Protolabs ‘well positioned’ to assist during coronavirus pandemic

Protolabs is ‘well positioned’ to assist its customers during the coronavirus pandemic, and weather the disruption it brings, according to Bjoern Klaas, its vice president and managing director EMEA.

Protolabs has issued a statement regarding the current pandemic.

The statement begins by addressing those affected: “As a world leading digital manufacturer we are monitoring and preparing for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The nature of the outbreak is continuing to evolve, and our sympathies go to all those affected.”

The company claims it is, “already working with government authorities and organisations across Europe to assist in the manufacture of critical components to support the effort to combat the disease which is impacting society.”

As a direct result of the company’s digital end-to-end manufacturing process, Protolabs believes the organisation is, “well positioned to weather this type of disruption while assisting our customers through their own supply chain disruptions.

“Our customer ordering process is ecommerce-based, requiring no direct human contact, but where contact is requested by our customers it is done via email and/or phone. Our manufacturing processes are digital, and while we do need people in our facilities to operate, we require significantly fewer operators than any other type of manufacturing.”

All of Protolabs’ manufacturing facilities remain fully operational; however, the company has implemented certain practices to attempt to reduce infection risk. These measures include travel restrictions, social distancing, hygiene measures, following quarantine advice and working from home.

With regards to production, Klaas explains: “We operate our manufacturing facilities from across Europe, so enabling us to balance production across multiple sites.

“As for our supply chain we primarily use widely available metals and plastics that can be sourced from multiple suppliers both domestically and internationally.”

This means that the Protolabs supply chain aims to be well prepared to help ensure business continuity throughout the supply base, helping to avoid supply chain risks for customers. 

The statement concludes: “We are aware of the interconnectedness of the global economy, but our supply chain is well prepared to respond appropriately. Protolabs will continue to monitor our resources and dependencies to help ensure a consistent experience to all our customers.

“With our dynamic risk-based management framework, Protolabs is not currently adversely affected and in fact is already working with many customers to help them face their own challenges within their global supply chains.”