05/09/2017
GCC Group Launches Operations in Ghana
The GCC Group, an international conglomerate with its headquarters in Poland, has launched its operations in Ghana. The group currently focuses on using 3D (three-dimensional) technology to revolutionize the production process with a goal to affecting the day-to-day livelihoods of millions of people, especially in the less-developed world. In a move that could be seen as disruptive and a first in the world, the GCC Group has created a global 3D printing network concept with its own 3D printing hub - an advanced and user-friendly portal, connecting 3D designers with commercial users. The group also has its own cryptocurrency, the GCCcoin, to conveniently facilitate easy and hustle-free transactions on its platform.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a seminar at the Movenpick Ambassador hotel in Accra, Jan Pasboel, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of the group disclosed that the real interest of his company in introducing 3D technology to Ghana is to cause a paradigm shift in the production process and to positively impact on the lives of the people in every nook and cranny of the country. “With 3D, the only limit to human creativity is his own imagination.” “Just imagine being able to print a machine part in a broken-down water treatment plant in a village somewhere in Northern Ghana without traveling to Accra or Kumasi” he quips. “This is what 3D brings – it makes life convenient and people do not have to always travel to purchase any item they want, be it shoes, mobile phone cases, wedding rings or even candy.”
Another good thing about this technology, according to Jan, is that “it does not sacrifice quality and durability for convenience.” This is to say that “whatever the quality standard of your original machine part, you can still have it in your 3D printed part.”
Jan further reveals that his 3D printing hub is meant to empower people and it thus enables anyone “to design a product, upload it onto the hub, and earn money anytime someone else decides to download and print that product design anywhere in the world.”
3D technology is seen as the new industrial revolution and the next frontier in human creativity. Indeed experts have estimated a 500 percent growth in the industry within the next three (3) years with 20 percent of global manufacturing expected to be done through the technology in the next ten (10) years. The technology is also cost-efficient as it eliminates costs relating to warehousing and transportation in the production chain. Variety of materials ranging from plastic, silver, titanium, steel, bronze, ceramic and even gold can be used in the printing process.
