Wayland Additive closes £4.6M funding round
April 20, 2023
Wayland Additive, Huddersfield, UK, has announced the close of £4.6 million funding round, with backing from existing investors Longwall Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors and ACF Investors. Strategic investor Metrea Discovery joins the round as a new supporter of the business.
Wayland manufactures and sells the Calibur3 metal Additive Manufacturing machines to end-users who require high precision and complex components (often made from advanced metal alloys) in areas such as the aerospace, mining, and medical industries. The Calibur3 uses the Neubeam® process, an Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) process unique to Wayland Additive. Customers include the RAF (UK), and Exergy Solutions (Canada) with the next shipments starting in May to North America, Europe and beyond.
Wayland will use the funding to increase its in-house production capability to deliver more machines and materials to customers. On the continuum between ‘make to order’ and ‘buy off-the-shelf ‘ the company states it is moving significantly towards the latter through a concerted focus on mitigating supply chain issues, which should reduce order to delivery to a matter of a couple of months. The investment will also go towards further hiring, in particular the recruitment of a COO, as well as supporting further research and development.
“Since our last funding round, we have formally launched our machines into the market and are already seeing considerable traction, with demand from across the globe. By providing bespoke Additive Manufacturing to our customers, we can play a pivotal role in streamlining their operations and give them the tools to unlock their potential, with high value components at the touch of a button,” stated Will Richardson, CEO Wayland Additive. “It’s great to have our existing investors continuing to support us as we grow, as well as new strategic investor Metrea. We are excited by the prospect of bringing our machines to businesses who need them around the world and this investment will supercharge that mission.”
Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors commented, “Wayland continues to move from strength to strength and is a leading light of Yorkshire’s business community. Through its machines, Wayland is pioneering the next generation of additive manufacturing, opening up new applications and unlocking new materials. We are delighted to be continuing to support this ingenious team on the next stage of their growth journey. Their leadership in the market is well earned.”
David Denny, Partner at Longwall Ventures added, “We are delighted to continue supporting the Wayland team – their ingenuity and hard work has resulted in a great product. The Wayland product enables customers to 3D print objects in materials that were not previously possible, and it is great to see this technology now being used by customers. We also appreciate having ACF Investors as co-investors because they have been pragmatic and supportive from day one.”
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