LPW Technology to Use Stratasys Investment to Develop AM Metal Powder Solutions

Stratasys Ltd. has invested in LPW Technology, a provider of metal powders and powder management systems.

LPW remains majority owned by founder and CEO, Dr. Phil Carroll, and he will continue to lead the business, supported by LPW’s independent management team, according to the company. The Stratasys investment represents the first consolidated partnership arrangement in LPW’s approach of developing close working relationships with companies in the 3D printing marketplace.

LPW offers metal powders for additive manufacturing processes as well as PowderLife: an intelligent powder management system that enables the traceability and management of metal powder batches throughout their lifecycle. It provides material history tracing and close monitoring to ensure the powders stay within manufacturers’ specifications and meet their production requirements.

PowderLife is designed to comply with the quality requirements of the aerospace, defense, automotive and medical-implant industries. PowderLife products can be deployed at a customer’s facility, helping the customer control and recondition powders. Alternatively, used powder can be sent to LPW for reprocessing before being returned to the customer for re-use in the additive manufacturing system.

LPW plans to invest more than $24 million over the next two years on establishing new facilities in both the UK and U.S. to further develop PowderLife and other processing solutions, according to Dr. Carroll.

“We have worked with Stratasys through its parts-on-demand unit, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, for over three years,” he says. “We recognize that it, together with the Stratasys solution business units, brings deep understanding and experience in production across the vertical markets. They will help us realize our strategic growth plans to ensure the LPW solutions meets the requirements of the medical, aerospace, defense and automotive segments.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company.