$70 Million Will Fund Creation of Dedicated Additive Manufacturing R&D Institute
Initiative Aims to Make American Manufacturers More Competitive and Encourage Investment in the U.S.
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 21, 2012 – Will U.S. innovation and competitiveness grow or contract in the next decade? A billion-dollar initiative by the Obama administration — the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) — aims to ensure its growth through the development of 15 “centers of excellence” that bring industries together to solve manufacturing problems in an innovative way and provide U.S. manufacturers access to best-in-class technologies.
Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) has been selected as part of a team of leaders under this new program to develop the first center of excellence — an additive manufacturing institute — funded by $70 million, with $30 million coming from the NNMI and $40 million from private industry. Additive manufacturing was chosen as one of the centers because the process was identified as key to the future of U.S. production. The center will be called the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).
“The competitiveness of our country depends on new technologies, such as additive manufacturing,” said Stratasys VP of direct digital manufacturing, Jeff DeGrange. “This new institute will accelerate development of additive manufacturing technologies to benefit U.S. competitiveness. Additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, reduces tooling costs, startup costs, inventory, raw-material use, energy consumption and the waste stream associated with traditional manufacturing processes.”
The additive manufacturing center will be managed by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). The NCDMM said in a news release that each of the 15 institutes:
“will bridge the gap between basic research and product development, provide shared assets to give companies — particularly small manufacturers — better access to cutting-edge capabilities and equipment, and create an unparalleled environment to educate and train students and workers in advanced manufacturing skills. These Institutes will serve as regional hubs of manufacturing innovation, and will be known as world-class centers for applied research, technology incubation, and commercialization.”
For more information on Stratasys, visit www.stratasys.com.
Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, is a maker of additive manufacturing machines for prototyping and producing plastic parts. The company markets under the brands Mojo, uPrint and Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus Production 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, a digital-manufacturing service for prototypes and production parts. In 2011 Stratasys acquired 3D printer maker Solidscape Inc. According to Wohlers Report 2012, Stratasys had a 41.5 percent market share in 2011, and has been the unit market leader for the tenth consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM®) process. The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds 380 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business and industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com
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Fused Deposition Modeling is a trademark, and Stratasys FDM, Fortus, Dimension, uPrint, Mojo and RedEye are registered trademarks of Stratasys Inc.
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