Nov 21, 2017 | By Benedict
Japan’s Sojitz Corporation and Koiwai Co., Ltd. have established JAMPT Corporation, a new company that will mass produce and sell metal 3D printed products. The company will be the first in Japan to offer a “one-stop” metal additive manufacturing service.
Back in 2014, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established the “Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing (TRAFAM)” to ensure that Japan kept up with its international competitors in the field of additive manufacturing. Many governments around the world have taken similar steps, having seen the benefits that 3D printing can bring to the economy.
Excitingly, we’re now starting to see the results of TRAFAM. Sojitz, a supporting member of TRAFAM, and Koiwai, an association member, have just formed a new 3D printing company that will provide the Japanese market with a “one-stop” metal additive manufacturing service, spanning metal powder production, product development, and support for companies seeking product certification.
The company is called JAMPT Corporation, and it’s already bringing in some experience from the world of 3D printing. Akihiko Chiba, professor at the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University, has joined JAMPT as a technical advisor, and will bring experience from his role as project leader of TRAFAM’s electron beam system.
The company will also be cooperating directly with Chiba’s university, since Sojitz is partnering with TRAFAM and the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University to “further develop and expand” certain additive manufacturing technologies. A venture fund at the university is also considering investing in the newly formed JAMPT Corporation.
Sojitz and Koiwai will split the JAMPT workload fairly evenly, though Sojitz owns two thirds of the new company and Koiwai one third.
Sojitz, a Tokyo-based general trading company with a huge network scope and wide-ranging business knowledge, will primarily look to expand JAMPT as a business, taking care metal powder sales and 3D printed product sales. Sojitz has around 14,000 employees and 440 subsidiaries both in Japan and worldwide, working in aerospace, oil and gas, chemicals, food, and other areas, and has a net income of 36.5 billion yen ($325 million).
Sojitz will also collaborate with Miyagi Prefecture—the under-construction site of JAMPT’s new manufacturing facility—and Tohoku University, while working to expand the metal 3D printing market from its Miyagi-based production plant.
Kowai, on the other hand, will take a more technical angle. The company, which in 2012 became the first Japanese business to receive an order for a 3D printed metal product, has experience in rapid prototyping and laminated sand casting, and will use its technological experience to develop JAMPT’s 3D printing capabilities.
By the year 2025, JAMPT hopes to reach sales of 100 billion yen ($889 million) and become a world leader in metal additive manufacturing. Its forthcoming production plant in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture will be used to carry out operations, which are expected to begin in July 2018.
240 million yen ($2.1 million) has been put into JAMPT, and there are plans to increase this figure to 810 million ($7.2 million) by February 2018.
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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