18.5.13

The Aftermarket in 2023: How 3D/4D printing could change the Aftermarket Manufacturing landscape of the future

Practitioner Point of View:

Mario Fleurinck, CEO of Melotte, is a passionate serial entrepreneur with focus on the development of sustainable manufacturing technologies.  With these innovations he aims to create business models that go far beyond the economic globalisation.  He believes that technology and manufacturing are playing a significant role in redesigning our social economic models.  Inspired by his holistic view and in the light of the growing global economic and geopolitical unbalance, Mario emphasizes a decentralised manufacturing approach with focus on optimal energy and material resources management.  

"What if our aftermarket needs would be filled in and materialized by cloud connected 3D-printers using a minimum on energy & raw materials? Will on demand products printed next to the user become reality?

Today we are at the dawn of an evolution in manufacturing that will change the value chain step-by-step. First by integrating digitized product data in cloud based designs and assemblies, followed by a fully digitized manufacturing supply chain; products, at the end of their lifecycle, fully reusable, dematerialized and transformed into new physic parts. Pricing is based on time-of-demand and its impact on the planet’s ecosystems; to be paid in euro’s or carbon credits?"

This is an example of the circular economy as practiced by the Belgian company Melotte and based on Mario Fleurinck’s vision, CEO Melotte and founder of InnoCrowd.

The combination of digital manufacturing, cradle-to-cradle digital processes and cloud based product management moves after-sales services towards a new paradigm without even mentioning the next wave, 4D printing!

Do not miss his presentation on 20 June in Frankfurt at the EPP Aftermarket Forum.  Mario will close the conference on a futuristic note... What could the Aftermarket Manufacturing landscape look like in the year 2023.  Looking forward to some interesting discussions on the topic.