The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
WAZP buzzing as 3D printing gets European boost
TADHG EVANS SPOKE TO STEPHEN BARRY AS THE TRALEE-BASED COMPANY IS RECOGNISED BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION AS A ‘KEY INNOVATOR’
THE European Commission’s recognition of a Traleebased company’s cutting-edge work will come as a boost not only to the company but to the sphere of 3D printing as a whole. That was the view from 3D-printing company WAZP in recent days as the Liber House-based outfit was named as a ‘Key Innovator’ by the Commission on the back of work it has been carrying out into applying 3D printing or additive manufacturing to the sphere of toy safety.
WAZP was founded in 2015 by Limerick’s Shane Hassett and Ukrainian native Mariana Kobal. It has since grown to employ 15 people, and the company’s Marketing Communications Specialist Stephen Barry is confident the progress its hard work has earned will continue as 3D printing further establishes itself in the mainstream.
“Clients will come to us with a product, either an existing product or a product they want to develop,” Stephen told The Kerryman in explaining what the company does.
“We do a project brief with you on what you want to achieve, and then our designers would design it based on what you need.
“We move on to manufacturing, through which everything is done by 3D printing.”
One of the primary advantages of 3D printing over other manufacturing types is that it’s geared towards waste reduction and making the most of its materials – and WAZP’s international model allows it to be more efficient outside of the manufacturing process also. It’s a model that has also made it more durable than most to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s very different to legacy manufacturing,” Stephen said. “With legacy, you’ve got, say, a block of clay and you’re taking bits of it away until you get your desired product.
“With 3D printing, you put the material in and the printer builds it up. There’s no waste; with legacy, you’re cutting things off and you’ve a load of waste, but with additive manufacturing, all the remaining material can be used with the next product.
“When the product is done and the client is happy, we’re also more sustainable in terms of the supply chain. Say your client is German and just needs the product for the German market, we have a global network of 3D printers with different partners. We have partners in Germany, so we’d send the design file to Germany. The product is made in Germany, so there’s less distribution cost.
“If anything goes down – which hasn’t happened – we’d still have ten more suppliers. It’s more sustainable and dynamic. So in a weird way, we’re kind of set up for what has been happening over the last few months. Nobody expected this, but we are still able to deliver our products to customers with very little or even no disruption.
“I think that’s down to the forward thinking of the company from day one,” he added.
The news of European recognition for WAZP and research partners at the German University of Padeborn arrived last week on foot of an EU-funded programme focusing on additive manufacturing in toy safety.
The work came under the umbrella of the University of Limerick-commissioned Horizon 2020 iBus project, and Stephen said that while all outcomes of the project are not yet known, the primary outcome of the work is that it has shown that, even in toy production, 3D printing has shown itself to be a safer and more sustainable method.
The advantages of claiming that recognition are countless – not just for WAZP, but for 3D printing as a whole.
“It boosts us in a marketability way, people will see we’re EU-recognised,” Stephen said. “But we’re also always trying to get funding for different research and educational matters. Now we’ve extra clout, which will give us a boost in terms of carrying out further research into the supply chain and making products even more sustainable in how they’re produced.
“3D printing has always been associated with hobbyists, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but we’ve got clients such as IKEA, for example, and we’d print thousands and thousands of units for just one of their products.
“For 3D printing as a whole, it earmarks it as a new and sustainable way of manufacturing; it’s good that the highest office in the European political structure has recognised us.
“It’s a big boost to us for all the years the company has put in to try and help companies to realise this, that there’s a new way of manufacturing products.”
Stephen, who is himself a relatively recent addition to the company’s team, said WAZP’s goals in the short term are to maintain what it has and then continue to grow consistently; and to keep innovating and researching.
And as a base, Tralee has proven an inspired choice since it first established itself in the Tom Crean Business Centre before moving to Liber House.
“There’s a lot of support structure in Tralee for tech businesses,” Stephen said. “Tralee is a good place to work, and you also have a lot of colleges on its doorstep, including in Limerick, Cork, and of the course academic centres in Kerry including IT Tralee.
“We’ll just continue to keep doing what we’re doing. A lot of hard work is coming to fruition for us!”
FOR 3D PRINTING AS A WHOLE, IT EARMARKS IT AS A NEW AND SUSTAINABLE WAY OF MANUFACTURING