Oerlikon is growing its manufacturing footprint in the United States.
On May 31, 2019, the Swiss company officially opened a new base of operations for its additive manufacturing (AM) business at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Huntersville, North Carolina.
The company invested $55 million in the Innovation Hub & Advanced Component Production facility. The site currently employs about 60 people, but the company noted that new positions will become available as the business grows.
The 125,000 square-foot R&D and production facility provides rapid prototyping services as well as metal and plastic 3D printing capabilities. The shop has 40,000 square feet dedicated to various additive manufacturing technologies and 40,000 square feet set for post-processing.
The new AM hub is the company’s second location in North Carolina. Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers business unit is in Charlotte. The textile mill, which produces man-made fibers, specifically carpet yarn systems, is about 25 miles south of the new facility.
The company currently employs approximately 1,300 people across 18 states, but has plans to expand further. Oerlikon has invested $400 million in the U.S. over the past five years, and expects to spend another $200 million over three years, creating an estimated 400 new jobs in the process.
In a statement, Dr. Sven Hicken, who heads up Oerlikon’s AM business, said that the company is currently working with partners in the aerospace, automotive, energy and medical industries. He said that the company anticipates continued growth in the markets as well as others.
Oerlikon AM employs roughly 300 people across six production sites and five service centers and in Europe, the U.S. and China. Overall, Oerlikon employs about 10,500 employees in 37 countries.
The parent company specializes in everything from advanced materials and materials processing to equipment and surface solutions.
According to the company, it generated the equivalent to $2.6 billion in sales in 2018. Of that, it invested nearly $120 million in R&D.