French company Thales is establishing an industrial competence center for 3D metal printing in Morocco. Thales said that 3D printing will reduce the time required to develop and manufacture high-value parts in complex metal alloys for aerospace and space applications. The construction at the center is scheduled to begin by next year and will be fully functional by 2018.

Morocco has launched its 2014-2020 Industrial Acceleration Plan to develop a modern and new ecosystem with the help of Thales and other local bodies. Thales Morocco country director Pierre Prigent said: “This competence center will give us access to a highly capable ecosystem of industrial suppliers specializing in mechanical parts, helping us meet all our requirements in terms of material, performance and reproducibility for the aerospace and space markets.”