GE Additive
MPN GE Additive
GE Additive has launched its Manufacturing Partner Network (MPN) at the Farnborough International Airshow, where Burloak Technologies, Carpenter and Protolabs were announced as the first members.
The MPN has been set up in order to address the challenges surrounding limited access to equipment, funding and expertise that might otherwise put potential adopters of additive manufacturing (AM) off, and help the technology on its way to becoming a volume production tool.
GE Additive will continue to add more manufacturing partners to the initiative who like, Burloak, Carpenter and Protolabs understand both the current capabilities and the potential of AM. These companies will also benefit commercially from the MPN, through direct demand generation, knowledge sharing across the network, and co-marketing and support campaigns.
Meanwhile, GE Additive’s Customer Experience Centres in Munich and Pittsburg will continue to support customers with prototyping and low-volume production, but will now also act as a bridge to the MPN, which will cater for manufacturing needs in larger volumes.
“We know first-hand that the transition from prototyping to volume production is possibly the biggest step on any company’s additive journey and that can be daunting,” commented Jason Oliver, President & CEO, GE Additive. “The MPN is designed to give companies a range of options to help them progress and continue innovating by connecting them with a choice of trusted additive production partners to give them peace of mind, in a cost-efficient way.”
GE Additive
GE Additive Burloak Signing
Left to right: Jason Oliver, President & CEO, GE Additive, Simon Walls, EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, Samuel & Son, Peter Adam, President & CEO, Burloak Technologies, Keith Campbell, Senior Sales Director, GE Additive
Having signed Memorandum of Understanding agreements to join the MPN, Burloak, Carpenter and Protolabs agree to make significant investments in GE Additive equipment, services, software and materials. The former will house the technology in its AM Center of Excellence, set to open later this year, while the latter will add the products to its comprehensive range of manufacturing tools, which includes over 150+ AM machines, 600 CNC mills, and 225+ injection moulding presses.
“Burloak Technologies is proud to be a launch partner for GE’s Manufacturing Partner Network,” said Peter Adams, Co-Founder and President of Burloak Technologies. “We have developed a strategic plan for the industrialisation of additive manufacturing. Our participation in GE’s MPN strengthens this plan and will allow us to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing.”
“We take pride in having been in the additive manufacturing industry for nearly 20 years, and we are excited to partner with GE Additive to further advance and democratise access to industrial-grade additive manufacturing technologies and materials,” said Vicki Holt, President and CEO, Protolabs.
“We are pleased to further our long-standing relationship with GE by entering into this important AM partnership as we help accelerate the advancement of AM across industries,” said Tony R. Thene,Carpenter’s Chief Executive Officer. “Partnering with an industry leader such as GE is an excellent opportunity for Carpenter to further advance our AM capabilities and network to bring highly differentiated AM business solutions to its customers and partners.”
