New investment fund supports medium-sized 3D printing manufacturers in the USA

Stifel Financial Corp. has received final approval for its North Atlantic AM-Forward Fund. The fund is intended to enable small and medium-sized US manufacturing companies to enter the additive manufacturing market.

The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has granted the financial services provider a special SBIC (Small Business Investment Company) license. This license is part of the Department of Defense’s SBICCT initiative for critical technologies.

The new fund supports the White House’s AM Forward Initiative launched in 2022. Well-known companies such as GE Aerospace, Boeing and Lockheed Martin have committed as founding partners to procure additively manufactured components from smaller US suppliers. At the same time, employees are to be trained and standards developed.

Neal Orringer, President of the ASTRO America research institute and former Director of Manufacturing at the Pentagon, will provide technical advice to the fund. ASTRO America is coordinating the AM Forward program and has selected Stifel as a financial partner.

The investment will enable manufacturers to acquire new equipment and meet stringent aerospace industry certification requirements. The SBA license allows the fund to leverage government resources in addition to private financing.

The fund will be managed by North Atlantic Capital Management, a Stifel subsidiary with 30 years of experience in the SBIC sector. Initial capital commitments have already been made by GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin and the standardization organization ASTM International.