HP has chosen to open its Asia-Pacific Japan (APJ) HQ within Singapore’s thriving National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC). The new S$100 million (equivalent of $74million USD) hub will also be home to the company’s first ever Smart Manufacturing Applications and Research Centre (Smarc), and responsible for boosting HP’s manufacturing processes.
A hub of activity
Mr. S Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Trade & Industry, gave a speech as guest of honor at the center’s grand opening. In the speech, Mr. Iswaran referenced HP’s longstanding partnership with the city-state saying, “Today, Singapore is not only home to HP’s regional HQ, but also host to one of HP’s largest manufacturing sites globally, employing more than 5,000 workers in total.”
Mr. Iswaran also said HP intends to move production of its Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printer printheads to the new site, and participate in Singapore’s Professional Conversation Programme (PCP) to get fresh talent into the industry.
One of the stretch goals of the center is to boost HP manufacturing productivity by 20%.
A S$3.2 billion investment
3D Printing Industry Editor-in-chief, Michael Petch visited NAMIC in November to learn more about emerging additive applications in the area. This year, the cluster has also gained a $1.8million metal 3D printing facility from manufacturing bureau 3D Metalforge, a $13.2 million biomedical facility, and its shipbuilding and marine trade has gained an important boost from the government.
Highlighting the national investment in his speech, Mr. Iswaran says, “The Government has identified Advanced Manufacturing as a key growth area for Singapore, and committed S$3.2 billion to R&D in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering under our Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan,”
“We are also upgrading the skills of our workforce in tandem with the development of new technologies like robotics, additive manufacturing, data analytics and AI.”
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Featured image shows cobots inside HP’s new Smarc. Photo via HP
