Under the title "Trends for the Advanced Manufacturing Sector", CECIMO (European Association of Manufacturing Technologies) presents current developments on important topics for the future of European industry. This has included the topic of 3D printing for several years. In general, this report provides a very good picture of the current status and remaining challenges. The 2025 report identifies five topics that should be a priority for stakeholders in the industry in Europe.
CECIMO, based in Brussels, is fully named Comité de coopération des industries de la machine-outil. It is an umbrella organization dedicated to promoting the common interests and values of European manufacturing technologies, encompassing European machine tools and additive technologies and working tirelessly at both EU and global levels. For over seven decades, CECIMO has been instrumental in shaping the strategy and improving the global competitiveness of European machine tool and additive manufacturing. Since its foundation in 1950, the organization has played a crucial role in promoting its development in various areas such as business, technology and innovation.
Cross-country issues such as appropriate legislation, skilled labor, innovation, adequate financing, good supply chains and infrastructure are at the forefront. CECIMO therefore focuses on globalization, sustainability, market surveillance, attracting a skilled workforce and a long-term industrial strategy, among other things.
Additive manufacturing as a strategic technology of the future
According to the trend report, additive manufacturing remains at the heart of industrial change in Europe. It is credited with driving sustainable economic growth, increasing global competitiveness and promoting environmental innovations. As in previous years, the Industry Report 2025 was again the result of a collaboration with industry leaders, policy makers and innovators to understand and map the evolving landscape of additive manufacturing and its environment as fully as possible. Through active participation in key events such as the Brussels Forum, the top five factors that will shape the future of the sector have been identified.
Accelerated industrial implementation of digitalization
The first of the five points is the creation of so-called smart factories through the integration of different processes, information flows and stakeholders. This should enable manufacturers to achieve new levels of efficiency and flexibility. The transition to smart factories will be accelerated by advances in real-time data analytics, IoT, machine learning, 5G networks and industrial cloud platforms. These technologies are expected to drive change by providing real-time insights for greater precision and efficiency, while enabling seamless data storage, processing and scalability in modern factories. Big data analytics are therefore at the heart of the transformation. The aim is to achieve predictive maintenance, minimize downtimes and optimize product quality, all of which are also prerequisites for quality-assured production. In addition, big data should enable continuous innovation and rapid adaptation to market trends and customer requirements. However, the development of such smart factories also brings challenges, such as growing cyber security threats and the need to comply with new regulatory standards. As a result, it is recommended to rely on zero-trust architectures and AI-driven threat detection systems.
Increased use of automation in production
The second focus is the advancing automation in additive manufacturing. This is to be driven by advances in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Above all, the aim is to increase precision in production, increase efficiency as much as possible and minimize human error. While automation has already revolutionized established industries such as automotive manufacturing, there is still great potential in many other sectors, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where adoption rates are still low. AI-powered tools can simplify the integration of automation, according to the report, by enabling real-time decisions and helping to address concerns about complexity or high costs. However, this transition also brings challenges for the workforce as the need for skilled workers trained in the operation and maintenance of such advanced automated systems grows. Therefore, education and training programs need to be further developed to ensure that employees are equipped to work in increasingly automated environments.
Defining the strengths of additive manufacturing methods
The trend report is optimistic that additive manufacturing (AM) will overcome its growing pains and realize its full industrial potential. It is noted that scaling from prototyping to large-scale production has been difficult. However, advances in materials science, more cost-efficient equipment and the possibility of large-format metal printing should now pave the way for sustainable on-demand manufacturing.
Above all, these innovations should help to reduce problems such as material waste, shorten supply chains and enable decentralized manufacturing with greater flexibility. Consolidation within the industry should create a more robust and competitive market, offering greater profitability for suppliers and better services for customers. By combining innovation with sustainability practices, AM would be poised to redefine efficiency, become a transformative force in manufacturing and help various sectors achieve their green and digital goals.
Using digital twins to test and adapt production processes before they are deployed
Using digital twins to increase efficiency and sustainability
The trend report predicts that digital twins in particular will continue to change manufacturing. Production processes are to be tested and refined in a virtual space before they enter the real world. This should not only help to improve product design and production efficiency, but also speed up time to market. By using digital models, potential problems can be predicted at an early stage and necessary adjustments made to avoid problems later on. However, the benefits are not limited to improving production operations. Digital twins also play a decisive role in sustainability. They enable manufacturers to simulate processes in such a way that material waste can be reduced, tool wear minimized and energy consumption lowered.
As digital twins become more prevalent in the production environment, greater collaboration between teams, better predictive maintenance and smarter financial decision making will become possible. In the long term, digital twins should be more than just a technological upgrade. They should help to create a manufacturing landscape that is both more efficient and more sustainable. Digital twins are therefore seen as having the potential to reduce waste, save energy and drive improvements in overall processes.
Increasing international competition
As a fifth and final point, the report looks at the increasing competition from outside Europe. However, perhaps somewhat optimistically, the European Union is seen as having the potential to become a global leader in additive manufacturing, a sector that can be crucial to Europe's industrial transformation, long-term economic growth, global competitiveness and environmental responsibility. However, it is also clearly stated that the race for global leadership in AM will intensify. International competitors, particularly China and the United States, are investing heavily in both technology and workforce training. China has made rapid progress, particularly through government-backed initiatives such as "Made in China 2025", which focuses on high-tech industries such as robotics, artificial intelligence and green energy technologies, while the US has implemented policies such as the Advanced Manufacturing Strategy or the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing and maintain its leadership in aerospace, biotechnology and industrial automation. In this competitive environment, the EU must address challenges such as geopolitical risks, supply chain disruptions and sustainability requirements while fostering innovation through strategic investments, cross-border collaboration and workforce upskilling.
Where there is much light, there is also much shadow
Through collaboration, innovation and forward-thinking strategies, Europe can continue to set the global standard in additive manufacturing. The road ahead brings both challenges and opportunities and requires the industry to invest in new ideas and adapt to rapid technological changes. According to the CECIMO trend report, it is also essential that this change is supported by the EU by encouraging industry engagement, driving policy discussion and promoting initiatives that ensure a sustainable and competitive manufacturing sector for the future. Between the lines, wrapped in a generally positive portrayal of the situation, existing difficulties such as quality assurance, material and cost efficiency and a lack of precision in (series) production are highlighted. Automation and the use of artificial intelligence are intended to advance the technology and secure it internationally.
