GHENT, Belgium, March 13, 2023 – Oqton, a software provider helping manufacturers increase innovation and efficiency by intelligently automating production and Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, will form a technical and commercial software development agreement. The agreement will bring together the two companies’ engineering expertise and knowledge of manufacturing to develop an industrial digital ecosystem that will transform how manufacturers bring their products to market in highly regulated industries such as energy, aerospace, and healthcare. The solution is intended to accelerate the design and production of additively manufactured parts across the entire manufacturing workflow to increase efficiency and facilitate regulatory compliance.
Oqton, a wholly-owned, independently operated subsidiary of 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD), is recognized as a leader in helping companies unify engineering and production with its intelligent Manufacturing OS (MOS). This technology-neutral, hardware-agnostic software platform connects manufacturers’ applications and machines across multiple sites enabling companies to track every action with a digital thread for complete traceability and visibility from order to delivery.
As part of the development partnership, Baker Hughes is integrating Oqton’s Manufacturing OS into its workflow, including its own proprietary additive manufacturing solutions developed for vertical applications over the last decade. Combining Oqton’s autonomous approach to manufacturing and Baker Hughes’ expertise in the development and introduction of production processes into highly regulated industrial environments will enable the companies to create an enhanced additive manufacturing platform for the energy industry. This is intended to serve as the foundation for the companies to develop additional applications and plug-ins that will become part of the Oqton Manufacturing OS and open new markets in additional regulated industries with demanding end-use applications such as aerospace and healthcare.
“We believe that manufacturing is going through its most significant phase of disruption since the first industrial revolution,” said Dr. Ben Schrauwen, SVP and general manager, Oqton. “Our mission is to accelerate making autonomous manufacturing accessible to companies of all sizes, enabling the continuous flexibility and adaptability of manufacturing processes. Through this collaboration, we see the potential to make a significant leap forward in enhancing our Manufacturing OS by leveraging the expertise of Baker Hughes’ engineering team to accelerate the manufacturing workflow and facilitate regulatory compliance.”
“As an energy technology company, Baker Hughes is fully committed to the development of the most advanced technologies looking for more efficient, more reliable, and cleaner energy solutions,” said Jim Sessions, vice president for completions and well interventions at Baker Hughes. “Digital transformation is the center of gravity in the advanced manufacturing process. We believe that to achieve an efficient and reliable process we need to enable automation and autonomous controls in our end-to-end manufacturing workflows. We are transforming how the industry works today and in the future.”
“As an energy technology company, Baker Hughes believes in the power of digital enablement to improve operations and support a more sustainable energy industry,” said Jim Apostolides, senior vice president of enterprise operational excellence at Baker Hughes. “Our agreement with Oqton will support the industrialization of our additive manufacturing and help drive more intelligent operations for the energy and industrial segments.”
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs, assumptions, and current expectations and may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. Oqton and Baker Hughes undertake no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise.
Oqton accelerates intelligent manufacturing by providing comprehensive software solutions for additive production, 3D scanning, and robotic welding — helping industrial and healthcare organizations drive innovation and efficiency. The company’s additive production software enables complete traceability and visibility across an organization, delivering AI-powered capabilities for image segmentation, additive design, build prep, MES, additive inspection, and simulation. Global manufacturers use Oqton software to automate robotic welding to increase productivity. The company’s industry-leading Geomagic suite is the foundation of 3D scanning solutions for reverse engineering and inspection applications. Oqton is supported by partnerships with machine and scanner vendors, software partners, and ERP/CAD/PLM integrations. For more information, visit www.oqton.com or LinkedIn.