General Atomics and Divergent to discuss cross-industry collaboration in a keynote address.
ZEELAND, MI, UNITED STATES, February 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) today announced a second keynote presentation for the 2026 AMUG Conference, which will be held in Reno, Nevada, from March 15 – 19, 2026. On Tuesday, March 17, Steve Fournier, leader of the Additive Designs & Manufacturing Center of Excellence at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, and Scott Sawyer, Director of Programs at Divergent, will share their cross-industry collaboration story and successes.
Their keynote address, titled “From Hypercars to Defense Drones: How Two Major Industry Innovators Started Their Partnership Journey at AMUG,” will discuss how an automotive and a defense company found transferable additive manufacturing value through their partnership.
Fournier and Sawyer jointly stated, “AMUG has been, and continues to be, a forum where AM users from multiple disciplines and industries come together to share achievements and learning.” They continued, “The question, though, is how effective is knowledge transfer at such an industry event, and what does it amount to in terms of industrial growth, differentiated capabilities, and business revenue pursuits?”
To answer those questions, Fournier and Sawyer will discuss how their respective companies have used the AMUG platform to uncover insights and innovations that apply across industries. Specifically, this keynote will tell the story of how the leading U.S. Defense drone manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, connected with Divergent Technologies following a 2022 AMUG Conference keynote speech by Kevin Czinger, founder of Divergent.
They will share details on how that AMUG-initiated connection led to important and valuable business and product transformations by learning from one another and identifying applicable AM technology that transfers across vastly different product lines. During the discussion, they may showcase hardware that is representative of the products that emerged from their partnership.
Alex Roschli, AMUG’s Director, Education and Conference, said, “Separately, General Atomics and Divergent have been well-recognized for their impressive outcomes when applying additive manufacturing. I am very excited to hear how they have elevated the value of the technology through their partnership.”
Steve Fournier has over 23 years of experience in Silicon Valley R&D, product and business development, engineering project management, and manufacturing, including optical telecom & lasers, semiconductor mechatronic equipment, DoE National Laboratory projects, and DoD aerospace/aviation unmanned aerial systems. For the past 15 years, he has been a driving force in additive manufacturing and advanced production technologies, leading transformative initiatives that fuse innovation with industrial execution. As the leader of the Additive Designs & Manufacturing Center of Excellence at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Fournier is shaping the future of aerospace manufacturing and is the strategic force behind the company’s Factory of the Future.
Scott Sawyer serves as Director of Programs at Divergent, overseeing a portfolio of over 25 programs in both the commercial and defense sectors. In his role, Sawyer engages with government and industry customers to bring the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) to platform designs, enabling modular, affordable, scalable structural solutions. With a background in aerospace engineering, Sawyer has been working to bring additive manufacturing to aircraft platform design and production for over a decade. He has over 15 years of experience in the defense industry supporting DoW programs, previously working at Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
In addition to Fournier’s and Sawyer’s Tuesday keynote, featured presentations on the AMUG Conference’s main stage will be a panel discussion with industry leaders representing AMUG’s Diamond Sponsors on Monday, March 16, a keynote presentation by Ronen Hadar of The LEGO Group on Thursday, March 19, and the Innovators Showcase on Wednesday, March 18. The keynotes and featured presentations will kickstart each day of the conference and set the tone for nearly 150 presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and hands-on training sessions.
Designed for novice and experienced additive manufacturing users, the AMUG Conference agenda topics range from technology basics to advanced applications to business considerations. Conference details and registration are available at www.amug.com.
ABOUT ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING USERS GROUP (AMUG)
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation, is a catalyst for its community of members to drive additive manufacturing forward. We are committed to educating and advancing AM applications for industrial purposes. Our annual gatherings provide a platform for in-depth technical presentations, workshops, and hands-on experiences, focusing on processes, technologies, and real-world applications. Join us at www.amug.com to be part of the innovation shaping the future of manufacturing.
Todd Grimm
AMUG
+1 859-331-5340
email us here
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