Protolabs
About
About Protolabs
Protolabs is a digital manufacturer of custom parts for prototyping and end-use production, founded in Minnesota in 1999. Its services combine CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing and sheet-metal fabrication. Customers upload designs for automated pricing and manufacturability feedback, then use company-operated factories or the Protolabs Network of manufacturing partners according to process, quantity and lead-time requirements. The company serves product developers, engineers and supply-chain teams across multiple industries.
For robotics developers, its manufacturing work includes structural parts, gears, motor mounts, gripper components and protective enclosures. Flexible printed materials support design iteration and testing, while machined metals and engineering plastics support functional components. Protolabs reported that revenue from robotics customers more than doubled in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Proto Labs, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange as PRLB.
Supply
Supply chain relationships
- Shadow Robot
Outbound - Manufacturing - Protolabs moulded finger parts and CNC-machined aluminium tactile-sensor parts for Shadow Dexterous Hand development
Source - Sniffer Robotics
Outbound - Manufacturing - Protolabs supplied SLA-printed prototype parts for Sniffer Robotics methane-monitoring drones through a manufacturing grant
Source - FarmBot
Outbound - Manufacturing - Protolabs produced injection-moulded FarmBot parts through its 2017 Cool Idea manufacturing grant
Source
Financials
- PRLB - NYSE - USD
Team
- Suresh Krishna - President and CEO
- Marc Kermisch - Chief Technology and AI Officer - Leads the global technology organization and development of manufacturing software, automation and AI.
Resources
Curated durable documents and official technical references.
- 2025 Annual Report / Form 10-K
PDF · Financial year ended 31 December 2025 · Proto Labs, Inc.
Source - Manufacturing Robotics Report
WEB · Robotics materials and manufacturing · Protolabs and Wevolver
Source
Timeline
Events
- 2026-09-23 - Market Signal - Protolabs reports more than doubled robotics revenue in first half of 2026
CNC applications include structural components, gears and motor mounts in lightweight metals and engineering plastics. Robotics customers use flexible 3D-printing materials including TPU, TPV and silicone for iterative development. The company combines its own digital factories with Protolabs Network manufacturing partners.
Source - 2025-10-13 - Executive Hire - Protolabs appoints Marc Kermisch chief technology and AI officer
Kermisch previously led technology at Emergent Software and digital and information functions at CNH. His CNH work included autonomous vehicles, precision farming applications and electric powertrains. The role succeeds Oleg Ryaboy and covers software, manufacturing automation and AI.
Source - 2025-05-21 - Executive Hire - Protolabs appoints Suresh Krishna president and CEO
Krishna succeeds Rob Bodor, who entered a consulting arrangement to support the leadership transition. His earlier operations roles covered Sleep Number, Polaris Industries and UTC Fire & Security. The appointment accompanies a strategy to expand production manufacturing alongside prototyping.
Source - 2021-01-25 - Acquisition - Protolabs completes acquisition of 3D Hubs
The closing consideration comprised $130 million in cash and $150 million in Protolabs stock. Up to $50 million in additional consideration depended on 2021 and 2022 financial performance. The acquired platform expanded available manufacturing capabilities and pricing and lead-time options.
Source
Notes
Profile notes
- 3D Hubs moved from an open peer marketplace to a vetted B2B manufacturing network
reviewed 2026-07-20 - 3D Hubs began by matching customers with a distributed community of local desktop 3D-printer owners. It progressively replaced that open marketplace with a controlled network of professional suppliers, then became Protolabs Network after acquisition; the current service is corporate and technical continuity of the platform, but not continuity of its original community-printing model.
Source
Relations
Relationships
- 3D Hubs, Inc.
Completed Acquisition - Protolabs acquired 3D Hubs for $280 million in cash and stock at closing, adding its manufacturing partner network.
Context
Shared workflows
- Fictiv
workflow adjacency - Additive Manufacturing Production
- Beehive Industries
workflow adjacency - Additive Manufacturing Production
Context tags
- Additive manufacturing supplier - Peer Group - On-demand digital manufacturing with owned factories and vetted manufacturing partners; CNC, molding,3Dprinting. https://www.protolabs.com/about-us/
- Additive manufacturing production - Workflow - Additive manufacturing of robotics prototypes and production components using flexible materials, including TPU,TPV,silicone.