Episode #28 | How Additive Manufacturing Stepped Up When Disaster Struck

The Story of a Distributed Manufacturing Response Led by Stratasys Direct

In October 2024, a major hurricane struck the U.S., leaving destruction in its wake—including the disruption of a critical injection molding supply chain for a top automotive manufacturer. With production at a standstill and losses mounting by the hour, the company turned to Stratasys Direct, one of the world’s largest additive manufacturing service providers, for a solution. Justin "Bud" Runquist, VP of Sales and Marketing at Stratasys Direct, led the charge in mobilizing an emergency manufacturing response. They quickly recognized that meeting the demand—500 parts per day, with the first shipment needed within seven days—required a network approach and reached out to trusted partners, including DI Labs, to expand capacity.

The response from the additive manufacturing community was overwhelmingly positive. Manufacturers across the industry stepped in, demonstrating the power of distributed manufacturing: a collaborative, decentralized approach that allows for rapid scaling.

In this episode of Solutionology Stories, hosts Carl and Brian Douglass sit down with Bud to talk about the challenges, innovations, and impact of this inspiring story and how it can be a blueprint for additive manufacturing's role in times of crisis and beyond.

00:00 Welcome Bud
02:31 Line Down!
11:00 Quality Standards for Distributed Manufacturing
15:21 Pushing Use Cases for Volume Production
25:34 A Tipping Point for Additive Manufacturing

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More about DI Labs: https://dilabs.cc/ 

More about Stratasys Direct: https://www.stratasys.com/en/stratasysdirect/