Who Owns GE Additive?

GE Additive's history begins with General Electric's strategic decision in 2016 to build a major position in industrial additive manufacturing, which GE's leadership believed would transform manufacturing across aerospace, medical, and industrial sectors. Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, builds parts layer by layer from digital designs, enabling the production of complex geometries that cannot be manufactured by traditional subtractive machining methods.

In September 2016, General Electric announced two simultaneous acquisitions to build its additive manufacturing platform. The first was the acquisition of Arcam AB, a Swedish company that pioneered electron beam melting (EBM) technology for metal additive manufacturing. Arcam's EBM technology uses an electron beam to selectively melt metal powder in a vacuum, producing dense metal parts with excellent material properties. GE acquired Arcam for approximately 1.4 billion Swedish kronor (approximately $155 million).

The second acquisition was Concept Laser, a German company that developed laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, also known as direct metal laser melting (DMLM). Concept Laser's technology uses one or more lasers to selectively melt metal powder in a controlled atmosphere, producing highly accurate metal parts. GE acquired a majority stake in Concept Laser for approximately 600 million euros.

These two acquisitions gave GE Additive two complementary metal additive manufacturing technologies: EBM (from Arcam) for high-volume production of titanium and other reactive metals, and LPBF (from Concept Laser) for high-accuracy production of a wide range of metal alloys. GE formally established GE Additive as a business unit in 2016 to house these acquired companies and to develop additive manufacturing capabilities for GE's own manufacturing operations and for external customers.

GE Additive served two primary markets: the external market (selling additive manufacturing machines and materials to aerospace, medical, automotive, and industrial manufacturers) and the internal market (supporting GE's own manufacturing operations, particularly GE Aviation's production of fuel nozzles and other complex aerospace components using additive manufacturing).

GE Aviation had been an early adopter of additive manufacturing, using the technology to produce fuel nozzles for the LEAP jet engine that were 25 percent lighter and five times more durable than conventionally manufactured nozzles. This internal application demonstrated the transformative potential of additive manufacturing for aerospace production and provided a strong use case for GE Additive's technology.

Throughout the late 2010s, GE Additive expanded its product portfolio, developing new additive manufacturing machines with larger build volumes, higher productivity, and improved material capabilities. The division also developed additive manufacturing materials (metal powders) and software for additive manufacturing process design and simulation.

However, the industrial additive manufacturing market proved more challenging than GE had anticipated. The adoption of additive manufacturing for production applications grew more slowly than expected, as manufacturers faced challenges with part qualification, process repeatability, and the economics of additive manufacturing compared to conventional manufacturing methods. GE Additive's revenues and profitability fell short of initial expectations.

In 2024, GE Aerospace announced the divestiture of GE Additive as part of its strategy to focus exclusively on aerospace propulsion and systems. GE Aerospace sold GE Additive to Colibrium Additive, a company formed by Francisco Partners to acquire and operate the business. The transaction closed in 2024, and the business was rebranded as Colibrium Additive.