Signing a joint venture letter of intent today, Wilhelmsen’s Marine Products division and thyssenkrupp aim to re-examine and optimize the production and delivery process of 3D printed spare parts for the unique demands of the maritime market.

Utilizing thyssenkrupp’s deep expertise in additive manufacturing, alongside Wilhelmsen’s long standing maritime service and supply know-how, the maritime company’s recent experiences from its 3DP Early Adopter Program will be an important steppingstone for the new venture.

The program, where customers have exclusive access to on-demand additive manufacturing was launched by Wilhelmsen’s Marine Products division in December 2019. Customers include Berge Bulk, Carnival Maritime, Thome Ship Management, OSM Maritime Group, Executive Ship Management and Wilhelmsen Ship Management.

Based on current data, the maritime industry spends billions of dollars every year on spare parts; with 50% of these vessels are older than 15 years, availability of parts are limited. This makes fulfillment of orders for maritime spare parts costly and complicated, and in fact, the supply chain overheads involved may often far outstrip the cost of the part itself. Moreover, traditional manufacturing processes such as machining and casting often involve long lead-times stretching into months. The traditional model of manufacturing and distribution of spare parts has largely remained unchallenged for decades, until now.

“We are very excited to enter the next phase of our 3D printing journey, hand in hand with thyssenkrupp. With this joint venture we believe we will take the lead as the defacto supplier of 3D printed maritime spare parts, continuing to bring the benefits of AM technology to shipping companies by reducing the cost of spare parts, lead times and environmental footprint”, says Hakon Ellekjaer, Head of Venture, 3D Printing, Wilhelmsen.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D Printing, disrupts the costly and time-consuming spare parts status quo, as suitable components are fabricated near the vessel location in a matter of weeks, sometimes days.

“We are already seeing a very positive response from our maritime customers on the additive manufacturing adoption,” shared Abhinav Singhal, Director of thyssenkrupp Innovations. “They are realising the benefits from faster lead times, reduced costs and having more resilience in their spare parts supply chain. This is going to be a true gamechanger for the maritime industry and we are proud to offer it alongside Wilhelmsen.”

The joint venture will position Wilhelmsen and thyssenkrupp as leaders in the maritime AM fulfillment platform, offering a customized, on demand, and more efficient process of obtaining selected spare parts. Expected to be headquartered in Singapore, it will serve the key port locations around the world. In addition to the collaboration with thyssenkrupp, Wilhelmsen continue to work with additive manufacturing company Ivaldi Group on a number of 3D printing software applications.