Fastech bets on DED and WAAM as customer demand signals strengthen

A services model built around directed energy deposition

Fastech is positioning itself as an advanced manufacturing services provider specialising in DED and wire-arc additive manufacturing technology. The company runs technology from Gefertec and Meltio, and built its services around DED and WAAM technology rather than treating additive as a side capability.

CEO Alan Pearce joined TCT Group Content Manager Sam Davies for episode 256 to explain the motivation behind setting up the Fastech business and why the company centred its offer on those processes. The discussion also covers the advantages of Fastech's non-thermal powder production process, the expansion of its materials portfolio, and how the company plans to navigate its short-term growth plans.

From process choice to sector pull

The engineering logic is not abstract. Fastech serves sectors including aerospace, energy, and motorsports, where repair, near-net-shape metal deposition and material flexibility can matter as much as novelty. Siemens Energy is among Fastech's most notable customers, and the two companies have an ongoing collaboration.

Pearce's framing is blunt about adoption psychology:

'The demand signal is outweighing the fear around DED 3D printing.'

That does not mean the risk conversation has disappeared. It suggests the buying conversation is changing: manufacturers are increasingly asking what DED 3D printing and wire-arc additive manufacturing technology can solve now, rather than whether the processes are mature enough to consider at all.

Expansion with constraints

Fastech is stepping up its expansion plans, but the credible route is disciplined: deepen materials capability, keep the service model close to applications, and convert collaborations into repeatable work. The near-term test is whether demand in aerospace, energy and motorsports can be matched by process control, qualified materials and delivery capacity.