Major European automotive company adds two further AM machines from SLM Solutions
July 8, 2022
SLM Solutions Group AG, headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, reports that it has sold two additional SLM® Additive Manufacturing machines to a leading European automotive brand. The customer is said to now have a total of over ten SLM AM machines, including several SLM 500s and SLM 280s.
The automotive company produces a range of metal additively manufactured parts for vehicle production which are used for multiple activities with a focus on serial production. The global automotive market is expected to grow steadily over the next decade, reaching a volume of around 123 million units in 2030, with the majority driven by a shift to electric vehicles. This is expected to further accelerate the adoption of Additive Manufacturing, explains SLM, which allows for lighter builds required by heavy battery packs and better thermal management to extend the lifetime of batteries.
According to the AMPOWER Report 2022, metal Additive Manufacturing machine sales to the auto sector amounted to €76 million in 2021 and is expected to reach €308 million by 2026. Between 2020 and 2021, SLM Solutions states that it sold twice as many SLM 500 machines reaching an install base of around 150 machines globally building complex applications in automotive.
Sam O’Leary, CEO of SLM Solutions, commented, “This latest sale is a testament to the quality of our systems and our commitment to making our partners realise their visions. The productivity and reliability of our systems and the innovation and support of our team make us the go-to with the world’s leading automotive OEMs. These are long-lasting relationships forged from trust and close collaboration as much as they are from metal and lasers.”
