ASTRO America issues plan for Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator
July 22, 2024
The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America), Bethesda, Maryland, USA, has announced the Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA) plan. GAMMA is based on three pillars – workforce development and education; component testing and evaluation; and manufacturing business incubation/support on-island.
The corresponding report was developed at the direction of the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans (BSP), following ASTRO’s previous feasibility analysis undertaken for the Guam Economic Development Authority. Overall, it reflects an initiative by Governor Lourdes A Leon Guerrero over the last two years to evaluate the potential for industrial Additive Manufacturing to advance economic growth in Guam.
“I strongly believe GAMMA can revolutionise Guam’s economy, and establish the island as a part-manufacturing hub in the Indo-Pacific region,” shared ASTRO President Neal Orringer. “ASTRO America stands committed to helping realise Governor Leon Guerrero’s vision, and chart a course for the island’s future in on-demand production.”
The report stresses that GAMMA’s two principal goals should be promoting US national security and helping diversify the economy, in partnership with the federal government. In particular, Guam offers an opportunity to support the readiness and resilience of key American and allied submarine supply chains. Accordingly, the project plan would establish GAMMA as a proponent of the US Navy’s Program Executive Office Strategic Submarines (PEO SSBN), which is responsible for US strategic submarines’ lifecycle management as well as advancing submarine industrial base health.
GAMMA will thus help drive the development of submarine industrial base capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, supporting the needs of the United States as well as the UK and Australia in sustaining a technological edge in submarine construction, particularly relative to the military’s peer competitors in the region.
The new report explains the project plan jointly announced by Governor Leon Guerrero and PEO SSBN’s RADM Scott Pappano in February 2024.
At the outset, the US Navy will serve as the primary customer and funding source for GAMMA, which will encompass a site for workforce training and education, naval ships’ part testing and evaluation, as well as prototyping and supply chain maturation. The new infrastructure will provide training and production capabilities on-island that, over the long term, may also be applied to a broad range of commercial (non-naval) industries across the Indo-Pacific.
The cornerstone of GAMMA is a satellite campus of a mainland US university in Guam, based on the grounds of the University of Guam and Guam Community College entering an agreement with another academic institution reportedly renowned for its leadership in manufacturing education and technical research. This partnership will support the conferring of joint certifications as well as associates, bachelors, and masters degrees for students on-island from UOG, GCC, and the mainland US institution. Additionally, ASTRO will also support the establishment of the only industrial metallic part inspection and validation laboratory within thousands of miles. The plan calls for a GEDA-sponsored facility to be built on campus to house operations supporting each of the three pillars.
“For two years, ASTRO, commissioned by GEDA and BSP, has grown a body of expertise on developing industrial AM capabilities in Guam,” said Governor Leon Guerrero. “As we move toward making GAMMA a reality, we will continue to work with our partners to diversify Guam’s economy and establish the island as a centre of excellence for Additive Manufacturing, particularly for the United States Navy’s submarine force. I am pleased that so much of our island’s talent and expertise is being utilised to create new job opportunities for Guam and contribute to America’s national security interests.”
To read the new BSP-commissioned Implementation Plan Report, click here.
To read the GEDA Baseline AM Readiness Report, click here.
Download Metal AM magazine
