MANUFACTURING OUTLOOK
How will the events of 2020
impact the future of manufacturing?
Damien Marc
CEO
JPB Système
As the CEO of a
manufacturing
company, 2020 has
certainly provided the
opportunity to ponder as
we gradually edge closer
to the end of the year and like
many, we continue to endure tough times.
The aerospace industry, where we do the
bulk of our work, was hit particularly hard,
and there remains a degree of uncertainty as
to exactly when things will bounce back to
where they were pre-COVID-19.
A global crisis on this scale is something
that companies can never properly prepare
for, but we’ve certainly found that it helps to
have wider opportunities available thanks to
a degree of dynamism across our solutions
“2020 has reminded us of the
importance to never cease
exploring new areas of industry”
stable. At JPB Système, innovation has always
been central to our vision and a constant
strategic driver to grow our business. We have
recently diversifi ed our o ering to explore a
new technology proposition for new markets,
while also extending the reach of certain
‘heritage’ products beyond aerospace and into
the unchartered territory of new sectors.
So, from our perspective, 2020 has
reminded us of the importance to always
spread one’s wings and never cease exploring
new areas of industry. While this in itself might
not shape the future of manufacturing per se,
2020 could perhaps see some change within
the mindset of manufacturers insofar as reassessing
solutions o erings to lessen existing
dependency and ensure all opportunities are
seized.
Carlos Zwikker
Chief commercial o cer
AM-Flow
In 2020, COVID-19 highlighted how vulnerable
global supply chains can be in the event of a
crisis. It has done so in two ways. The overall
unpredictability of the global market has caused
companies to review their dependencies on
decentralised production, and to look into
local production solutions to increase their
resilience in the market. At the same time,
given the way in which it addressed and eased
certain supply chain woes – especially insofar
as rapid production and delivery of vital PPE –
additive manufacturing increased its standing
as a serious alternative to existing production
methods. Companies are increasingly deploying
additive manufacturing in traditional production
environments to provide the speed, and fl exibility
required to grow business and increase
resiliency in an ever-changing and
uncertain world.
One area AM environments are
investing in is enhancing the quality
of their additive manufacturing
credentials, especially in terms
of repeatable processes with
predictable outcome, and quality
output in the market. Importantly for
AM-Flow, companies are looking to
bring down cost-per-part and shorten
lead-times. Our main aim as a business is
to address these (d)e ciencies, which is a part of
the bigger, overall manufacturing equation, but is
becoming more and more essential as a result of
this shift in mindset.
There is still a long way to go until additive
manufacturing is on a level playing fi eld with
traditional manufacturing, but I think we’ll
continue to see huge strides taken. 2021 will
represent how the market reacts to the ‘black
swan’ of COVID-19 insofar as what steps are
taken by manufacturers to improve agility and
minimise the impact of any similar such crisis in
the future.
“AM increased its standing as a
serious alternative to existing
production methods. ”
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