Current and projected customer demand has seen a €4m outlay proposed for new machinery and expanding premises across Proto Labs’ advanced manufacturing services across Europe.
The company has already confirmed large-scale purchases of Haas CNC machines and Arburg injection moulding machines for its UK base in Telford, boosting its inventory to 130 CNC machining and 57 injection moulding machines.
Lee Ball, Proto Labs UK general manager, said: “Customers today across all industries require fast turnaround, especially in product development.
“Our continuous investment allows us to meet the ever growing needs of our thousands of customers across all industries.”
The new Haas machines will be configured for either mould making or component machining, with both of these services growing at a rapid pace.
Proto Labs’ two sites in Germany will also benefit, with the move fuelled by its growth across varied industries across the country, including metals 3D printing for medical, for which its Eschenlohe facility is certified with the needed EN ISO 13485:2012 quality standard.
“Additional space will be required within the next 18 to 24 months to accommodate our projected level of growth, both to our office space and manufacturing capacity,” commented Ball of the UK sites, adding that a similar expansion plan is also in development to support expected growth at its German facilities at Eschenlohe and Feldkirchen.
