This follows the company's appointment as exclusive distributor within the same markets for AddUp Global Additive Solutions, created in 2016 by two key players in French industry, Michelin and the Fives industrial engineering group, which jointly own the company. 

The venture was born out of Michelin's extensive use of powder-bed additive techniques for producing sipes for moulds, which give tyres their tread patterns, and the company's desire to commercialise its expertise. In September 2015 Michelin partnered with Fives, which brought advanced machine tool design and build experience to the business enterprise. 

Richard Kingsbury, managing director of Geo Kingsbury, commented: "We have created a new Additive Manufacturing division at our offices in the Midlands, headed by Richard Hughes, to operate alongside our Large Prismatic Machines (LPM) and Milling Turning Grinding (MTG) technology divisions.

"We will be looking to include further additive manufacturing processes in our portfolio in the coming months, signalling our intention to move strongly into this expanding area of manufacturing."