Weld Australia has announced it has joined the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) as an Associate Partner, linking Australia’s welding and fabrication industry with a $57.5 million Australian Government-backed research initiative focused on advanced manufacturing, skills development and domestic production capabilities.
According to Weld Australia, the partnership will draw on its expertise in welding engineering, qualification, certification, training and standards development to support the adoption of metal additive manufacturing across industries including defence, maritime, infrastructure, resources and energy.
Weld Australia said the AMCRC brings together more than 70 industry, research and government partners through the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The centre has 16 collaborative projects underway across four research programs.
“Additive manufacturing is welding’s next chapter,” said Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden.
“Technologies like wire arc additive manufacturing are built on the same metallurgy, the same processes and the same skills our members have spent their careers mastering.”
Crittenden said the partnership would help Australian welders and fabricators participate in the development of additive manufacturing technologies, rather than remain outside the emerging field.
Weld Australia said the collaboration would also create opportunities for its members, including regional small and medium-sized enterprises, to access collaborative research and development projects, research partners and training initiatives.
“For our members, this is a door into a $57.5 million innovation ecosystem,” Crittenden said. “A fabricator in regional Australia with a good idea—a better way to repair a component, a smarter way to build a part—now has a pathway to the researchers, the funding and the expertise to turn that idea into a commercial reality.”
AMCRC managing director Simon Marriott said Weld Australia’s knowledge of materials, processes, standards and skills development would support the centre’s work as metal additive manufacturing moves into production applications.
Weld Australia said the partnership was intended to strengthen Australia’s ability to translate research into domestic manufacturing capability and practical industry outcomes.
The two organisations are already working on shared industry initiatives. Weld Australia said the AMCRC would support its National Manufacturing Summit in Adelaide in June 2027, while it is encouraging members to attend the Additive Manufacturing Forum 2026 in Adelaide on 28–29 October.
Crittenden said the collaboration would bring industry, researchers and government together to help ensure products, including defence components and critical infrastructure, could be designed, manufactured, verified and repaired in Australia.
