WAAM3D CEO Filomeno Martina has stepped down after six years in the role.
He has also vacated his position of the board as part of a ‘wholly personal decision’ that was ‘not made lightly.’ Confirming his decision to leave on LinkedIn, Martina said his time with WAAM3D has been ‘a most rewarding and significant experience.’
WAAM3D was incorporated in 2018 after several years of research and development work at Cranfield University. Martina completed his master’s at Cranfield around 15 years ago, and went on to help lay the groundwork for what would become WAAM3D in the interim years. In 2019, the company raised a series A funding round, moving into a new headquarters the following year and growing to a team of 25 staff by 2021.
By 2022, the company was ready to launch its RoboWAAM metal 3D printing platform at TCT 3Sixty, with its wire arc additive manufacturing control software following in 2023 and the compact MiniWAAM metal 3D printer and RoboWAAM XP Cold-Wire Gas Metal Arc system in 2024. WAAM3D has also contributed to a 22.5 million GBP aircraft landing gear research project in recent years, while it was announced Innovative Space Carrier were to use its WAAM3D 3D printing technology for propellant tanks last August.
In his LinkedIn statement, Martina said: “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. We have grown from a small academic team into a commercial organisation that has contributed significantly to our field. We have always moved forward unscathed, harder than nails, even when right after our first investment in December 2019, c-19 hit the whole world. Irrespective, we left Cranfield’s campus, set up shop in Milton Keynes, and built the team and culture from scratch. This was an incredible achievement.
“To our customers, especially those who have been with us since our early Cranfield days, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. Your faith in our technology, your willingness to collaborate, and your continuous support have been instrumental in shaping WAAM3D’s trajectory. It has been a privilege to serve you, and I am excited to see how WAAM3D, of which I will remain a shareholder, will continue to meet your needs and exceed your expectations in the years to come.
“There have been tens of peaks and thousands of valleys. Thank you all for the trust and shared belief in what we have built together. Everything is impermanent, but I will always stand up for the work we have done together; the memories of our journey will stay with me forever.”
Chee Weng Lee, a member of WAAM3D’s BoD, Managing Director of Addept3D & Vice President of Advanced Manufacturing at Accuron, has been named interim CEO of WAAM3D.
