On Friday, March 20, EOS Founder and CEO Dr. Hans J. Langer welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai and his delegation at their Technology and Customer Center headquartered in Krailling near Munich, Germany. Dr. Hans J. Langer provided the delegation with a comprehensive introduction to EOS as a company and to industrial 3D Printing application examples in a variety of industries. Together, the CEO and the delegation visited the company's showrooms to talk about the company's top-selling polymer and their metal AM technology.
According to Dr. Hans J. Langer, "We are very honored by Vice Premier Ma Kai's visit and look forward to further intensifying our business relationships with potential local customers and partners as well as strengthening the dialogue with the Chinese government. EOS has a clear commitment to China which is one of our key growth markets. Over the last five years, we were able to grow our installed base from 10 systems back in 2010 to over 130 in 2015. Over the coming five years we expect a continued and substantial growth of the number of installed systems in this region." He continued, saying, "We also see a clear commitment to this technology by the Chinese government. Additive Manufacturing is a driver for change for the Chinese manufacturing world and as such supports China's evolution from a mostly factory-based economy to one built on high-end and high-tech manufacturing."
EOS has been doing business with China and in China for some time now. In 2013, EOS opened up a new office and technology center in Shanghai, in order to provide quicker support services to Chinese customers.
Jack Wu is the Regional Manager in China, and he oversees the different services EOS is offering in China: training, building of benchmarks, machine installation, maintenance and repair as well as technology demonstration. The technology center features EOS metal and polymer and AM systems, including the EOS M 290, EOS P 396 and FORMIGA P 110.
EOS has service offices in Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen and clearly sees the greatest market potential for it's machines and services in the aerospace, medical and tooling industries. Since China is pretty much the epicenter of traditional manufacturing, EOS is poised to absorb a nice part of the additive manufacturing market there by introducing machines and services. Reducing R&D times, weight, manufacturing costs and cycle times in nation in the midst of a 21st century industrial revolution is a no-brainer. And EOS has a scalable and modular portfolio-systems, software, materials, material development and services (maintenance, training, consulting)-that China must be a playground for testing the demand as well as the effectiveness of additive manufacturing as a cost effective replacement for conventional manufacturing along lengthy and intricate supply chains.