CECIMO organizes upcoming additive manufacturing conference in Belgium

Brussels, Belgium - The European Machine Tool Association (CECIMO) is organizing the first Additive Manufacturing European Conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on June 23, 2015. There, representatives from additive manufacturing companies, EU institutions, think tanks, and the machine tools sector will discuss how the full-scale industrialization of additive manufacturing could be achieved in a rapid and cost-effective manner, and how this disruptive technology could help create the highest value for the economy and society.

The speakers' session will tackle additive manufacturing from the perspective of technology, markets, economic development, and sustainability. Confirmed speakers include Jean-Camille Uring, executive board member at FIVES Group and CECIMO president; Bernhard Langefeld, principal of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (Germany); Ezio Basso, managing director at Prima Industrie (Italy); Benjiamin Denayer, senior business developer of additive manufacturing at Sirris - Research Institute (Belgium); and Pat Picariello, director of developmental operations at ASTM International (USA).

During the session that follows, panelists will look into business and regulatory framework conditions in Europe and their impact on the development of additive manufacturing. The discussion will focus on the role of government, industry, academia, and the research community in additive manufacturing development and opportunities provided by pan-European initiatives. Clara de la Torre, directorate-general for research and innovation at the European Commission and Thierry Rayna, a professor at the ESG Management School (France) have already confirmed their participation, and other confirmations are pending.

For more information and to register, please visit www.cecimo.eu. Participation is free, but places are limited.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is identified as one of the major disrupting technologies of the 21st century. It offers a great potential to enable design freedom and the development of complex free-form structures, efficient and accelerated production of customized products, and minimization of material waste. As application fields rapidly expand from prototyping towards direct parts production, its transformative impact is being revealed in all areas of manufacturing: product design, production, supply chain organization, services, and skills. CECIMO is the point of reference in the area of metallic-based additive manufacturing for EU policymakers. It aims to ensure that EU policies and regulations create the right framework conditions for the development of additive manufacturing and contribute to boosting the competitiveness of the European industry as a whole.