Press Release: ASTRO America Issues Implementation Plan for the Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA)

Jul 14, 2024

ASTRO America Issues Implementation Plan for the Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA)

Set to Build Groundbreaking 3D Printing Technology and Workforce Education Center on-Island

July 15, 2024 –  Bethesda, MD – The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO) announced delivery of an implementation plan to build the Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator, “GAMMA,” based on three pillars: workforce development and education; component testing and evaluation; and manufacturing business incubation/support on-island.

The corresponding report was developed at the direction of the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans (BSP), following ASTRO’s previous feasibility analysis undertaken for the Guam Economic Development Authority. Overall, it reflects an initiative by Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero over the last two years to evaluate the potential for industrial additive manufacturing (or 3D Printing) to advance economic growth in Guam.

“I strongly believe GAMMA can revolutionize Guam’s economy, and establish the island as a part-manufacturing hub in the Indo-Pacific region,” said ASTRO President Neal Orringer. “ASTRO America stands committed to helping realize Governor Leon Guerrero’s vision, and chart a course for the island’s future in on-demand production.”

The report stresses that GAMMA’s two principal goals should be: promoting U.S. national security and helping diversify the economy, in partnership with the federal government. In particular, Guam offers an opportunity to support the readiness and resilience of key American and Allied submarine supply chains. Accordingly, the project plan would establish GAMMA as a proponent of the U.S. Navy’s Program Executive Office Strategic Submarines (PEO SSBN), which is responsible for U.S. strategic submarines’ lifecycle management as well as advancing submarine industrial base health. GAMMA will thus help drive development of submarine industrial base capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, supporting the needs of the United States as well as UK and Australia, in sustaining a technological edge in submarine-construction, particularly relative to the military’s peer competitors in the region.

The new report expounds on the project plan jointly announced by Governor Leon Guerrero and PEO SSBN’s RADM Scott Pappano in February 2024.

At the outset, the U.S. Navy will serve as the primary customer and funding source for GAMMA, which will encompass a site for workforce training and education, naval ships’ part testing and evaluation, as well as prototyping and supply chain maturation. New infrastructure will provide high-caliber training and cutting-edge production capabilities on-island that, over the long term, may also be applied to a broad range of commercial (non-naval) industries across the Indo-Pacific.

The cornerstone of GAMMA is a satellite campus of a mainland U.S. university in Guam, based on the grounds of the University of Guam. ASTRO is helping the University of Guam and Guam Community College enter an agreement with another academic institution renowned for its leadership in manufacturing education and technical research. This partnership will support conferring of joint certifications as well as associates, bachelors, and masters degrees for students on-island from UOG, GCC, and the mainland U.S institution. Additionally, ASTRO will also support establishment of the only industrial metallic part-inspection and validation laboratory within thousands of miles. The plan calls for a GEDA-sponsored facility to be built on-campus to house operations supporting each of the three pillars.

“For two years, ASTRO, commissioned by GEDA and BSP, has grown a body of expertise on developing industrial AM capabilities in Guam,” said Governor Leon Guerrero. “As we move toward making GAMMA a reality, we will continue to work with our partners to diversify Guam’s economy and establish the island as a center of excellence for additive manufacturing, particularly for the United States Navy’s submarine force. I am pleased that so much of our island’s talent and expertise is being utilized to create new job opportunities for Guam and contribute to America’s national security interests.”

Next Steps for the Implementation Plan include activities sponsored by PEO SSBN in concert with another nonprofit organization supporting the Navy, Blue Forge Alliance:

  • Enrollment of five Guam Students to the U.S. Navy’s Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing in Danville, Virginia
  • Education Workshop at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) with participants from UOG,
    GCC, GEDA, and Mines administration as well as ASTRO and Navy personnel
  • Technical Workshop in Washington, DC with key U.S. Navy and shipbuilder decisionmakers
  • Guam Workshop – (coming fall 2024)

To read the new BSP-commissioned Implementation Plan Report, click here.

To read the GEDA Baseline AM Readiness Report, click here.

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The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan Research Institute and Think Tank. It was established in 2018 to advance the public interest through manufacturing technology and policy. Led by manufacturing professionals with broad public and private sector experience, ASTRO America supports collaborations by government agencies and companies to address supply chain challenges in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense.

Find out more: https://www.astroa.org/