Bangor Maine 3-D printing and product development company
Transcript
My name is Andrew Katon. I’m the CEO of L&K Manufacturing, and we actually just recently moved to Bangor, Maine.
We actually launched the company when I was still an undergrad here, and we were able to utilize some lab space in the Advanced Manufacturing Center. That’s how we started designing things, and helping people out to grow our business.
We launched as offering 3-D printing in design for hire services. We utilized that as a bootstrapping method to fund research and development. Our company’s longer term plan is to commercialize advanced technology for aerospace and consumer markets.
I went to school for mechanical engineering at UMaine, and while we got a wonderful education in engineering, one of the skills that I’d lacked coming out was business, so this is really a way to shorten that learning curve, and really develop an extensive network within the community.
I found out that UMaine is very connected in the entrepreneurial community in Maine, and it was a fantastic program. It set us up with mentors, so if I had a question in a specific area of our business, I had somebody that I could actually go to who’s been there, been through those entrepreneurial struggles, and would point us in the right direction.
It was really a great opportunity for that, and enhancing our ability to grow. I’m originally from from Saco. I came to school as a German major, but I transitioned into engineering. That’s where I found my passion.