Alloyed and NTT DATA XAM partner to grow AM business in Japan
Alloyed, a UK-based digital metal solutions company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NTT DATA XAM Technologies (XAM), a newly formed Japan-based additive manufacturing company. Together, the companies will seek to establish an AM business venture in Japan.
Alloyed was formed in 2019 and is the product of a merger between OxMet Technologies, an Oxford-based alloys development group, and Betatype, a London-based design engineering firm. XAM, for its part, was founded in 2020 and specializes in a broad range of AM services, including machine sales, technical support, AM consulting, application development, materials development, contract manufacturing and more.
Following the MoU, both companies will work together to leverage Alloyed’s suite of technologies for AM—including the ABD alloy design and development program and Betatype’s stack of process and design control systems—to extract transformational cost and performance improvements from additive components. The overarching goal of the partnership is to unlock the full potential of AM in a range of industries.
Alloyed has had its eye on the Japanese market for some time: in January, the company completed a £10.7m equity round which saw investments from Japan-based JX Mining and Metals. The company also opened an office in Tokyo in April 2020, to position itself for growth in the country and to support its existing customers.
The MoU will effectively see NTT Data Engineering Systems (NDES) become a preferred manufacturer for parts made from Alloyed’s ABD-900AM and other ABD alloys. Both companies will also work together to offer fine-featured 3D printed parts to a range of Japanese markets.
“OxMet Technologies and Betatype are leading European companies in the area of advanced material and advanced engineering for the Additive Manufacturing field and we are truly honored to be able to establish collaboration with Alloyed including these two leading edge companies while the expectations for additive manufacturing are getting higher in Japan,” said Hitoshi Sakai, CTO of NTT DATA XAM TECHNOLOGIES. “Although AM remains developing technology, we are expecting that the joint and collaborative application of the competitive advantages of each company– Material knowledge, Process knowhow, Engineering skill – can create a new era of applications which fulfil the maximum potential of additive manufacturing.
Michael Holmes, CEO of Alloyed, added of the partnership: “We have been seeking a dynamic partner with broad market access with whom we could collaborate in Japan, and NDES has the ideal attributes: an ambitious management team with strong corporate backing, extensive experience in additive manufacture, a range of industrial customers and strong connections in many of the industries in which we think additive manufacturing has revolutionary potential. Together, we hope we can fulfil the potential of additive manufacture to bring game-changing performance enhancements, more responsive supply chains, huge potential for customization, and rapid product development to a range of 21st century industries.”
