Spee3D, a global additive manufacturing company, entered into a strategic partnership with the RusselSmith company to bring Spee3D's cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) solution to West Africa.
RusselSmith is a leading integrated energy solutions provider focusing on sustainable, innovative technology solutions.
As part of the agreement, they will become a regional partner and value-added reseller for Spee3D products – deploying, training, selling, and supporting customers in the region's oil and gas, defense, and commercial industries.
In addition, RusselSmith has purchased a WarpSpee3D printer to become a strategic sourcing partner to produce cold spray metal parts in Africa. The WarpSpee3D uses patented Spee3D technology, which enables significantly faster and more scalable production than traditional manufacturing. It builds parts up to 40 kg – or 88 lbs. – with a diameter up to 1m x .7m – or 40" x 30" – in hours versus days. This rapid speed transforms metal printing into an on-demand manufacturing solution.
Nigeria reportedly has one of the region's most vibrant energy sectors, including oil and gas. The company said. However, the industry is challenged with sustaining and maintaining equipment on aging assets due to supply chain issues and difficulty procuring legacy parts, causing significant operational delays.
Spee3D and RusselSmith intend to fill the gap between needed and available parts by manufacturing them locally, helping companies improve their operations and reduce costs. RusselSmith is the only organization qualified by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to deploy industrial non-metallic additive manufacturing solutions in the oil and gas industry. RusselSmith was also recently inducted into the Additive Manufacturing Green Trade Association (AMTGA) and is currently the only African member company.
"Spee3D is committed to the growth and development of additive manufacturing globally, and we're thrilled to bring our cold spray additive manufacturing solution to West Africa," said Byron Kennedy, CEO of Spee3D. "Partnering with RusselSmith is a huge win for us – they are a respected leader bringing the latest additive manufacturing technologies to the region and helping solve major supply chain issues for the oil and gas and defense and other commercial industries. Together, we will not only bring the WarpSpee3D printer to the region, but their support as a value-added reseller will ensure customers will have the sales, support, and training they need for all of our technology."
"In response to prevailing challenges in the supply chain of legacy parts in Nigeria and across the continent, RusselSmith has set out to promote the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in Africa to produce vital spare parts for the energy sector and other industries. We are building our capacity by developing a robust additive manufacturing ecosystem through deliberate investments and strategic partnerships with world-class additive manufacturing companies," said Kayode Adeleke, CEO of RusselSmith.
"Our partnership with Spee3D is a game changer for us – they are the leader in advanced metal additive manufacturing technology using their patented cold spray technology. This partnership enables us to rapidly manufacture high-quality parts on demand, locally and sustainably, leveraging the innovative cold spray technology to improve our customers' operational uptime. Our focus at RusselSmith is to be Africa's leading provider of advanced digital and deployable additive manufacturing solutions for enhancing operational efficiency on the continent, and we aim to achieve that 'one part at a time.'"
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