Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing Unites With AddMan Group to Foster Growth

AddMan Group has added Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing (KAM) to its portfolio of businesses. The company says that together this makes it the largest and fastest growing additive manufacturing (AM) provider in the United States. The move represents AddMan’s most significant expansion in metal AM and technological readiness to date. The combined entity now operates more than 50 metal additive production machines.

Customers will now have access to a fully integrated metal AM process — from design to serial production. The expanded AddMan Group offers more than 300,000 ft.² of AM capacity, enhanced by KAM’s 70,000 ft.² facility in Statesville, North Carolina. The company says the combined expertise of AddMan and KAM ensures superior quality and faster delivery times for customers, making it a leading force for advanced manufacturing needs.

Brad Keselowski, founder of KAM, has been a strong advocate for this partnership. “AddMan’s integration marks a pivotal moment for the additive industry. Combining these companies brings a powerful combination with KAM's world-class processes and systems, and AddMan’s abundant resources and R&D,” Keselowski says. “Together, we set a new standard for innovation and excellence in the additive manufacturing industry.”

Keselowski says he will remain deeply committed and invested in the operation’s success, assuming a role as a commercial advisor on AddMan’s board of directors, ensuring a seamless transition and continued expansion.

KAM joins Castheon, AddMan’s metal additive research and production facility in Thousand Oaks, California. By combining the strengths of both locations, the teams will work together to provide enhanced solutions with industry-leading capability and lead times in refractory alloy production and material science. This collaboration ensures coast-to-coast support from engineering design to full-scale production, leveraging the expertise and capabilities of both facilities to deliver superior AM solutions.

“We hold immense respect for the legacies of the companies we integrate into our fold. Brad and the exceptional team at KAM have built an impressive, profitable and sustainable 3D printing enterprise in a remarkably short time,” says Joe Calmese, AddMan CEO. “This is yet another proof point that AddMan is dedicated to assembling the industry’s finest under our banner. I look forward to seeing the new era of our combined company unfold.”

KAM and AddMan both heavily serve the defense and commercial space markets, and uniting is a force multiplier in how the organization will support this sector. This strengthens their combined manufacturing readiness level (MRL) and technology readiness level (TRL), enabling them to deliver advanced, market-ready solutions. Backed by American Industrial Partners (AIP), the combined entities say they are committed to driving transformative change through 3D printing, solidifying their leadership in providing innovative technologies to the defense industry.

For Keselowski, the vision for KAM came out of motorsports, when he started seeing a lot of metal additively manufactured parts, particularly in NASCAR. He saw those race car parts had competitive advantages. “Additive manufactured parts were making my race cars faster,” Keselowski says.

So he started to look into it. “I caught the bug pretty quickly,” he added. He says couldn’t help but wonder what other industries could do with AM parts.

In 2017, Keselowski shut down his truck team and decided to focus developing an advanced manufacturing business. “One of the things that excites me the most about KAM is knowing that we make parts that go from the bottom of the ocean, literally the bottom of the ocean, to the stars and everything in between,” Keselowski says. “And, as we look to the future, there’s a lot of conversations about where humanity is going. But I know it’s not going any of the places we want it to go without parts that are made in places like KAM.”

After six years, he decided to make a transition to merge with AddMan Group and AIP to grow the business, adding capabilities along the way. “The concept behind this is simple — I want to play for No. 1,” he says.

AddMan delivers solutions to serve its customers from prototyping and development projects, all the way through product end-of-life. Its network of 4 companies and 500-plus employees spans coast-to-coast, offering a diverse range of manufacturing capabilities, including metal and polymer 3D printing, precision CNC machining and domestic injection molding. These manufacturing modalities are backed by a team of engineers, with diverse industry expertise to guide customers and help them solve complex challenges.

Keselowski was drawn to the AddMan Group because it represents “a sophisticated portfolio of contract manufacturers in the additive manufacturing space … that all complement each other,” he says. “This is our next step to make sure that we’re playing for No. 1 and can be the best in the business.”

KAM is a vertically integrated simulation and engineering through serial production manufacturing company with laser powder bed fusion and CNC capabilities. The KAM team comprises engineering and machining talent who focus on innovation, creativity and problem-solving. Through partnerships with some of the world's leading manufacturers and research universities, KAM develops custom solutions for several industries, including space, aerospace, defense, energy, automotive and performance motorsports.