GE Additive Opens New Customer Experience Center in Munich

Since GE Additive was established last year, it’s been rapidly expanding, incorporating operations and technologies acquired from major companies and introducing new products. Now the company has officially opened a new Customer Experience Center in Munich, a $15 million investment that will house as many as 50 GE Additive employees. The 2,700-square-foot center is co-located with GE’s European Technology Center and will offer customers and potential customers the opportunity to experience every part of the additive manufacturing process, from design to prototyping to production. Customers will receive hands-on training and instruction to help them further their understanding of the technology.

The new center is equipped with 10 3D printers from Concept Laser and Arcam and includes an educational facility for GE Additive’s customer training team, the Additive Academy. Customers are invited to visit the center to collaborate with the training team on additive design, process development, prototyping and industrializing additive operations. The purpose of the center is to help customers more quickly and thoroughly adopt additive manufacturing within their businesses, regardless of how far along they already are. Within the Customer Experience Center, customers can come up with a concept, design and 3D print a prototype, and continue through the production process while working to improve their products and supply chain.

Not only will customers have access to the latest metal 3D printers and the expertise of GE Additive’s technicians and engineers, they will also benefit from access to spare parts and powder, have the opportunity to build parts and develop operations processes prior to full production, and receive hands-on training at the Customer Experience Center.

The Customer Experience Center officially opened today in a ceremony that was attended by GE Additive Vice President and General Manager Mohammad Ehteshami as well as more than 150 guests from business, academia, and politics. Guests were invited to tour the facility after the ribbon cutting, and heard speakers from companies including BMW and Oerlikon.

“The opening of our Customer Experience Center here in Munich marks a great milestone for us,” said Robert Griggs, Customer Success Leader at GE Additive. “Germany is the global innovation hub for additive manufacturing. Right here, at the heart of the additive revolution, the center will operate as the interface between customers and our teams, combining the strengths of Germany’s Concept Laser and Sweden’s Arcam, both leading providers of additive machines and services. We look forward to working closely with European companies and institutes, allowing them to fully realize the transformative potential that additive design and manufacturing can bring. We’re excited about the types of products they will design and the improvements they can make to their operations using additive.”

The first US-based Customer Experience Center was opened in Pittsburgh this past May, shortly after the announcement of the Munich center, which is the first to be opened internationally. GE Additive plans to open several additional Customer Experience Centers around the world to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing in businesses on a global level.

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[Images: GE]