AM company 3D Systems is expanding its activities into a new region: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and surrounding geographies, including the Middle East and North Africa.
Through a recently signed agreement the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), the company will create a joint venture that will enable the development of Saudi Arabia’s domestic additive manufacturing production capabilities. The joint venture is in line with the Kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030,’ which ambitions to diversify the economy and long-term sustainability. The Center for Innovation and Additive Manufacturing will first focus on energy, with planned expansions into other industrial sectors as well as healthcare solutions.
Commenting on the new Joint Venture, Dr. Jeffery Graves, president and CEO, 3D Systems said, “Our partnership with Dussur will accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing in the region, enabling diversification of the Saudi Arabian economy. While the energy segment will be one area of focus, a broad range of applications across industrial, aerospace, and healthcare segments will be addressed. We are excited about the partnership and believe it will provide a strong foundation within the Kingdom to expand local engineering and manufacturing and encourage green energy sources.”
The joint venture follows a selection process in which 3D Systems was chosen due to its breadth of additive technology as well as depth of application expertise. Modeled upon 3D Systems’ application development and advanced manufacturing sites located in Littleton, Colorado, and Leuven, Belgium, the new facility is expected to open in late 2022 and is meant to include a breadth of plastic and metal 3D printing technologies as well as 3D Systems application engineers who bring deep industry-specific expertise. The customer innovation and advanced application facility will benefit from the Kingdom’s strategic geographic location at the crossroads of important international trade routes between three continents and represents another step to cement the Kingdom’s position as a unique regional logistical hub for global seaborne trade, a press communication reads.
“Establishing in Saudi Arabia the first Center for Innovation and Additive Manufacturing with a world-class player such as 3D Systems will unlock further localization initiatives across the supply chain,” said Dr. Raed Al-Rayes, CEO, Dussur. “This partnership is linked to Dussur’s mission to support the Kingdom’s industrialization journey and localize disruptive technologies that will revolutionize the way we think of manufacturing. We are looking forward to commencing our work with 3D Systems to contribute to the security of supply in the region and build local capabilities for the jobs of the future.”
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