BLT reports record FY 2022 revenues of USD 140M, up 66%

Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Co., Ltd (BLT), a leading Chinese integrated solution provider for metal AM, reported that it registered a revenue growth of 66% in FY 2022, with revenues of $140 million USD. This is the company’s strongest year to date, with growth primarily driven by industry solutions of customer-segmented markets. The company says momentum is strong and growth is expected to continue in 2023.

BLT offers overall technical solutions for equipment, printing service, raw materials and technical service, covering aviation, space, energy, industrial tooling, medical and various other fields. By the end of 2022, BLT had delivered thousands of metal 3D printing systems to over twenty countries and various regions around the world.

Last year, BLT launched the large-format BLT-S1000 Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing system. The system has a large 1200 x 600 x 1500 mm build volume and is equipped with eight 500 W lasers as standard, though it can be upgraded to twelve lasers, enabling it to reach speeds of 300 cm³/h.

In addition to metal AM machine production, BLT manufactures titanium and Inconel alloys. The company has established more than 10 powder production lines with 300 tons of yearly capacity. It also provides customized powder products, including the entire array of process services for powder trial production, small batch preparation, printing application verification and mass production.

In 2023, it is expected that China will implement nearly seventy space launches. The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) alone plans to conduct more than sixty space launches and launch more than 200 spacecraft/satellites. China’s aerospace industry is, therefore, driving the development of AM, with metal AM parts moving from the validation phase to serial production. BLT is a major beneficiary of this policy and currently, with a market value of about $2.53 billion, BLT ranks first among the leading publicly traded AM companies worldwide.

To demonstrate these capabilities, BLT recently revealed a metal AM application case for a satellite adaptor. This is an essential load-bearing component of the propulsion system. The adapter for a hydrazine bottle links the fuel storage container for satellite propulsion to the satellite structure. The bracket has an external skin, internal latticework, and a lightweight framework. The BLT-S600 PBF-LB system, which has a maximum build size of 600 mm x 600 mm x 600 mm, was used to make it. The product’s design for and production by AM in aluminum led to a weight reduction of over 60% when compared to traditional forging and casting methods.

Today, BLT has successfully developed 10 models of large, medium and small machines. With comprehensive industry solutions, BLT cooperates and serves thousands, of customers including Airbus, Audi, AECC, COMAC, Huaweii and other industry leaders.