Metal AM Veteran Rob Acton to Drive Equispheres’ Production Partnerships Across North America
Former Carpenter Additive commercial leader brings deep aerospace and automotive materials expertise to steer the expansion of high-performance aluminum powder solutions.
Ottawa, Ontario – Equispheres, the leader in aluminum powders for production Additive Manufacturing (AM), continues to build its leadership team with experienced executives from the AM sector. Rob Acton has joined the Ottawa-based materials technology company as Vice-President, Sales – North America, bringing his materials expertise and broad industry knowledge to support the next stage of the company’s development.
“Equispheres’ powders are designed for serial additive production, and nobody knows that business as well as Rob,” says Kevin Nicholds, CEO of Equispheres. “As we increase our capacity in North America, he will apply his knowledge and experience to help our clients and partners grow their additive parts production.”
Equispheres VP, Sales – North America
Acton has more than 15 years of experience of providing high-performance metals to the aerospace, transportation, and energy sectors.
“I’ve had success working with partners to enable their production goals using additive manufacturing in demanding, critical end-markets. I know Equispheres’ materials can drive production costs down, enable rapid design iteration, and deliver the consistency needed for serial production applications,” Acton says.
“There are many opportunities out there for a high-quality North American source of aluminum powders. We can be competitive with established manufacturing processes, achieve complex geometries that weren’t possible before, and show our customers the true potential of additive manufacturing,” he continues.
Acton is a veteran industry leader who was responsible for a substantial expansion of Carpenter’s additive business during his tenure as the Global Director of Strategic Partnerships. Acton holds an MBA in Finance from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Logistics from Penn State University.
“Rob is a solutions-oriented individual with a great understanding of the manufacturing sector in the United States,” says Evan Butler-Jones, Vice-President Product & Strategy with Equispheres. “He shares our desire to make additive manufacturing more productive and reliable.”
Equispheres has made significant moves to solidify its position in the AM industry during 2024.
- Sascha Rudolph (COO) and Adrian Keppler (Director), both formerly with EOS, joined the team.
- Automotive Tier 1 supplier Martinrea International came on board as a lead investor during a successful C$20 million financing round.
- The financing will be used to bring on new reactors to support existing client programs and expand the production facilities in Ottawa, Canada.
Equispheres’ materials consistently achieve faster build rates compared with traditional aluminum powders, with no adverse effects on mechanical properties. To learn more about Equispheres’ high-performance aluminum powders, visit the company website. Photos for use by the media are available on the media page.
