Aerospace 3D Printing Pioneers Join Forces as Premium AEROTEC Acquires APWORKS

APWORKS is an expert in metal 3D printing, and has been involved with initiatives and partnerships all over the industry. Until now, APWORKS has been a subsidiary of Airbus, itself a frequent user of 3D printing, but today the company announced that it has been acquired by aerostructures supplier Premium AEROTEC.

Premium AEROTEC is no stranger to using metal 3D printing in aviation; it was the first aviation supplier to introduce 3D printed titanium components into the structure of an aircraft. The company has capabilities running through the full additive manufacturing process chain, from product conception to development and printing to downstream process steps.

“Our investment has created a powerful alliance between Premium AEROTEC and APWORKS which opens up all of the opportunities in additive manufacturing for both actual and future clients,” said Dr. Thomas Ehm, Chairman of the Executive Board at Premium AEROTEC. “We want to actively support APWORKS on its dynamic growth journey. With our experience as a pioneer in metal 3D printing and our knowledge of the tried and trusted quality standards in aerospace, we are the industrial reference point for APWORKS’ innovative ideas.”

APWORKS’ goal is to support its clients in advancing in additive manufacturing-related areas. The company has a broad client base and can rely on expertise in identifying application fields suitable for 3D printing, optimization in line with 3D design guidelines and an expert understanding of materials. APWORKS produces components both in mass and as prototypes using its own machinery, serving clients from several industry sectors and helping them to pursue industrial production of components using additive manufacturing.

“With Premium AEROTEC coming on board, we can take a huge step closer to our vision of industrial mass production using additive manufacturing technology,” said Joachim Zettler, Managing Director of APWORKS. “The aim is to combine APWORKS’ highly dynamic approach in solving the issues posed by our clients’ additive manufacturing questions with Premium AEROTEC’s decades of production experience to elicit maximum benefit for our clients from each and every industry, throughout the entire additive manufacturing value added chain.”

The partnering of APWORKS and Premium AEROTEC will give clients access to 11 production units and a wide variety of materials. Premium AEROTEC will be the sole shareholder, with APWORKS maintaining its own market presence as an independent company.

APWORKS helps clients to identify which components are suitable for 3D printing, then to optimize them and produce them as quickly as possible. The company also focuses on prototyping, development and distribution of Scalmalloy, a patented high strength aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing and mass production. In addition, APWORKS is working on the development of special software for additive manufacturing.

The purchasing price of APWORKS has not been disclosed, per agreement between Airbus and Premium AEROTEC.

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