DC Velocity - November 2016

newsworthy

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., CONTINUING TO BUY its way into the supply chain technology space, has acquired a 75-percent stake in Concept Laser GmbH, a German three-dimensional (3-D) printing company, for nearly $600 million. The deal allows Boston-based GE to take full control of Concept Laser within an undetermined number of years.

The move comes six weeks after GE acquired the rail shipment reporting company ShipXpress Inc. in an effort to expand its presence in the supply chain software segment. GE is undergoing a massive transformation from a traditional industrial concern to what it calls a “digital industrial” company that will integrate information technology into its manufacturing processes. GE has said it hopes to be a top 10 software company by 2020.

Concept Laser specializes in the branch of

3-D printing known as metal additive manufacturing. The firm designs and manufactures powder-bed–based laser additive manufacturing machines for customers in the aerospace, medical, and dental industries as well as the automotive and jewelry sectors. The company is headquartered in Lichtenfels, Germany, with additional offices in China and U.S. operations in Grapevine, Texas.

The acquisition of Concept Laser aligns with GE’s existing strategy of extending the use of 3-D printed parts in its industrial equipment, GE said. Earlier this year, GE Aviation introduced its first additive jet engine component into airline service when it began using 3-D printers to make the complex fuel-noz-zle interiors for its LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) jet engine.

Once the Concept Laser deal closes, GE said it
will make significant investments in Lichtenfels,
which will remain Concept Laser’s headquarters and
become a new German center for GE.

“GE shares our vision regarding the potential for additive manufacturing to lead the digital transformation of industrial production,” Concept Laser founder and CEO Frank Herzog said in a statement. Herzog will continue as CEO of Concept Laser after the deal closes and will assume a senior leadership position within GE.

“Concept Laser machines are being used by leading
manufacturers of medi-
cal, aerospace, and den-
tal components in series
production as well as for
prototyping and design,”
Herzog said. “We are hit-
ting an inflection point
in demand as customers
increasingly understand
the possibilities that addi-
tive manufacturing pres-
ents and the technology
advances to be able to turn
these possibilities into reality. With GE’s broader
investment into additive manufacturing, we believe
that this process will only accelerate.”
At the same time, GE said it had scrapped a pro-
posal to buy SLM Solutions Group GmbH, another
German 3-D printing firm, after failing to receive
sufficient backing from GE shareholders.

“GE was very aware of Concept Laser for a long time but knew the management of SLM better because we are a large SLM customer,” said Rick Kennedy, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based GE Aviation, in an e-mail. “We began discussing the Concept Laser [deal] with Mr. Herzog [in September], while the SLM tender offer was transpiring. You enter [these] discussions and transactions not quite knowing the outcome.”