Ann: LaserBond Dec 24 Half-Year Report Summary, page-49

One of our longstanding challenges has been finding competent local trade personnel to efficiently utilise our equipment at or near full capacity. To address this, we turned to skilled international personnel, significantly increasing workshop capacity and throughput, reflected in the strong service figures achieved.

I see immense potential in both the products and services divisions.
Historically, the majority of machine parts reclaimed by LaserBond’s services division were originally cast, forged, or machined from carbon steel. This material is widely used due to its ease of manufacture, inherent strength, and low cost. By adjusting the carbon content and incorporating other elements, crucial properties such as hardness, tensile strength, and corrosion resistance can be enhanced to better suit specific applications.

The global supply chain for cast parts is dominated by China, India, and South Korea, with lead times often exceeding 12 months. This forces customers to maintain expensive inventory buffers, tying up capital and creating logistical inefficiencies.
LaserBond’s reclamation process often results in components that outperform new ones. Our ability to precisely apply advanced wear-resistant materials to critical areas means reclaimed parts are engineered to withstand the specific wear conditions of their operating environment, offering superior durability and performance.

It’s important to recognise that the parts we reclaim in the services division have already completed a full lifecycle without the benefit of optimised surface protection. This contrasts with our products division, where we manufacture base components and apply the most advanced wear-resistant surfaces from the outset. Additionally, we collaborate with a key customer who supplies base castings, on which we apply high-performance wear surfaces. Typically, these new products are not designed for reclamation but rather built for maximum longevity from the start.

The real opportunity, as I see it, lies in the accelerating global drive for sustainability and efficiency, alongside the ongoing transformation brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Surfacing technologies and additive manufacturing are at the heart of this shift, redefining traditional manufacturing models. With additive manufacturing enabling the production of parts on demand and closer to their point of use, the industry is being fundamentally reshaped.

By integrating our advanced surfacing technologies with these new manufacturing paradigms, we could produce innovative bespoke components with optimised wear surfaces, manufactured locally, together with sensors, and the internet, precisely when needed. And when worn, returned for reclamation. This presents a game-changing opportunity for innovation and growth.

Which is why I remain deeply frustrated by the LaserBond board’s short-sighted, uneducated dismissal of what was, in my view, a next-level opportunity presented to them on a silver platter. A missed opportunity to secure a major shareholding in an Australian, and world leader in wire-feedstock-based metal additive manufacturing technology, that aligns perfectly with LaserBond’s capabilities. Its ability to produce large-scale, high-integrity metal components using additive techniques would have complemented our expertise in wear-resistant surface engineering. A strategic stake in this company would have positioned LaserBond at the forefront of next-generation manufacturing in the US and Australia, enabling a powerful synergy between near-net-shape additive manufacturing and high-performance surface technologies.
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