6K Additive, a US manufacturer of metal powders for additive manufacturing and alloy additions for the aluminum melt industry, has appointed Brandon Davis as Chief Operating Officer. He will oversee global operations, including metal powder production and alloy additions, and will report directly to chief executive officer Frank Roberts.
In his new role, the Chief Operating Officer will manage the company’s headquarters in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, along with sites in Hayward, California; Washington, Missouri; Red Lion, Pennsylvania; New Castle, Pennsylvania; and New Cumberland, West Virginia. The appointment was approved by the board of directors. Roberts described the new COO as a manufacturing executive with more than two decades of experience.
“Brandon is a world-class leader with a proven track record of bridging the gap between high-level strategy and factory-floor execution,” said Roberts. “As we continue to expand our capabilities and capacity for defense and commercial applications, Brandon’s expertise in safety and operational excellence will be invaluable to our growth.”
The new chief operating officer joins from Dexter Axle Corporation, where he served as Vice President of the Components Division. During his tenure there, he held full profit and loss responsibility for a $500 million operation, reduced the total case incident rate from 2.0 to 0.13, and increased EBITDA by more than 20%. His previous roles also include serving as President and CEO of EVRAZ Stratcor and leading National Oilwell Varco to an IndustryWeek Best Plants in North America award.
“6K Additive is at the forefront of powder manufacturing revolution for additive manufacturing as well as decades of experience in the alloy additions industry, and I am thrilled to join a team that is redefining how high-performance materials are produced,” said Davis. “My focus will be on streamlining our manufacturing campuses into high-margin, safety-first organizations while accelerating our automation journey to meet the increasing demands of the aerospace, defense, medical, and energy sectors.”
The COO is also a veteran of the United States Army, where he served as a Military Police officer and received the Army Commendation Medal. His appointment adds another senior executive to a company that supplies metal powders for 3D printing as well as alloy additions used in aluminum melt applications. Roberts’ statement linked the hire to planned capacity expansion for defense and commercial work, while Davis’s remarks pointed to automation and plant-level coordination across multiple sites.
Listed on the ASX under ticker 6KA, the Burgettstown-headquartered company produces metal powders from sustainable sources using its UniMelt microwave plasma system. Its portfolio includes nickel, titanium, copper, and refractory powders such as tungsten, rhenium, niobium/C-103, and tantalum. Feedstocks include certified turnings, millings, used additive powder, support material, and failed builds.
Leadership Changes Point to a Broader Push for Scale
Recent executive moves elsewhere in additive manufacturing suggest senior hires are increasingly tied to specific growth priorities rather than routine corporate reshuffling. At Carbon, a product development and manufacturing technology company, Jason Rolland was promoted to chief technology officer after more than 12 years with the business. One of the company’s earliest hires, Rolland built its materials team and co-invented Carbon’s dual-cure resin platform. In his new role, he now leads broader product development and research and development, showing how companies in the sector are formalizing technical leadership as materials, hardware, and software become more tightly linked.
A similar pattern appears on the finance and operations side. Portsmouth-based 3D print contract manufacturer AMufacture appointed Andrew Jameson as chief financial officer while expanding its capabilities, team, and customer base. Backed by Maven Capital and Turner, the company said it increased manufacturing capacity sevenfold over the previous two years. Jameson joined with experience in expansion, investment, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic financial management, indicating that additive manufacturing firms moving beyond prototyping and into larger-scale production are increasingly adding senior executives to manage growth, capacity, and organizational complexity.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
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Featured photo shows Brandon Davis, 6K Additive’s Newly Appointed Chief Operating Officer. Photo via 6K Additive.
