One of the most significant themes in the global manufacturing sector throughout the last decade has been the nurturing of existing economic clusters and the seeding of new ones by the world’s traditional industrial powerhouses.The thinker who coined the concept of “clusters,” Harvard Business School Professor Michael E.Porter, defines them simply as, “…geographic concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field.” The conscious effort to revitalize historically leading clusters has been so important for the manufacturing sector, in particular, because the sustainment of manufacturing activity requires such an unusually complex and resource-intensive set of processes.
Additionally, tectonic economic changes at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century completely reshaped the geography of global manufacturing.In turn, this yielded the need for an especially proactive approach by the older industrial nations to slow their trajectory of falling behind relative to the younger leaders and maintain their relevance in international trade.To the extent that broader society has paid attention to this story at all, the focus has fallen largely on strategic competition between the US and China, primarily in terms of their race to lock down the capital and stimulate the know-how required to make the ever-evolving, semiconductor-powered products that support Big Tech’s continued growth.
However, the narrative ultimately touches more or less every economic sector you can think of, and is driving business activity in locales across the planet.Like Spain, for instance.The nation’s additive manufacturing (AM) consortium, ADDIMAT, has been working to organize and promote the Spanish AM industry since 2014, and Director Naiara Zubizarreta has been at the head of the organization during almost its entire existence.
Naiara Zubizarreta at Spain’s AM consortium ADDIMAT.Image courtesy of ADDIMAT via LinkedIn.Zubizerreta just presided over ADDIMAT’s 10th anniversary General Assembly.
While I didn’t attend, I did have a conversation with Zubizerreta not long before the event, where she explained how the organization is helping Spain’s manufacturing clusters move purposefully into the future.The first thing to know about ADDIMAT is that, even as it represents over 100 Spanish AM companies, the organization itself is also one of seven branches of the AFM Cluster in Spain, the original industrial association in Spain, which has existed for about eight decades: “AFM Cluster is a coherent and synergistic umbrella organization that groups together seven industrial associations: machine tool builders, machine tool importers, hand tools, robotics, automation and digitalization, startups, contract manufacturing, and AM,” Zubizerreta began.“Altogether, the entire industrial ecosystem includes about 800 companies.
This means that from the start, we’ve been able to fit our vision of AM into a context where it’s competitive against other processes for certain applications, and complementary to other processes for other applications.It also means that a company joining ADDIMAT can find companies focused on other technologies to cooperate with, in order to offer complete solutions for specific projects.” The Gipuzkoa Scientific and Technology Park is located in the natural setting of Miramón Park.Image courtesy of Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park.
ADDIMAT’s headquarters are in San Sebastián in the Basque Country of northern Spain, at the Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park.Despite being Spain’s smallest province geographically, Gipuzkoa is one of the country’s most important hubs for manufacturing innovation.Gipuzkoa reportedly accounts for over 50 percent of Spain’s annual advanced manufacturing revenue.
Beyond the sheer revenue, the capacity to foster innovation is indispensable in a nation whose manufacturing sector is one of its economy’s most productive areas: “When we talk about Spain, many people still associate the country primarily with sunshine, olive oil, and tourism.While all of that is indeed true, what often goes unnoticed is that Spain is also a major industrial power in Europe: diverse, competitive, and highly export-oriented,” Zubizerreta explained.“To give a clearer picture, Spain is the second-largest car manufacturer in the EU, behind only Germany.
In aerospace, Spain ranks fourth in Europe, and in machine tools, we are the third-largest producer in the EU and the ninth globally.And yes, we are also the second most-visited country in the world, right after France: the mixture of our strong manufacturing ecosystem with a robust tourist industry gives Spain a unique and resilient economic model.“It is in this context that early adopters of AM in Spain saw the technological field’s potential.
As in other countries that were ahead-of-the-curve with AM adoption, early adopters in Spain were attracted by the promise of design freedom, faster prototyping and delivery time, mold free manufacturing, and personalization.But in Spain, the motivations were also deeply tied to the natural evolution of an existing strong advanced manufacturing industry, combined with the need to remain competitive in global markets.“Last but not least, the collaborative spirit of Spanish industry also played a key role in the development of our strong AM ecosystem, proven by the fact that, upon its founding, ADDIMAT was one of the first dedicated AM industry associations in the world.” Since its inception, ADDIMAT has continued to catalyze growth in the Spanish AM industry both by facilitating forums for its members to partner with one another and with other areas of Spain’s manufacturing sector, as well as by organizing the kinds of events that enable Spanish AM stakeholders to reach the broader public.
In sum, Zubizerreta and ADDIMAT allow the Spanish AM industry to present a unified front: “ADDIMAT supports its members by acting as the voice of the AM sector, fostering collaboration, and promoting the adoption of AM technologies.It works closely with government bodies to position AM as a strategic technology not only for Spain but for Europe, securing support for research, industrialization, and supply chain development.The Association also provides access to resources, knowledge, and networking opportunities to drive members’ growth, while raising awareness of AM’s potential across key sectors such as aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and healthcare.
Moreover, ADDIMAT organizes Spain’s most relevant AM and advanced manufacturing events, including conferences, trade shows, B2B meetings, working groups, and joint booths.In addition, members benefit from professional services in areas such as internationalization, R&D management, talent acquisition, and communication.Above all, though, the true value in joining ADDIMAT lies in staying part of a thriving ecosystem, connecting with peers, sharing ideas and concerns, and driving new initiatives together.” Zubizerreta can detail the organization’s work rather breezily.
But, to grasp how vast the energy required to keep an AM cluster running is, it suffices to simply take note of the events that ADDIMAT is responsible for putting together and/or attending.ADDIT3D trade show.Image courtesy of ADDIT3D So far this year, ADDIMAT has already held its second annual Industry Summit (in February), taken a delegation to Sweden to interface with the Swedish AM industry (in May), held the aforementioned General Assembly (also in May), and participated in the AFM Cluster Day for Advanced Manufacturing (May, again).
ADDIMAT delegation in Sweden.Image courtesy of ADDIMAT via LinkedIn.Further, ADDIMAT is also the co-organizer, along with the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, of the ADDIT3D trade show.
The 2025 edition is set to take place June 3-5, with ADDIMAT expecting over 12,000 attendees.Next, AFM Cluster is co-organizing EMO Hannover 2025, “the world’s leading trade fair for production technology”, which will take place in Germany from September 22-26.In November, Spain is the official Partner Country for Formnext 2025, putting a special emphasis on ADDIMAT’s attendance this year.
The organization will exhibit along with 10 of its members at a joint booth measuring a staggering 200 square meters.Finally, from March 2 to March 6 next year, AFM Cluster is co-organizing the International Machine Tool Biennial at Bilbao Exhibition Center, one of Europe’s largest trade shows for machine tools and advanced manufacturing technologies, which will include ADDIT3D 2026.With that timeline in mind, it is a bit astonishing that Zubizerreta can focus on anything other than scheduling.
But perhaps all of the industry engagement she is involved with allows her to maintain such a clear vantage point in her assessment of AM’s current prospects in Spain.On that front, Zubizerreta’s take helps illustrate the extent to which the same drivers for AM in the US and China are also catalyzing industry activity across the world at large: “In the near term, the most promising verticals for AM in Spain are undoubtedly defense and aerospace,” Zubizerreta told me.“They currently have strong driving forces behind them, such as public-private collaboration, incredible growth forecasts and the existence of ongoing projects that are accelerating adoption and proving real value.
That said, the expansion of AM across all industrial sectors is not just a long-term vision — it is already underway.What’s slowing its pace at this point isn’t the technology itself, but rather the mindset shift required within traditional manufacturing environments.The true potential of AM lies in redesigning components, leveraging design freedom, and functional optimization, and that overall transformation can only be introduced into each affected industry in a gradual fashion.” Along those lines, according to Zubizerreta, AM clusters will give themselves the best opportunity to thrive if their stakeholders pay attention to what those on the frontlines of the adopting industries are truly asking for: “I would recommend to listen to real customer needs, and focus on niches,” Zubizerreta concluded.
“Find the pain of your potential customer and address it with the most competitive solution.This isn’t a new formula, but it is basically the only realistic way to succeed.AM has gone through an exciting phase of rapid innovation and technological advancement in recent years.
Today, however, we are entering a more mature stage, one where only the solutions and providers that truly deliver value will endure.Those who cannot demonstrate clear, measurable impact will be left behind.” Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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