AMTC to explore industrialised future of Additive Manufacturing
October 10, 2021

This year’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Conference (AMTC) 2021 located in Aachen, Germany, will run with the motto ‘Momentum for Growth’. The focus will be placed on the future of Additive Manufacturing and the opportunities and challenges facing the industrialisation of advanced manufacturing more broadly. Over sixty speakers – including from Boeing, Siemens, McKinsey, Audi, RWTH and TUM – are confirmed for this year’s event.
“Advanced Additive Manufacturing is about 21st-century design and long-term thinking to solve complex industrial and environmental issues,” stated Prof Michael Süss, Oerlikon chairman and founding partner of AMTC. “We are sensing an acceleration of its growth momentum with more and more industries embracing AM solutions.”
The opportunities to industrialise and grow advanced AM have never been greater: major global issues such as climate change, growing population and the increasing consumer expectation for sophisticated personalised products mean that business leaders are looking for better and improved ways to produce and bring goods to market.
This year’s conference underlines the high-level and extensive collaboration needed to launch a new industrial revolution. The RWTH Aachen University joins as a second highly respected educational research partner to complement the existing partnership with the Technical University of Munich.
“For advanced manufacturing to be successful in the future, engineers, managers and scientists need to learn about and understand Additive Manufacturing,” said RWTH Professor Johannes Henrich Schleifenbaum. “We have already introduced an AM curriculum at RWTH and are thrilled to see so many AM-related research projects underway.”
The conference will kick off with a platform for AM start-ups to pitch their ideas and network with industry executives. On day two, speakers will present success stories around new material solutions, AM education, future standards, and the success factors for scaling and customising hardware, such as AM machines. The final day of the conference will be filled with workshops on five key topics.
Key speakers at AMTC include:
- Armin Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine Westphalia
- Dr Melissa Orme, VP of Additive Manufacturing, The Boeing Company
- Dr Jochen Eickholt, member of the executive board, Siemens Energy AG
- Frank Thelen, founder/investor (with Freigeist Capital), author
- Juergen Tiedje, Directorate Prosperity in the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission
The AMTC is scheduled to take place from October 12–14, 2021, at the Eurogress in Aachen. A full list of speakers and panellists is available via the event website. Participation is free. 200 guests are expected to attend the conference in person, and over 1,000 are expected virtually.