In-house R&D a Must For Industry Giant

In this exclusive interview with LMT, Jim Glidewell, owner of Glidewell Laboratories, Newport Beach, California, and five other labs in the U.S., Costa Rica and Mexico, shares why he got involved in research and development, the challenges it presents, and what he and his staff have in the works.

LMT: You've been working on R&D in some capacity since 1988. Why did you initially decide to get involved?

Glidewell: The average lab has between one to five people and, therefore, most equipment and materials are developed for that size market. Very large labs are not an efficient target market--for instance, most labs don't need a conveyor burnout furnace that can process hundreds of rings a day--so very little research goes to the expensive production of products that may receive a resounding "no sale."

When we first got involved in R&D, we had two objectives:...