Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing expands with new leadership, 3D printers and facility construction

Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing (KAM), a hybrid manufacturing company using 3D printing technologies based in North Carolina, has announced a host of updates as part of a new significant expansion.

The company has made new additions to its leadership team, including the hiring of John Murray, who will act as president of KAM. Furthermore, the company has made additional investments in equipment, and announced it has begun constructing a new state-of-the-art engineering center. With the expansion, the company is aiming to become an “industry leader in North America”, with CEO Brad Keselowski explaining: “We’ve moved really fast as a company. From the time we opened our doors a year ago to now, the momentum has never let up and I don’t expect it to any time soon.”

“Our fast-paced growth and the investment strategies across all of our resources is laying the foundation for us to scale up in the additive industry on a level that no one in the marketplace has done yet.”

Driving additive manufacturing forward

KAM is founded by Brad Keselowski, a professional racing driver and NASCAR champion. Keselowski unveiled KAM in January 2019, with an investment of over $10 million from the driver to start the company. Using combination of both 3D printing and CNC machining, KAM aims to “jumpstart the next industrial revolution” while operating from a 70,000 square-foot facility, which also features powder analysis tools, post-processing equipment, a metallurgical laboratory and scanning services. The model combining the different manufacturing processes aims to enable custom solutions and hybrid builds.

Keselowski has been a longstanding advocate for additive manufacturing in automotive, and recently spoke on his experiences with the technology from the driver’s seat at AMUG 2019. Speaking with Industry, Keselowski commented “Additive Manufacturing is all about unleashing the potential of the design engineers,”

“With additive, although design freedoms are not infinite, these freedoms are significantly greater than traditional means of manufacturing.”

Expanding towards vertical integration

KAM’s new president, John Murray, will be tasked with overseeing the global business development of the company, as well as the expansion of its technical capabilities. Murray has been involved in pushing additive manufacturing forward in European and U.S. motorsports segments since the late 1990s, with his work impacting the design and testing of F1 race cars, making him a perfect fit within the ethos of KAM.

Culminating over 25 years of experience in digital design, rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, Keselowski is positive that Murray’s knowledge and leadership acumen can help move KAM forward: “The addition of John Murray to our team elevates us to the next level,” said Keselowski. “His leadership, combined with our latest growth investments enhance our vision of quality, speed and innovation through our people and resources.”

As well as the strengthening of its leadership team, KAM has also made several equipment investments in the last three months, including the addition of two new metal 3D printers (aluminum and Inconel). It has also expanded its measurement and test capabilities with a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and a tensile strength tester, as well as adding a CNC precision saw for increased additive part removal and subtractive capabilities. Simultaneously, the company has commenced construction of its new facility, which is targeted to be finished in Q3 of 2019. With the new engineering center, KAM is aiming to increase the effectiveness of its investments in engineering resources, engineering software platforms, simulations tools and product development.

These investments across the company contribute to its business model of vertical integration, aiming to provide a total solution for KAM’s customers looking to complete a manufacturing job in-house without outsourcing parts across multiple shops.

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