Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
July 11, 2018 02:00 AM

Mobility group LM Industries forms as digital manufacturing powerhouse

Audrey LaForest
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    LM Industries Group Inc.
    Microfactories are a key aspect of LM Industries' approach to improving a product's speed to market. The microfactories focus on rapid prototyping, modular experimentation and small-batch product manufacturing via 3D printing.

    Low-volume, 3D-printed vehicle and mobility device manufacturer Local Motors Inc. and collaborative product design platform Launch Forth are now housed under newly formed parent company LM Industries Group Inc.

    The San Francisco-based mobility group is calling itself "the world's first digital original equipment manufacturer," taking concepts to production in less than a year by way of its access to Launch Forth's global community of problem solvers and Local Motors' use of microfactories and additive manufacturing.

    The company said in a June 20 news release that bringing the two subsidiaries together under one group will provide customers with "a better alternative to mass manufacturing."

    "The LM Industries solution is meant to be an end-to-end solution as a digital OEM and that starts with our Launch Forth group that does the co-creation and ideation all the way through the build of a [minimum viable product] or proof of concept," Gregory Haye, general manager and director of corporate partnerships at the company's microfactory in Knoxville, Tenn., said in a phone interview.

    From there, the concept is handed off to Local Motors, which specializes in the commercialization and production efforts for the direct digital manufacturing of vehicles or mobility devices, usually via 3D printing, Haye said. The company is perhaps best known for 3D printing its self-driving electric shuttle called Olli.

    LM Industries Group Inc.

    Olli is a self-driving electric shuttle made with 3D-printed plastic parts and components. The vehicle was unveiled by Local Motors Inc. in 2016.

    From a supply chain perspective, LM Industries is aiming to shake up the manufacturing industry, especially in the mobility sector, by speeding up the development, validation and production process.

    "The traditional automotive development cycle and amortization cycle is maybe somewhere between five and 10 years, depending on the vehicle application, and we're working on a cycle that's probably somewhere between six to 12 months," he said.

    Haye described a situation where Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers have technologies that have been validated internally and are ready to be sold to an OEM for integration into a vehicle program, but sit dormant on a shelf due to the long development and amortization cycles of these products.

    With the distributive manufacturing and "footprint light" model of LM Industries, Haye explained, the company has flexibility in the marketplace that enables rapid technology integration into a vehicle.

    "With our ability to move much faster, we are able to introduce new solutions from our supply chain into the vehicle before others can," he said. "It's our advantage in the marketplace because we can keep the pace of technology in which it's being developed and integrate it into a vehicle system."

    Moving forward, LM Industries will continue to create transportation, accessibility and mobility products with its two subsidiaries and through ongoing partnerships with customers such as German financial services provider Allianz Group, Airbus SE and the U.S. Marine Corps.

    Through its partnership with Allianz, for example, Local Motors is looking to deploy its Olli vehicle in multiple cities. Other projects now in progress include a customizable accessibility device — a revamping of the wheelchair, so to speak — as well as a modular logistics vehicle and a driverless cargo system for the U.S. Marine Corps.

    The group is also exploring the recyclability of 3D-printed thermoplastic composite parts, such as chassis made from carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic, in vehicle applications.

    LM Industries has an estimated 105 workers employed across its five locations in San Francisco; Tempe, Ariz.; Chandler, Ariz.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and National Harbor, Md.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Numbers That Matter Live — sign up for the next live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Target, Walmart cut from bag drop-off site directory following report
    2
    Plastics industry social media accounts worth following
    3
    PVC, PS resin prices take opposite paths in May
    4
    Resin Prices
    5
    Recycling plant for laminated packaging launches in Mexico
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified