AMUG 2026 Keynotes to Feature LEGO and Aerospace Collaborations in Reno

AMUG’s five-day conference in Reno will center on cross-industry collaboration and hands-on learning, with Ronen Hadar of The LEGO Group delivering the Thursday keynote and a joint presentation from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Divergent scheduled for Tuesday. The March 15–19 event at the Grand Sierra Resort will stage nearly 150 sessions across 14 topical tracks, plus new Training Labs and expanded hands-on workshops hosted by industry sponsors.

The Tuesday keynote carries the title "From Hypercars to Defense Drones: How Two Major Industry Innovators Started Their Partnership Journey at AMUG." Presenters are Steve Fournier, leader of the Additive Designs & Manufacturing Center of Excellence at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, and Scott Sawyer, identified in conference communications both as Director of Programs at Divergent and as Director of Aerospace and Defense programs at Divergent. AMUG materials describe General Atomics as the leading U.S. defense drone manufacturer and trace the partnership back to a 2022 AMUG connection following a keynote from Divergent founder Kevin Czinger.

Fournier and Sawyer will outline how the 2022 connection developed into a cross-sector collaboration, with AMUG messaging saying the talk will offer concrete examples of measurable industrial outcomes including new capabilities, hardware development, and business transformation. Conference organizers have repeatedly positioned the joint presentation as an example of AMUG’s ability to bring together "power users" of additive manufacturing from defense aerospace and automotive hypercar sectors who would not otherwise cross paths.

The LEGO keynote is titled "Additive Manufacturing at Scale in Consumer Goods: The Case of The LEGO Group." Ronen Hadar, Senior Director and Head of Additive Design & Manufacturing at The LEGO Group, will present on Thursday, March 19 about integrating additive manufacturing into high-volume, low-cost plastic production to deliver new design flexibility and consumer value. The session is listed among morning keynotes that AMUG says will set the tone for the week’s nearly 150 technical talks, workshops, and hands-on training offerings.

AMUG’s week also includes a Monday panel with the conference’s Diamond Sponsors and the Innovators Showcase on Wednesday, March 18, alongside recurring features such as AMUGexpo and the New Member Welcome. The organization describes itself as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit supporting industrial additive manufacturing users through education and collaboration, and AMUG President Shannon VanDeren has described program changes as "these updates are designed to combine the conference’s established strengths with a [...]" to build a refreshed approach to technical training.

Registration opened earlier this year for the Grand Sierra Resort program; organizers frame AMUG 2026 as a push toward tangible business impact by pairing case-study keynotes with nearly 150 sessions, 14 tracks, and expanded hands-on labs that promise practical takeaways for both novice and experienced additive manufacturing users. The conference runs March 15–19 in Reno and will emphasize cross-industry know-how applied to real industrial work.