Protolabs Wins Frost & Sullivan Manufacturing Leadership Award for Operational Excellence

MAPLE PLAIN, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Protolabs
(NYSE: PRLB), a global leader in technology-enabled manufacturing, today
announced that it has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan as a
Manufacturing Leadership Awards winner for its outstanding achievement
in operational excellence.

Protolabs’ winning project was called Cellular Division—a continuous
improvement initiative designed to position the company for further
business growth, achieve more favorable manufacturing costs, and
ultimately provide more economic value to its customers. The project
consisted of reorganizing the layout of its U.S. injection molding
production facility and modifying personnel responsibilities to reduce
wasted time and motion, as well as excessive materials during its
molding process.

The Cellular Division project achieved significant improvement in
productivity of direct labor, cycle time reduction of non-value-added
activities, and decreased material scrap. The improved operational
efficiency will be critical as the company continues to scale its
operations and grow its customer base with on-demand
manufacturing, its latest injection molding service option tailored
to low-volume production.

“It’s an honor to be selected by Frost & Sullivan as a leader in
manufacturing,” said Vicki Holt, Protolabs’ President and CEO. “This
continuous improvement project has been crucial to our growth during the
past year and sets us up to continue serving our customers with high
quality prototype and production parts well into the future.”

Protolabs will be recognized at the 14th Annual Manufacturing Leadership
Awards Gala, which is to be held on the last day of the Manufacturing
Leadership Summit, June 11-13, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Huntington
Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach, CA.

About Protolabs
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital
manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The
technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as
fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal
fabrication, and injection molding processes. Its digital approach to
manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development
and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life
cycle. Visit protolabs.com
for more information.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Awards
The Manufacturing
Leadership Awards, now in their 14th year, honor manufacturing companies
and individual manufacturing leaders that are shaping the future of
global manufacturing. Winning projects and individual manufacturing
leaders have demonstrated achievement in one of a wide range of
categories, and are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that
have delivered clear and compelling value, return on investment, and
other tangible outcomes. There will be several winners in each category,
including one High Achiever’s Award in each category, as well as a 2018
Manufacturer of the Year for both small and large enterprises. Also
unveiled at the Gala will be the ML Awards Manufacturing Leader of the
Year and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

The theme for the 14th Annual Manufacturing Leadership Summit is
“Accelerating the Transformation to Manufacturing 4.0.” The event
enables senior-level executives in all aspects of manufacturing an
opportunity to network with and learn from the best minds in the
industry.

For more information on the Manufacturing Leadership Awards or the
Manufacturing Leadership Summit, please go to mlsummit.com.

Contacts

Protolabs
Sarah Ekenberg, 763-479-7560
[email protected]
or
Padilla
for Protolabs
Tim Nelson, 612-455-1789
[email protected]