MGA marks ten years in Berlin: qualification, defence supply chains and AI dominate

The Mobility goes Additive network held its annual meeting and a Women in AM Summit in Berlin to mark ten years of operation. Sessions covered defence supply chains, qualified serial parts in aerospace, hospital needs in healthcare and the effect of AI on work. Members also elected a new executive board.

What did the Women in AM Summit cover?

The summit opened the programme as a space for women working in additive manufacturing. Change management was a recurring theme: as AM matures and digitalisation speeds up, companies need to guide staff and leaders through the shift, not only install new technology. Urvashi Gunputh ran an interactive coaching session on how AI already shapes daily work.

Which industry cases were presented?

In defence, speakers from the European Defence Agency, CTC GmbH (an Airbus company), IDONIAL and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment discussed distributed manufacturing and resilient supply chains, including AM as a way to keep equipment ready. Svenja Pestotnik of Liebherr-Aerospace showed qualification and serial production cases, arguing that qualification must be part of the process from the start. Prof Erwin Keeve of Charité Berlin said hospital solutions must fit clinical workflows, and Dominic Duda said pharma scaling faces technical, regulatory, economic and human hurdles. Maximilian Kunkel of Siemens presented the DigiZug3D project, a joint effort to support qualification and approval.

Why was AI the common thread?

A dedicated panel debated automation, productivity and the workforce, including the claim that AI will replace assistant and junior roles. Analyst Joris Peels questioned where AI adds real value in AM workflows. MGA said it will keep exploring the topic with members.

Who leads MGA now?

The general assembly, which votes every two years, elected Jens Abromeit as chairman and Torsten Wehrkamp as vice chairman. Welf-Guntram Drossel and Max Witjes are board members, and Bettina Stein was appointed auditor. MGA said it will continue its work on white papers, data sheets, standards and joint projects.

What it means

For small and mid sized manufacturers, the meeting mainly repeats a practical point: certified AM parts reach long-term production when qualification is planned alongside the process, not added afterwards. Joint network projects such as DigiZug3D may spread the cost of proving quality, which matters for firms without their own test capacity. The defence and AI discussions point to supply chain and skills questions, but no concrete products or timelines were announced.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Mobility goes Additive network?

MGA is a network that has worked for a decade on technical white papers, data sheets, standards and joint projects, and advocates for international standardisation in additive manufacturing.

Who was elected to the MGA board?

Jens Abromeit is chairman, Torsten Wehrkamp vice chairman, with Welf-Guntram Drossel and Max Witjes as board members. Bettina Stein was appointed auditor.

What is DigiZug3D?

It is a joint network project presented by Siemens, shown as an example of collaboration that can advance qualification and approval through reproducible results.