Low-Volume Manufacturers Association Names Tangible Express 'Rapid' Innovator of the Year

Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) January 15, 2008 -- Tangible Express, the global pioneer in fractional ownership of manufacturing assets and a tier-one provider of rapid-prototyping and rapid-manufacturing services has been named the 'Rapid' Innovator of the Year by the Low-Volume Manufacturers Association.

L-VMA is a volunteer organization dedicated to showcasing the benefits of rapid-prototyping, rapid-manufacturing and other additive fabrication technologies.

Tangible Express was selected as the recipient of the first annual 'Rapid' Innovator of the Year on the strength of its multi-million dollar embrace of state-of-the-art additive fabrication equipment and its unique decision to make ownership shares of that equipment available to its global client base.

"Tangible Express made a clear and unambiguous statement that 'rapid' is a technology not just for the future, but for here and now," says Dean Rotbart, L-VMA's director. Rotbart says that L-VMA was particularly impressed by Tangible Express's move to permit all entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers and designers the benefits of 'rapid' ownership without incurring the significant capital investments ordinarily associated with the kinds of high-end equipment that Tangible Express utilizes.

"Tangible Express has won the rapt attention of companies as large as Boeing and Rockwell, while also capturing the imagination of small, privately owned manufacturers," Rotbart noted.

In addition, Rotbart said, Springville, UT-based Tangible Express demonstrated that its fractional ownership concept has global appeal, receiving highly positive feedback from the company's meetings in the U.S. and China with foreign manufacturers. Tangible Express was also a hot topic among many delegates to this year's Euromold fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

There were many great companies in the running for this year's 'Rapid' Innovator award, including Desktop Factory, which began accepting online orders for its breakthrough 125ci 3D Printer, priced at under $5,000. Other finalists on the L-VMA ballot included Materialise Group, the Belgium-based provider of innovative software solutions; Medical Modeling LLC, which from its base in Golden, Colorado is at the forefront of using 'rapid' technologies to revolutionize the medical and health fields; and Stratasys Inc., the Eden Prairie, MN maker of systems and parts.

"In 2007, I had the privilege of getting to know first-hand many of the companies and executives in the 'rapid' industry, and as a group they are amazingly impressive," Rotbart said. He noted that he personally has done paid promotional work for some of the key players in the industry, including Tangible Express, and thus knows their quality and dedication from the inside out.

L-VMA surveyed industry leaders and executives in December 2007 concerning their recommendations for 'Rapid' Innovator of the Year.

L-VMA will officially present its award to David A. McInnis, Tangible Express founder and chairman, and C. Alex Linde, president and chief operating officer, in mid-May in a ceremony planned to coincide with the annual Rapid Conference & Exposition, to be held this year in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

To learn more about L-VMA or to participate in one of its many annual promotional efforts on behalf of the 'Rapid' industry, contact Dean Rotbart at (director@l-vma.org) or phone him at 1-866-541-RPRM (7776).

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