The Protocase Companies Mark Major U.S. Manufacturing Milestone With Launch of Laser Cutting Operations in Wilmington

Latest Investment Expands Production Capacity and Strengthens the Company’s Growing U.S. Manufacturing Footprint

WILMINGTON, NC – July 9, 2026 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) – The Protocase Companies today announced the launch of laser cutting operations at its Wilmington, North Carolina manufacturing facility, marking a major milestone in the company’s continued expansion of its U.S. manufacturing footprint. The first production parts were successfully cut on July 7, bringing one of Protocase’s foundational manufacturing capabilities to its rapidly growing U.S. operation.

Laser cutting is one of the core technologies behind Protocase’s proprietary High Velocity Mass Customization (HVMC) manufacturing model. Bringing the capability to Wilmington establishes end-to-end precision sheet metal fabrication within the company’s U.S. operation, increases production capacity and supports the fast turnaround times customers rely on for custom-manufactured parts.

The milestone comes during a period of rapid growth for the company’s North Carolina operations. Between May and July, The Protocase Companies grew its Wilmington workforce from 39 employees to 72 while continuing to expand production inside its 20,900-square-foot manufacturing facility. The investment reflects the company’s long-term commitment to growing advanced manufacturing capacity in the United States while creating highly skilled manufacturing careers in southeastern North Carolina.

“High Velocity Mass Customization isn’t just about the equipment. It’s about how experienced people, proven systems, smart facilities, and years of proven advanced manufacturing know-how work in harmony together. Bringing laser cutting to Wilmington is another step in building a stronger manufacturing operation. Every capability we add gives us more capacity to serve customers while maintaining the speed and quality they’ve come to expect from Protocase,” said Co-founder and Vice President Dr. Doug Milburn.

For engineers, researchers and product developers, manufacturing speed often determines how quickly ideas become prototypes, products and breakthroughs. Expanding core production capabilities in Wilmington enables Protocase to move more projects from design to finished parts in days instead of weeks, helping customers accelerate development without compromising precision or quality.

Protocase is already investing in the next phase of its Wilmington expansion. A dedicated CNC machining operation is planned to further broaden its U.S. manufacturing capabilities, while exploratory plans are underway for a larger Wilmington campus that would include expanded manufacturing space and corporate offices to support continued growth.

With laser cutting now online and additional investments already underway, Wilmington is becoming an increasingly important manufacturing hub for The Protocase Companies. Each new capability strengthens the company’s ability to deliver rapid, custom manufacturing to engineers, innovators and organizations across the United States and around the world.

About The Protocase Companies

The Protocase Companies are leaders in rapid custom manufacturing, advanced computing infrastructure and precision manufacturing solutions. Through Protocase, the company pioneered its High Velocity Mass Customization manufacturing model, enabling engineers, researchers and innovators to receive precision sheet metal parts, CNC machined components and custom electronic enclosures in days rather than weeks. The Protocase Companies also include 45Drives, a leader in open-source data storage and private cloud infrastructure, and ProtoSpace Manufacturing, which provides advanced precision manufacturing services. Headquartered in Sydney, Nova Scotia, with a rapidly expanding U.S. manufacturing operation in Wilmington, North Carolina, The Protocase Companies serve customers across aerospace, defense, robotics, scientific research, advanced computing, industrial technology and other innovation-driven industries worldwide.

Contact: 
Jon Lindsay Phillips
Protocase@PhillComm.Global

View the original release on www.newmediawire.com

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Manufacturing Internships – Cutting Tool Engineering

During my 45-year career as a machine tool distributor in the Midwest manufacturing sector I have witnessed all sorts of changes throughout the industry. In the early 1980s I watched the apprenticeship model close down as more and more companies began offshoring. High schools with shop classes began to shun shop skills as the shift to “a service-based economy” gained momentum. Having just joined the industry, I naively overlooked the impact that shift would have on the industry. In retrospect, what seemed like a loud cry for more skilled workers back then now seems like a mere whisper compared to the skills gap we face today.

Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for a workforce shortage decades in the making. Resolving the manufacturing labor crunch will require a multi-faceted effort involving industry, government and the educational system. For this article, however, I want to focus on one significant component of that effort: Advanced manufacturing internships and how they help introduce young people to metalworking careers.

Manufacturing Internship Infrastructure Matters

Internships in the Midwest are very popular and very well accepted in the manufacturing sector.  Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana — where I’ve spent most of my career — have embraced manufacturing internships. While that’s great for the Midwest, internship acceptance levels from one state to the next are painfully uneven throughout the rest of the country. There are states that have a huge manufacturing presence, but their internship infrastructure cuts across many industry sectors. Manufacturing is important to the economy in these states, but not the dominant industry.

Meanwhile, states that shine brightly in their implementation of manufacturing internships often happen to be states where the manufacturing sector is the chief GDP breadwinner. In my view, that’s no coincidence.

To gain a better understanding of the factors shaping the U.S. manufacturing internship landscape, I jumped down the rabbit hole known as ChatGPT chasing after information that would help demonstrate how a robust manufacturing internship infrastructure can help manufacturing-centric states take their workforce pipelines to a higher level. My digital journey led to research delving into the following characteristics deemed essential for a state’s manufacturing internship infrastructure:

• the prevalence of statewide work-based learning initiatives,
• the clarity of youth labor and workers’ compensation frameworks,
• the willingness of large manufacturers to offer structured internship programs, and
• the strength of each state’s career and technical education (CTE) pipeline.

The legislative policy and workforce information I found primarily comes from state-level labor and education agencies, the U.S. Department of Labor, and Advance CTE, a national association of CTE professionals. I also gathered recent manufacturing employment and economic data on the chance I might find a connection between advanced manufacturing internship acceptance and manufacturing’s share of total employment and total GDP within each state. For this, I primarily relied on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Ultimately, I managed to identify a dozen bellwether states that have achieved a level of advanced manufacturing internship acceptance that is highly normalized and structurally embedded within their statewide workforce systems. The 12 bellwether states include Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Midwest Neighbors

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin combine strong manufacturing concentration with coordinated education-to-industry pipelines, clearly defined work-based learning frameworks and widespread employer participation. Internships are not isolated initiatives but part of mature, scalable talent development ecosystems.

These states also have demonstrated alignment across manufacturing density clusters, CTE participation, apprenticeship infrastructure and employer adoption. Large manufacturers in these states anchor internship pipelines that extend to small- and mid-sized firms, reinforcing a culture where early exposure to manufacturing careers is standard practice rather than an exception. Major manufacturers offering internship programs in these states include Procter & Gamble (Ohio), GM (Michigan), Ford (Michigan), Cummins (Indiana), GE Aerospace (Ohio), Caterpillar (Illinois), Rockwell Automation (Wisconsin) and Dow (Michigan).

Regional Mix

Meanwhile, Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee have developed strong and expanding internship ecosystems, though adoption may vary regionally. Manufacturing remains a significant economic driver in these states, and statewide work-based learning initiatives are present and growing. Internship participation is common among major employers and increasingly adopted by mid-sized firms.

These states often combine robust manufacturing business clusters with active workforce policy initiatives. Internship programs are increasingly integrated into CTE pathways and apprenticeship expansion efforts.

Major manufacturers offering internships in these states include Caterpillar (North Carolina), Michelin (South Carolina), Honda Aircraft (North Carolina), Nissan (Tennessee), Volkswagen (Tennessee), Kia (Georgia), Hyundai Metaplant (Georgia), Eastman Chemical (Tennessee), Medtronic (Minnesota) and Honeywell Aerospace (Minnesota).

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