FIT AG
FIT AG Japan
Back row from left: Alexander Bonke (CEO, FIT Production), Carl Fruth (CEO, FIT Additive Manufacturing Group), Albert KLEIN (CFO / CSO, FIT Additive Manufacturing Group). Front row from left: Shigeo Watanabe (General Manager, Business Planning Division, Corporate Planning & Strategy Unit Mitsui Machine Tech), Yasushi Murata (Director Project Management Japan, FIT Additive Manufacturing Group), Takahiro Sueki (Business Planning Division, Corporate Planning & Strategy Unit Mitsui Machine Tech Ltd).
FIT Additive Manufacturing Group is to offer its additive capabilities to the Japanese market through Mitsui & Co. Machine Tech Ltd, a fellow 3D printing service provider.
The companies announced the formation of their partnership at the German-Japanese Additive Manufacturing Forum, hosted by the German Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
FIT was founded in 1995 as a manufacturing service bureau and has continually increased its adoption of additive technologies to supplement its subtractive offerings. The company boasts laser melting, electron beam melting, wire arc, Polyjet, selective laser sintering, stereolithography and binder jetting processes. Through its alliance with Mitsui Machine Tech, and following on from a joint research and development project with Toyota Motor Corporation, FIT is now taking these capabilities into a growing additive manufacturing market.
As per the partnership, Mitsui Machine Tech will suggest FIT AG as a potential solution for its Japanese customer as and when applicable. It will enable Japanese companies access the expertise of the partners, who both possess years of additive manufacturing experience, and allow them to benefit from 3D printed parts prior to any potential significant investment in the technology.
“The cooperation of Mitsui Machine Tech and FIT offers Japanese customers the combination of trust and expertise,” commented Carl Fruth, CEO of FIT. “This is essential during the introduction of new technologies. We have developed a well-defined set of services in the additive design and manufacturing of final products and volume parts, and now Mitsui Machine Tech and FIT offer this to the Japanese market. Our cooperation with Mitsui Machine Tech fills us with pride and joy. We have high expectations as to the results.”
“We are very glad to work together with FIT, an esteemed and leading company of additive manufacturing in the world,” added Osamu Shinohara, President of Mitsui Machine Tech Ltd. “We are sure that it is a very good time to start the service in Japan, and that we could provide our customers with valuable solutions based on FIT’s expertise.”
