Concept Laser, a pioneer in the field of laser melting with metals, held a “topping out” ceremony this past June at their headquarters in Lichtenfels, Germany. The ceremony was a milestone in the expansion of the Concept Laser production facility to meet the growing demand in the market for laser melting additive manufacturing technology, LaserCUSING®. The new production facility is 3,500 m2 (approximately 37,000+ sq. ft) and allows Concept Laser to increase its machine output by a factor of 2.5 compared to the previous year.
“We have experienced highly dynamic growth in the USA,” said Frank Herzog, CEO, Concept Laser. “The primary reason for this growth is the increasing demand from the aerospace industry, which relies heavily on additive production technology, as a rapid method for building prototypes and production metal parts. As a result of the increased in demand for machines, we are expanding our production facility capacity.
“The design of our new facility allows for guaranteed secrecy for the increasingly sensitive projects, thus ensuring a high level of confidentiality to our customers.”
Representatives of the laser melting system manufacturer stated that they are expecting a continuation of the massive growth in 3D printing (additive manufacturing) applications with metals. This will be driven primarily by the aerospace, automotive and medical and dental industries, with regional hotspots in the USA, Europe and parts of Asia.
Strategic Expansion to Meet Future Growth and Demands
In addition to expanding its production facility, Concept Laser continues to strengthen its workforce to meet the growing demands for its LaserCUSING technology. Since 2012, Concept Laser has strengthened its workforce in Production, Development, Service, and Applications Engineering divisions worldwide and has increased employees from 35 to 85.
Along with the personnel expansion, in 2013 Concept Laser opened a new Research and Development (R&D) center. The 670 m2 R&D center allows for expanded testing capacity with dedicated development equipment for the LaserCUSING. The new center offers Concept Laser engineers the perfect platform for process and system development. Engineering developments from the new center includes the recent release of LaserCUSING System X line 1000R in XXL format.
Concept Laser Announces New USA Subsidiary
Due to the growing demand for generative laser melting with metals in the USA, Concept Laser announced their plans to open a US subsidiary. Together with the existing subsidiary in China, and the company headquarters in Europe, this will place Concept Laser in prime locations around the world to support their growing customer base.
Concept Laser
www.concept-laser.de
