Taiyo Nippon Sanso (TNSC) invested in Optomec which is a 3D printer manufacturer in New Mexico, the US and acquired the global marketing rights of the products. 　

Optemec which had been established in 1997 developed Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) System (product name) and has rapidly grown the presence in the 3D metal printer market.

They say the product employs the Laser Metal Deposition system which melts and laminates　 any optional part by irradiation of powdery metal and laser simultaneously. It is said to have a forte in the production or repair of complicated parts.

TNSC comments “The product sells growingly in the fields of automobile industries and machinery producers. We would like to approach for expansion the town factories which suffer the lack of successors to take over complicated techniques or skills.”

In future TNSC is planning to take advantage of its own welding process and gas application technologies of metal treatment so that they can be applied to the solution of issues of cost reduction or production rationalization among the customers using 3D metal printers. Along with the sale of the product, the company intends to focus on the industrial gas business for these fields and aims for the sales of 1 billion yen in the business by 2020.　

For information, in January 2016 TNSC also invested in SulfaTrap of desulfurizing agent developer in Colorado, US and in March of the same year invested similarly in a venture company like Jilin OLED of organic EL material producer located in Changchun of Jilin Province, China.