Even with the advantages of a 20-year
track record in digital manufacturing,
the landscape today is not without its
challenges. “I think people have this
idea of manufacturing as a dirty, dark
assembly line – like it was in the old
days,” says Holt. “Today, it’s a high tech,
exciting place to work with lots of change.”
She emphasizes that attracting talent,
helping young people entering the
workforce to understand how vibrant
and exciting the space is, has become
a mission-critical priority for Protolabs.
The need for top talent is only emphasized
by the second big challenge in the
industry – something that Holt notes
is sweeping through every business
ecosystem: the accelerating pace
of change.
However, generational transformation
appears to be on her side. “One of
the main trends right now in the
manufacturing sector is very short
product life cycles,” she explains.
“People expect improvements at
a pretty fast clip these days. So, being
able to very quickly design, prototype,
and launch products is a critical
success factor for manufacturers.”
In addition to short production cycles,
consumer demand for quick delivery—
Victoria Holt,
President and CEO, Protolabs“We’re starting to
see a lot of interest
in the aerospace
and medical
device areas”
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