EOS North American Expands to LA with New 3D Printing Center

EOS North America has announced that the company will be opening an additive manufacturing (AM) innovation center in southern California’s Los Angeles/Long Beach area. EOS plans to open the facility early in the fall of 2022.

The company will use the facility to fulfill a comprehensive list of functions, serving as a general purpose west coast hub for EOS customers. EOS North America’s parent company, of course, is one of the AM sector’s oldest and most influential firms. Founded in Germany in 1989, the company’s North American headquarters were established in Michigan in 2001. EOS North America’s subsidiary, Advanced Laser Materials (ALM), has a production facility in Texas. EOS also opened a technical center in Texas in 2016.

EOS’ location in Pflugerville, Texas

In a press release, EOS North America’s president, Glynn Fletcher explained, “The SoCal area is a hotbed for several flourishing industries that rely on our technology for their 3D printed applications. We recognize the importance of working with these key customers and will now be positioned right on their doorstep.”

In addition to customer support, EOS will provide customer education and training at the Los Angeles facility, as well as “application development, benchmark builds, and production strategy.” The innovation center is one of the results of $15 million in recent investment that EOS is devoting to four of its key growth sectors: aerospace, space, medical, and consumer goods.

As the company’s president noted, the Los Angeles/Long Beach area is an ideal location for EOS to make an expansion. Long Beach itself is home to significant manufacturing operations for aerospace giant Boeing, as well as the headquarters to space industry startup Relativity Space. Both companies are strong adopters of AM techniques. There are also important regional medical facilities in the area, including the Veterans Administration (VA) Long Beach Healthcare System.

Outside of Long Beach, only 22 miles away in El Segundo, CA, many of the world’s largest defense contractors — with focuses on aerospace and space — maintain weighty presences. Additionally, beyond the corporate world, many universities in the area, including UCLA and USC, have research programs devoted to AM.

The port of Long Beach, CA is of course also one of the nation’s (and the world’s) busiest ports. The expansion to this particular location, by the American branch of what is one of the world’s most prominent AM firms, is a strong indicator that AM will be an indispensable part of alleviating some of the area’s supply-chain pressure in the long-term.

Finally, EOS North America’s willingness to make such an expansion is positive evidence that the company is starting to rebound from its pandemic-induced downturn over the last couple of years. As such, the company’s customers can likely also be seen as sectors that will have strong performances in the near future.

Images courtesy of EOS.