New partnership will connect Australia's welding industry with a $57.5 million national research effort to accelerate additive manufacturing, build skills and strengthen sovereign capability.
Weld Australia has joined the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) as an Associate Partner, in a collaboration designed to connect the nation's welders and fabricators with the next generation of manufacturing technology.
Backed by $57.5 million in Australian Government funding under the Cooperative Research Centres Program, the AMCRC brings together more than 70 partners from industry, research and government to deliver industry-led R&D, skills development and technology commercialisation across four research programs, with 16 collaborative projects already underway.
"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. This partnership ensures Australian welders and fabricators are not spectators to the additive revolution. They will help lead it."
Under the partnership, Weld Australia will contribute its deep technical expertise in welding engineering, qualification, certification, training, and standards development to AMCRC's activities; capability that is critical as metal additive manufacturing moves from prototyping into safety-critical production for sectors including defence, maritime, infrastructure, resources and energy.
The partnership creates significant opportunities for Weld Australia's members, from large fabricators through to regional SMEs, including pathways into collaborative, co-funded R&D projects, access to world-class research partners, and training initiatives that will prepare the welding workforce for advanced manufacturing careers.
"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."
The future of metal additive manufacturing will be built on foundations that Australia's welding industry has spent decades developing," said Simon Marriott, Managing Director of AMCRC. "Weld Australia brings world-class expertise in materials, processes, standards and skills development that will be critical as additive manufacturing moves rapidly into production applications across a many critical sectors. This partnership strengthens Australia's ability to turn new ideas into sovereign manufacturing capability and real-world industry outcomes."
The two organisations are already working together on shared industry initiatives, with the AMCRC supporting Weld Australia's National Manufacturing Summit, to be held in Adelaide in June 2027, and Weld Australia encouraging members to participate in the Additive Manufacturing Forum 2026 in Adelaide on 28-29 October.
"This exciting new partnership will help build sovereign manufacturing capability," Crittenden said. "It will see industry, researchers and government working together to make sure the products this nation needs, from defence components to critical infrastructure, can be designed, made, verified and repaired right here at home."
About us:
ABOUT WELD AUSTRALIA
Weld Australia represents the welding profession in Australia. Its members are made up of individual welding professionals and companies of all sizes. Weld Australia members are involved almost every facet of Australian industry and make a significant contribution to the nation's economy. The primary goal of Weld Australia is to ensure that the Australian welding industry remains locally and globally competitive, both now and into the future. Weld Australia is the Australian representative member of the International Institute of Welding (IIW).
