Thales to establish metal Additive Manufacturing competence centre in Morocco
December 14, 2015
Thales, the global aerospace and defence group headquartered in France, has announced plans to establish an industrial competence centre for metal Additive Manufacturing in Morocco. The project will begin in 2016 and the Additive Manufacturing facility is scheduled to be fully operational by 2018.
The project is stated as being fully in line with the 2014-2020 Industrial Acceleration Plan launched by the Moroccan authorities, which supports the development of an innovative network involving Thales and its local suppliers. The creation of a high-tech industrial competence centre is one of three main areas of cooperation between Thales and Morocco.
“This competence centre will give us access to a highly capable ecosystem of industrial suppliers specialising in mechanical parts; helping us meet all our requirements in terms of material, performance and reproducibility for the aerospace and space markets,” stated Pierre Prigent, Thales Country Director in Morocco.
Thales’ expertise in the materials, processes and requirements specific to the aerospace and space sectors will enable the Metal Additive Manufacturing technology to reach maturity more quickly, the company stated. With its proven industrial processes and manufacturing capabilities, the new competence centre is a further step in Thales’s ongoing pre-product investment programme designed to promote the use of this innovative technology in France and other countries of operation.
“This project consolidates Morocco’s position as a key industrial platform, expanding our aerospace ecosystem to include a new technology that will undoubtedly shape the future of the aerospace industry,” added Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy.
