Who We Are

aerial shot of manufacturing facility

Our company was founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, a successful entrepreneur and computer geek who wanted to radically reduce the time it took to get injection-molded plastic prototype parts. His solution was to automate the traditional manufacturing process by developing complex software that communicated with a network of mills and presses. As a result, plastic and metal parts could be produced in a fraction of the time it had ever taken before.

Over the next decade, we would continue to expand our injection molding envelope, introduce quick-turn CNC machining, and open global facilities in Europe and Japan.

In 2014, we launched industrial-grade3 d打印服务华体会app官网to allow product developers, designers, and engineers an easier path to move from early prototyping to low-volume production.

And in 2017, we acquired Rapid Manufacturing to further expand our machining capabilities and introduce sheet metal fabrication into our suite of services. But that's not all! Global online manufacturing platform,Hubs, also joined the Protolabs family in early 2021.

Our growth and expansion of capabilities over the past two decades has always been about providing you, our customer, with the best possible2022世界杯附加赛决赛experience in the industry. That continued evolution will never stop, and it's what helps shape our vision and mission as a company.

Vision

Accelerating innovation by revolutionizing manufacturing.

Mission

We empower companies to bring new ideas to market by offering the fastest and most comprehensive digital manufacturing service in the world.




A Brief History of Protolabs

Take a quick trip through our company’s past to see where we came from, where we are, and where we’re headed.




Digital Manufacturing Tour

Join us on a virtual tour of one of our digital manufacturing facilities located in Minnesota.



Our Digital Network of Manufacturers at Hubs

Bring ideas to market with the fastest and most comprehensive digital manufacturing service in the world. Access Protolabs’ digital factories foraccelerated manufacturingof quality parts paired with our digital network of global manufacturers forvolume pricing, tighter tolerances, and more complexity. The result? Digital manufacturing and engineering expertise that meets all your needs from prototyping to production.