Protolabs to Open New Manufacturing Plant in Minnesota
March 16, 2018
Custom prototypes and on-demand production parts manufacturer Protolabs recently announced plans to expand its recently-purchased 152,000-sq-ft production facility in Brooklyn Park, MN by some 50,000 sq. ft to increase the amount of space available for CNC machining, a company press release announced Friday.
Along with growing the site’s footprint, Protolabs plans to move 225 jobs to the Brooklyn Park plant to allow the company to expand the injection molding capabilities of its Plymouth, MN facility. The firm also said it is investing in manufacturing equipment at its American and European production facilities.
“We are excited about the growth we’ve experienced in machining,” said Rob Bodor, vice president and general manager of Americas at Protolabs, in a statement. “Opening an additional facility in Brooklyn Park, along with investing in more machining and injection molding equipment around the world, demonstrates our ability to evolve and increase the services we provide to our customers as we capture share in this dynamic market.”
Protolabs bought 75 CNC mills and 25 injection molding presses for its U.S. facilities over the past year, and purchased 25 CNC machines and six injection molding presses for its operations in Europe. According to the release, the company’s global manufacturing capacity now includes more than 1000 presses, mills, press breaks, laser cutters, 3D printers, and lathes.
“We helped over 35,000 product developers last year and this added capacity will provide the scale to continue serving companies from innovative startups to Fortune 100 companies and everyone in between,” said Bodor.
The company said it expects the Brooklyn Park plant to be fully operational by the year’s end.
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