” the CEO explains this strategic decision. There is no doubt that diversification of the portfolio is necessary. “But we are going to do that from a stable core business. Otherwise the risks are too great: you enter a new market with a new product.”
Focus on productivity improvement
The team also sees sufficient opportunities to further improve the productivity of the current second generation MetalFab. That’s what the focus is on; that is the core of the roadmap for the coming years.
Read the full interview met Mark Massey in Solutions Magazine and learn how Additive Industries wants to further increase the productivity of the MetalFab systems
I expect that the trend to outsource to low-cost countries will diminish. Transferring production to low-cost countries means loss of control.
1698827014
#metal #printing #primarily #change #management
