NEWS LASERS IN ACTION
GE TO ACQUIRE CONCEPT LASER FOR €549 MILLION
American digital industrial giant General Electric (GE) has announced it will acquire a 75 per cent stake in German additive manufacturing (AM) systems expert Concept Laser for €549 million. The move will allow GE to gain full ownership of the company in the near future. The acquisition sets the stage for GE to sell
additive manufacturing equipment across several industries. It comes after GE planned to invest €1.28 billion in AM companies Arcam and SLM Solutions; the SLM deal subsequently fell through on 24 October when GE’s offer to purchase at least 75 per cent of SLM’s outstanding shares expired. Both the failed and successful acquisitions of
SLM and Concept Laser respectively are the result of GE’s intentions to broaden its existing material science and additive manufacturing capabilities. GE is a multinational conglomerate and a
large end user and innovator of AM technology, with additive applications developed across six of its businesses, and €1.37 billion of its investments having been directed towards manufacturing and additive technologies since 2010. ‘Additive manufacturing is a key part of GE’s
evolution into a digital industrial company,’ said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE. ‘We are poised not only to benefit from this movement as a customer, but spearhead it as a leading supplier. Additive manufacturing will drive new levels of productivity for GE, our customers – including a wide array of additive manufacturing customers – and for the industrial world.’ Privately-owned Concept Laser designs and
manufacturers powder bed-based laser AM machines. Headquartered in Lichtenfels, Germany, the company employs more than 200 staff worldwide, with established operations in America, China, and a global network of more than 35 distributors and agents. Its customer base is focused on the aerospace, medical and dental industries, with a meaningful presence in automotive and jewellery. Concept Laser has worked extensively with
accelerated growth for Concept Laser, having reported a 54 per cent increase in turnover last March, along with a 67 per cent increase in staff. Significant investments from GE will be
manufacturing is a key part of GE’s evolution into a digital industrial company
Additive
Airbus, starting series production of 3D-printed titanium parts for Airbus aircraft earlier in the year. GE’s acquisition comes at a time of
Laser tool to cut trapped passengers from car wrecks
Investigations are being made into building a mobile laser unit for rescuing passengers trapped in car wrecks. The laser will be used where standard equipment would fail to cut through the high strength materials from which modern cars are made. The unit is being developed by a
collaboration of 15 organisations, including Laser Zentrum Hannover and Coherent. Falling traffic fatality rates over
the past 25 years can be attributed to the use of high tensile steel and high strength composite materials
in modern cars. The higher vehicle stability achieved by using these materials, however, can be a problem in the event of an accident where a passenger becomes trapped in wreckage. Rescue tools that are currently available, such as power, plasma or hydraulic cutters take a lot of time to cut through the high strength materials, or even fail in certain cases. The compact laser unit is
intended to be used when conventional rescue tools are insufficient on their own. With the
new system, it will be possible to cut modern materials in a short time, or simply broach them so that they can be cut faster with conventional tools. The collaboration will also
investigate whether the safety of using lasers at the site of an accident can be guaranteed. The project is being sponsored
by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the scope of the programme ‘Civil safety – innovative rescue and safety systems’, which runs until October 2019.
directed towards the Lichtenfels headquarters to support the potential growth of Concept Laser. The site will continue to serve as the company’s headquarters, while also becoming a new German centre for GE. Concept Laser’s management and employees will be retained, with Concept’s founder and CEO Frank Herzog undertaking an additional senior leadership position within GE. ‘GE shares our vision regarding
the potential for additive manufacturing to lead the digital transformation of industrial production,’ commented Herzog. ‘We are delighted that together we will be able to accelerate development of the technology to the benefit of our customers. We
have some exciting new product offerings due to come to market, including our innovative AM Factory of Tomorrow modular concepts, and with GE’s support we will be at the centre of Industry 4.0.’
The laser unit will be used to rescue passengers trapped in high-strength steel car wrecks
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LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 33 • WINTER 2016
@lasersystemsmag |
www.lasersystemseurope.com
LZH
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