Digital Manufacturer Partners With Maritime, Offshore Specialist for MENA Regional Expansion

Immensa, one of the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest digital manufacturers, is collaborating with Pelagus 3D — an on-demand digital manufacturing partner for the maritime and offshore industry.

The partnership includes Immensa and Pelagus 3D combining their respective strengths in additive manufacturing (AM) and digital inventory solutions to enhance service offerings and expand their market presence in the MENA region.

Immensa says it anticipates its core markets of the UAE, KSA and Kuwait will serve as initial launch countries, followed by a rapid expansion to the wider MENA region. The collaboration means that Immensa’s existing customers will now be able to seamlessly tap into the maritime market.

Leveraging its network, Immensa will serve as the exclusive distributor within the maritime and offshore sectors for Pelagus 3D’s products in the region. Immensa will also act as the exclusive service provider for projects initiated through Pelagus 3D’s platform in the territory. The ultimate aims are to streamline supply chain processes, expand OEM networks and deliver significant improvements in service provision to MENA region end users.

The partnership is mutually exclusive for both parties within the designated territories to provide a strong foundation to align efforts, and to maximize the reach and efficiency of the partners’ combined services.

According to the companies, the market environment is well suited for a partnership between these global providers, as Immensa is a leader in digitizing spare parts and AM for the energy sector while Pelagus 3D is a leader of digital inventory in the maritime and offshore industry.

The global energy sector spare parts market is estimated to be worth over $90 billion, of which $18 billion is immediately suitable for digitizing and converting to a digital supply chain. The MENA region accounts for over $4 billion. Immensa and Pelagus 3D estimate the partnership will open up at least $2 billion of new, incremental potential revenues, which is an increase in the region of over 50%.

"Immensa seeks to be world class in everything it does — technology, strategy, execution, talent and its partners,” says Fahmi Al Shawwa, Immensa CEO. “Today’s news brings two world-class partners together and we look forward to working closely with Pelagus 3D — which is developing the largest database of spare parts for additive manufacturing in the maritime and offshore industry — to transform inventory management across sectors.”

The collaborative agreement is said to mark a significant milestone in the companies’ goal to drive adoption of on-demand spare parts in the MENA region. “Through this partnership, we are offering enhanced additive manufacturing services and technologies for our OEMs and end users, fostering technological advancement in the industry,” says Haakon Ellekjaer, Pelagus 3D, Chief Commercial Officer. “We look forward to working together with Immensa to further AM innovation and accelerate adoption.”

Immensa has also rebranded its AI-enabled software. Formerly known as DIS-RT, the company’s end-to-end solution to assess and digitize inventories is now called Immensa360.

Immensa also recently announced the senior board appointment of Nabil Habayeb, who joined as an independent non-executive director, after 41 years at GE where most recently (2020-23) served as president and CEO of GE International Markets.

Pelagus 3D is a joint venture of thyssenkrupp and Wilhelmsen. Pelagus serves over 4,000 assets globally from 25 end-user partners and 21 OEM partners. With more than 80 manufacturing suppliers worldwide, Pelagus 3D says it is developing the largest database of spare parts available for AM in the maritime and offshore industry.

The maritime sector involves capital-intensive assets with a heavy use of equipment in highly corrosive environments. Shipping depends on a well-functioning maintenance organization to ensure safe operations. Unexpected maritime asset downtime can cause material revenue losses and safety issues. With assets changing locations constantly, it can be difficult to plan for expediting spare parts.

AM technology in the maritime sector is growing rapidly. A 2022 report by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore noted several market drivers, including a reduced need to keep large numbers of spare parts onboard vessels, thereby creating a more efficient inventory. There is also a need to address parts obsolescence. In 2020, the average age of the world merchant fleet was over 20 years old with older vessels facing spare part delivery delays. The sector also needs shorter turnaround times so that vessels can obtain spare parts more quickly, without the need for long layovers in ports.