wilhelmsen_thyssenkrupp
Leading maritime company Wilhelmsen has partnered with thyssenkrupp to leverage 3D printing technology for the production of vessel components.
The alliance was agreed in Singapore last month and will utilise thyssenkrupp’s additive manufacturing capacity on the island city-state, as well as its Global Additive Manufacturing Tech Center in Mülheim, Germany.
thyssenkrupp has been using additive manufacturing technology for years and its operations in Mülheim have been awarded the Approval of Manufacturer certificate by quality assurance company DNV GL. This accreditation enables thyssenkrupp to serve industrial sectors like the maritime market with metal 3D printed components and Wilhelmsen has quickly moved to partner with the engineering firm.
“Wilhelmsen is built on innovation and our partnership with thyssenkrupp once again shows how we are leveraging technology to further elevate the maritime industry,” commented Kjell André Engen, Executive Vice President of Wilhelmsen’s Marine Products division. “Additive manufacturing offers a lot of advantages and we can clearly demonstrate to our customers how they will benefit from on-demand manufacturing of spare parts.”
“We are extremely excited with the new milestone for us in the arena of additive manufacturing,” said Jan Lueder, CEO of thyssenkrupp Asia Pacific. “After securing the world’s first certified facility for marine 3D printing, we are now partnering with one of the biggest shipping companies in the world to deliver our AM expertise to our marine customers across the globe.”
Supporting thyssenkrupp and Wilhelmsen in this endeavour will be start-up Ivaldi Group. Partly owned by Wilhelmsen, Ivaldi Group harnesses additive manufacturing technology to supply replacement parts and reduce the inventory of its customers.
“We are privileged to be part of this exciting collaboration paving the way for AM in the maritime industry,” added Espen Sivertsen, CEO of Ivaldi Group. “Combining our capabilities will surely positively impact the sector as well as all our customers and partners around the world.”
