Wayland Additive secures £4.6 million in funding

Wayland Additive Limited, a West Yorkshire-based company pushing the boundaries of electron beam 3D printing, has recently closed a £4.6 million funding round, with backing from existing investors Longwall Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, and ACF Investors. Strategic investor Metrea Discovery has also joined the round as a new supporter.

Wayland Additive manufactures and sells its Calibur3 metal AM machines to end-users who require high precision and complex components – often made from advanced metal alloys – in areas such as the aerospace, mining, and medical industries. The Calibur3 features the Neubeam process which delivers on all of the advantages of metal electron beam (eBeam) technology while overcoming the troublesome issues that have traditionally limited wider adoption. Wayland’s customers include the Royal Air Force (UK), and Exergy Solutions (Canada).

Wayland’s machines allow customers to print highly specialized ‘super materials’, like the world’s hardest steel or tungsten – remotely, and on-demand – eradicating the issue of downtime caused by spare part shortages. These materials, which can be used in high-temperature and high-wear applications, also enable the development of new downstream technologies in a wide range of industries.

The company draws upon Yorkshire’s strong heritage in metallurgy – offering a local supply base for the business as well as the ability to recruit from a talent base already well-equipped with manufacturing engineering skills.

Wayland will use the funding to increase its in-house production capabilities – to deliver more machines and materials to customers. On the continuum between ‘make to order’ and ‘buy off-the-shelf‘, the company is moving significantly towards the latter through a concerted focus on mitigating supply chain issues, which should reduce order-to-delivery to a matter of a couple of months. The investment will also go towards further hiring, in particular the recruitment of a COO, as well as supporting further research and development.

“Since our last funding round, we have formally launched our machines into the market and are already seeing considerable traction, with demand from across the globe. By providing bespoke additive manufacturing to our customers, we can play a pivotal role in streamlining their operations and give them the tools to unlock their potential, with high-value components at the touch of a button. It’s great to have our existing investors continuing to support us as we grow, as well as new strategic investor Metrea. We are excited by the prospect of bringing our machines to businesses who need them around the world and this investment will supercharge that mission,” said Will Richardson, CEO of Wayland Additive.

“Wayland continues to move from strength to strength and is a leading light of Yorkshire’s business community. Through its machines, Wayland is pioneering the next generation of additive manufacturing, opening up new applications and unlocking new materials. We are delighted to be continuing to support this ingenious team on the next stage of their growth journey. Their leadership in the market is well earned,” said Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors.

“We are delighted to continue supporting the Wayland team – their ingenuity and hard work has resulted in a great product. The Wayland product enables customers to 3D print objects in materials that were not previously possible, and it is great to see this technology now being used by customers. We also appreciate having ACF Investors as co-investors because they have been pragmatic and supportive from day one,” said David Denny, Partner at Longwall Ventures.