Prof. Hussaini Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC announced at a conference, solutions are being developed by the University of Lagos and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) that would cut the production costs of firms by 30%.
This was the first international conference on additive manufacturing to be held in Nigeria.
Ibrahim noted that the summit was appropriate in light of the challenging business environment faced by manufacturers in Nigeria. Ibrahim was represented at the event by the Director in Lagos office, Mr Tokunbo Habeeb.
He explained that the conference was expected to spotlight innovative and effective solutions on how additive manufacturing could bring down the cost of manufacturing operations by at least 30 per cent.
“Manufacturers have been bedevilled with myriads of challenges hindering manufacturing activities. The conference is coming at a better time where manufacturers are seeking innovative ways to boost their profit margins while also reducing their cost of operations.”
Also speaking, a professor at the University of Lagos, who is also a member of the Additive Manufacturing Group, Funsho Falade, stressed the need for partnership between Nigeria and Germany to advance the development of Additive Manufacturing in Nigeria.
“Our African youths with their intellect can easily acquire the ‘new thinking’ required by this technology as knowledge of any past manufacturing technologies is not a prerequisite. Furthermore, Additive Manufacturing technology, being software and design-driven, allows for innovation and creativity in developing a large variety of parts and products,” he said.
Falade said that the promotion of additive manufacturing/digital technologies was the future for Nigerian youths and ensured sustainable employment opportunities.
He said that the conference would witness virtual presentations from University of Bayreuth, Germany, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, while on-site presentation would be made from University of Lagos on the current stages of development in additive manufacturing both in Germany and Nigeria, and the possible areas of collaborations between the two countries.
“There is a planned round-table discussion during which representatives of the key stakeholders will deliberate on issues bothering on advances in additive manufacturing and formulate policy direction to guide government on the short-, medium and long term strategies for Nigeria to embark on meaningful and purposeful journey to actualize the effective take-off of additive manufacturing in our industrial sector,” he said.
