2016 was a busy year for Minnesota-headquartered Proto Labs, purportedly the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for low-volume production parts and custom prototypes. The company's motto is "Real Parts. Really Fast," and it uses injection molding, CNC machining, and 3D printing to produce parts for its customers in just days. Last year, Proto Labs teamed up with 3DPrint.com for a free webinar on Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), opened a new manufacturing facility and expanded services with Concept Laser, had a good increase in revenue, and introduced its new rapid insert molding technology at SOLIDWORKS 2017. This is all great news, and probably makes the founder and board chairman of Proto Labs, Larry Lukis, very proud to be leaving the company that he launched 18 years ago in such good shape. Proto Labs announced this week that Lukis has decided to retire from Proto Labs, and will not be standing up for re-election on the board at the company's annual meeting this May. There's another reason Lukis can retire knowing his company is in good hands and doing well: for the third year in a row, it's been recognized by Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/166919/proto-labs-award-retirement/