Frank Carsten Herzog from Bavaria in Germany has patented over 120 inventions, placing him second in the world

The US patent research consulting firm Bodkin IP LLC has determined the most active inventors in the field of additive manufacturing. They took the years 1980 to 2016 into account and considered both a German-European (Germany and the members of the European Patent Convention) and a worldwide perspective.

The result: Frank Carsten Herzog, the founder of the HZG Group and of the company Concept Laser which now belongs to General Electric, has patented more than 120 inventions over the last 20 years. This has resulted in more than 450 individual patent applications or respective patents, the large majority of which is currently still active and used in products.

For the considered timeframe between 1980 and 2016, this makes him the most active inventor in the field of additive manufacturing in Germany and Europe and second in the world.

Among the companies that most frequently cite Frank Carsten Herzog’s patents in their own patent applications are General Electric (74), EOS (44), Siemens (30), Trumpf (19), Fraunhofer (15), BMW (14), Volkswagen (12) and Michelin (10).

Over the course of two decades Frank Carsten Herzog filed for patents, some of which are still being pursued in 2022, even after he has left Concept Laser. The large majority, around 70 percent, of the patents are still active, which speaks for both the importance and the value of his inventions. While most were filed for between 2016 and 2017 (about 200), further patents are still being granted. Over 100 were granted in 2020 and 2021 alone, demonstrating the high success rate of the patents filed by the inventor and entrepreneur from Lichtenfels. At the same time, they are a sign of continuous innovation and professional handling of intellectual property.

„Especially in the beginning, the value of a tech company depends largely on intellectual property. For reasons of self-protection and in order to guarantee further success, inventions should therefore always be secured with patent applications. As a start-up investor, this is also what I advise all founders that I work with,” says Frank Carsten Herzog.

LaserCUSING Technology

As a result of his student research projects, Frank Carsten Herzog developed LaserCUSING, a powder bed-based laser melting technology for metals, in 1997. Based on his diploma thesis, he was able to file for two essential patents regarding the laser melting method, which is now globally considered the key technology in the field. The technology was also the starting ground for the company Concept Laser GmbH, which he founded with his wife Kerstin Herzog in 2000.

Frank Carsten Herzog’s patents have paved the way for an entire industry, which has also served as a reliable economic driver in the region of Upper Franconia in Bavaria.
Due to the exceptionally high growth rate of Concept Laser over the course of several years, a partnership with the international corporation General Electric was decided upon in 2016. As shareholder and Presiding Managing Director of Concept Laser GmbH and as a supervisory board member of GE Additive, Frank Carsten Herzog actively worked on transforming Concept Laser GmbH with its LaserCUSING technology into a globally operating company between 2016 and 2019.

The HZG Group, which Frank Carsten Herzog and Kerstin Herzog subsequently founded, uses a venture capital fund to invest in promising start-ups in the 3D printing industry and related fields and operates the research, application and development centre NADDCON in Lichtenfels.

Furthermore, Frank Carsten Herzog was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Fraunhofer ILT in 2018 and is also active as a member of the “Additive Manufacturing” expert committee of the Second Digital Master Plan (Masterplan Bayern Digital II) of the Bavarian state government, as a member of the university council at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences and as a member of the board of trustees of the University of Bayreuth.

Find out more about HZG at hzg-group.com.