Arcam is focusing hard on being close to potential customers, and their efforts have given indisputable results.

“I don´t know of any other company of our size in the Göteborg area that is as active internationally as we are," says Arcam´s CEO Magnus René, and he mentions innumerable trade fairs and conferences in which the company has taken part.  

Exapansion to meet needs 
The company, which was founded in 1997, is celebrating its tenth year in business. Revenues have increased steadily by over 30 percent a year for the past several years, and have even doubled compared with last year.

In 2006, the company received orders for seventeen systems, and interest in Arcam is growing. The facility at Krokslätts fabriker (an industrial park in the Göteborg region) is being expanded by 700 m2 to a total of 2,000 m2 in order to meet the increase in production that is required. There is now capacity for producing some 70 machines a year.

“The global market is on a level of 1,000 machines in the field of orthopaedic implants alone, and we have sold fifteen machines to date on this market, so we´ll be busy for a while," says Magnus René with an understatement.

NASA and Airbus among customers
In the remodelled plant, customers and employees will pass through the production facility, and large windows in the conference room provide contact with what Magnus René calls the heart of the company. The machines that have been produced are used by customers such as NASA and Airbus, but as Magnus René puts it, “We are an engineering company in the manufacturing industry."

Arcam develops and manufactures machine systems for free-form fabrication of metal components. This is an advanced type of 3D printer in which layers of metal powder are formed by a beam of electrons into the desired shape, straight from the CAD programme.

This method is fast, and since the process takes place in a vacuum, the metal is kept free of impurities. This is of the utmost importance, particularly in the case of medical implants.

Perfectly suited for implants industry
The technology is not industry-specific, but has proven to be a mainstay in the implant industry. Of the twelve systems that were delivered last year, seven of them went to companies producing orthopaedic implants.

“Our technology is well-suited to complex metal components produced in small series. For example, if you produce a series of one hundred components, the cost is the same regardless of whether they are identical or individual. We also happen to be good with titanium, which is of no little interest in this context."

Arcam´s technology has also been used for fabricating implants for skull reconstruction.

Arcam´s first machines came out on the market in 2002 and there are currently some 30 installations in different parts of the world, including the United States, Japan, and Germany. In addition to producing machines, Arcam also provides the aftermarket with service, metal powder, and consumable supplies.

... running a global company from the Göteborg area:
I have previously worked at a company that had 95 percent of its operations in Asia. The company was based in Stockholm and things went well. When considering the ideal location for a company like Arcam, it is essential to be close to well-functioning airports. The fact that there are too few direct routes from Göteborg is a concern. If we are talking in global terms, the major players when it comes to implant fabrication, if we are going to get into that, are in the United States. But we are here. It is good being based in Göteborg region because there is a proud tradition in the field of implants, with our legacy from Brånemark. It is also easy to recruit qualified people here."

 ... growth:
Arcam employs people with many different types of expertise. We want to become stronger in the implant segment and we are looking for people who can work with the international orthopaedics industry, who have broad knowledge of the products and the industry, and who are used to working internationally. We currently have 34 employees, 30 of whom are here in Göteborg.

 ... broadening or deepening the company´s scope:
At present, our primary focus is on two areas: chiefly on the medical sector with implants on the one hand, and in aerospace and racing on the other. Racing cars have many similarities with planes. However, we will also work to broaden our scope in the future. Our technology is not linked to any one industry, and our objective is for equipment from Arcam to be a natural part of the machinery used by manufacturing companies, regardless of the type of business they are in.