Digital industrial company GE (Boston, MA) plans to acquire additive manufacturing equipment suppliers Arcam (Mölndal, Sweden) and SLM Solutions Group (Lübeck, Germany) for $1.4 billion. Both companies will report to David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation, who will lead the growth of these businesses in the additive manufacturing equipment and services industry. Additionaly, he will lead the integration effort and the GE Store initiative to drive additive manufacturing applications across GE.
“Additive manufacturing will drive new levels of productivity for GE, our customers, including a wide array of additive manufacturing customers, and for the industrial world,” says Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE.
GE expects to grow the new additive business to $1 billion by 2020 at attractive returns, and also expects $3-5 billion of product cost-out across the company over the next 10 years.
Arcam invented the electron beam melting machine for metal-based additive manufacturing, and also produces advanced metal powders. Arcam generated $68 million in revenues in 2015 with approximately 285 employees. In addition to its Sweden site, Arcam operates AP&C (Boisbriand, QC, Canada; a metal powders operation) and DiSanto Technology (Shelton, CT; a medical additive manufacturing firm), as well as sales and application sites worldwide.
SLM Solutions Group produces laser machines for metal-based additive manufacturing with customers in the aerospace, energy, healthcare, and automotive industries. The company generated $74 million in revenues in 2015 with 260 employees.
Arcam and SLM will bolster GE’s existing material science and additive manufacturing capabilities. GE has invested approximately $1.5 billion in manufacturing and additive technologies since 2010. The investment has enabled the company to develop additive applications across six GE businesses, create new services applications across the company, and earn 346 patents in powder metals alone.
The additive effort will utilize GE’s global ecosystem, but be centered in Europe. The company will maintain the headquarters locations and key operating locations of Arcam and SLM, as well as retain their management teams and employees. These locations will collaborate with the broader GE additive ecosystem, including the manufacturing and materials research center in Niskayuna, NY, and the additive design and production lab in Pittsburgh, PA. They will also complement the technologies brought on by other key acquisitions, such as Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality Manufacturing (both in Cincinnati, OH).
