Serving Chicago
Product Development Company for Chicago Clients
Industrial equipment, housewares and connected products — designed, engineered and built by one team
LA NPDT develops products for Chicago manufacturers, brands and founders: industrial design, mechanical and electronic engineering, firmware, prototyping, testing and short-run manufacturing under one roof.
Since 2015 we have run more than 1,000 projects. Chicago clients work with us remotely from our Louisiana engineering base — same Central time zone, and prototypes in Chicagoland in about two days.
- Same Central time zone
- Founded 2015 · 1,000+ projects
- Prototypes to Chicago in ~2 days
- Engineers, not account managers
Who develops products for Chicago clients?
Short answer
LA NPDT is a full-service product development company working with Chicago clients since 2015. Industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, firmware, prototyping, testing and short-run manufacturing all happen in one team from Ruston, Louisiana — the same Central time zone as Chicago, with prototypes arriving in about two days. A mechanical product from design to working prototype typically runs $18,000 to $60,000.
Chicago's product economy is industrial: equipment, housewares, food service, contract furniture, medical hardware. Those products are judged on serviceability, unit cost and how they behave after ten thousand cycles — which is engineering work, not styling work.
How we compare to named Chicago product development firms
Chicago has deep industrial design bench strength. The question for your project is what happens after the design is approved.
Chicago-area product development firms compared on advertised scope
| Firm | Base | What they advertise | Electronics / firmware | Manufacturing | Why a client might pick us instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA NPDTUs | Ruston, Louisiana — serving Chicago remotely | Concept and industrial design, mechanical engineering, electronics, firmware, prototyping, testing, short-run manufacturing | In house | Short-run production in house | One team from sketch to first production run, at Louisiana rates |
| CHOI Design Group | Chicago, IL | Award-winning industrial design with engineering and research, strategy through prototyping to production | Not advertised as a standalone service | Production support advertised | Board design, firmware and short-run assembly stay with the same engineers |
| Product Council | Chicago, IL (founded 1994) | Industrial design, engineering, brand development, business strategy, packaging and graphics | Advertised within engineering | Not advertised as an in-house service | Direct engineer contact rather than a consultancy account structure, and lower blended rates |
| Rute Design | Chicago, IL | Industrial design, 3D development, visualisation and manufacturing experience, design to production | Not advertised | Guidance toward production | Electronics, testing and the first production run continue inside the same team |
| Morrow Design | Chicago, IL | Human-centred industrial design and product development for medical, consumer, industrial and contract furniture markets | Not advertised | Not advertised as an in-house service | We also build and ship the prototypes and the first units, not only the design package |
LA NPDTUs
- Base
- Ruston, Louisiana — serving Chicago remotely
- What they advertise
- Concept and industrial design, mechanical engineering, electronics, firmware, prototyping, testing, short-run manufacturing
- Electronics / firmware
- In house
- Manufacturing
- Short-run production in house
- Why a client might pick us instead
- One team from sketch to first production run, at Louisiana rates
CHOI Design Group
- Base
- Chicago, IL
- What they advertise
- Award-winning industrial design with engineering and research, strategy through prototyping to production
- Electronics / firmware
- Not advertised as a standalone service
- Manufacturing
- Production support advertised
- Why a client might pick us instead
- Board design, firmware and short-run assembly stay with the same engineers
Product Council
- Base
- Chicago, IL (founded 1994)
- What they advertise
- Industrial design, engineering, brand development, business strategy, packaging and graphics
- Electronics / firmware
- Advertised within engineering
- Manufacturing
- Not advertised as an in-house service
- Why a client might pick us instead
- Direct engineer contact rather than a consultancy account structure, and lower blended rates
Rute Design
- Base
- Chicago, IL
- What they advertise
- Industrial design, 3D development, visualisation and manufacturing experience, design to production
- Electronics / firmware
- Not advertised
- Manufacturing
- Guidance toward production
- Why a client might pick us instead
- Electronics, testing and the first production run continue inside the same team
Morrow Design
- Base
- Chicago, IL
- What they advertise
- Human-centred industrial design and product development for medical, consumer, industrial and contract furniture markets
- Electronics / firmware
- Not advertised
- Manufacturing
- Not advertised as an in-house service
- Why a client might pick us instead
- We also build and ship the prototypes and the first units, not only the design package
Facts taken from each firm's own public website in August 2026 and describe the services they advertise, not our opinion of their work. The last column is our own positioning, not a claim about them.
What Chicago projects typically cost and how long they take
Ranges from our own recent work, for planning purposes. A real quote comes back within one business day of your brief.
Typical budget bands and durations by scope
| Scope | Typical budget band | Typical duration | What you end up holding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concept design only | $3,500 – $12,000 | 2 – 5 weeks | Sketch directions, chosen concept, renders |
| Design plus production CAD | $9,000 – $30,000 | 5 – 10 weeks | Manufacturable CAD, drawings, DFM notes |
| Mechanical product, design to working prototype | $18,000 – $60,000 | 8 – 16 weeks | Working prototype and the files behind it |
| Connected product with electronics and firmware | $45,000 – $150,000+ | 16 – 30 weeks | Functional units, board files, firmware |
| Short-run manufacturing (first units) | Quoted per unit and volume | 4 – 10 weeks after design freeze | Sellable inventory |
Concept design only
- Typical budget band
- $3,500 – $12,000
- Typical duration
- 2 – 5 weeks
- What you end up holding
- Sketch directions, chosen concept, renders
Design plus production CAD
- Typical budget band
- $9,000 – $30,000
- Typical duration
- 5 – 10 weeks
- What you end up holding
- Manufacturable CAD, drawings, DFM notes
Mechanical product, design to working prototype
- Typical budget band
- $18,000 – $60,000
- Typical duration
- 8 – 16 weeks
- What you end up holding
- Working prototype and the files behind it
Connected product with electronics and firmware
- Typical budget band
- $45,000 – $150,000+
- Typical duration
- 16 – 30 weeks
- What you end up holding
- Functional units, board files, firmware
Short-run manufacturing (first units)
- Typical budget band
- Quoted per unit and volume
- Typical duration
- 4 – 10 weeks after design freeze
- What you end up holding
- Sellable inventory
Bands assume a single product, not a family, and exclude tooling and certification-lab fees.
Everything a product needs, in one team
Design and engineering
Concept design, industrial design, mechanical engineering, tolerance and materials work, and design for manufacture.
Electronics and code
Schematic capture, PCB layout, firmware and application software for connected and battery-powered products.
Prototyping and testing
Printed, machined and cast prototypes, functional builds, and in-house testing before anything is committed to tooling.
Short-run manufacturing
First production runs, assembly and packing so you can sell before committing to hard tooling.
Regulatory groundwork
Designing to the standards your category needs, and preparing what a certification lab will ask for.
One point of contact
The engineer running your project is the one you talk to. No account layer between you and the work.
Products in the categories Chicago brings us
Industrial equipment, food service, housewares and controls — with the engineering shown, not just the render.
Mechanical equipment design
Brunson machinery tools engineered for real shop-floor use.
See the project
Automated pizza machine
Food-service machine prototyped at full scale before production.
See the project
Commercial refrigeration
A cooling product designed, engineered and prepared for build.
See the project
Designing for a shop floor, not a showroom
Midwest projects usually arrive with an existing product and a specific complaint: it costs too much to build, the field keeps replacing the same part, or a supplier discontinued a component and the assembly no longer closes.
That work is unglamorous and highly measurable. We take the existing unit, model what is actually there, and change the smallest number of parts that fixes the cost or the failure — then prove it with a built unit before anyone re-tools.
- Cost-down redesigns with the saving stated per unit, not as a percentage.
- Serviceability work: fewer fasteners, accessible wear parts, sane spare-part kits.
- Reverse engineering of legacy parts with no drawings, back into clean CAD.
- Compliance groundwork for equipment that has to pass an electrical or safety review.
Where we are — and why that works for a Chicago client
Short answer
LA NPDT is not based in Chicago. Our engineers work from Ruston, Louisiana, and serve Chicago clients remotely: shared CAD, a weekly review with the engineer doing the work, prototypes in about two days, and travel when a project genuinely needs someone in the room. The "LA" in our name is Louisiana.
We are in the same Central time zone as Chicago, so there is no calendar friction at all — a 9am call is 9am for both of us, and same-day answers are the norm rather than the exception.
Our overhead in Louisiana is a fraction of what a studio pays for space and staff in a coastal or top-ten metro, so the same senior engineering hours cost you less. What does not change is who does the work: practising mechanical, electrical, firmware and software engineers, not account managers passing files to subcontractors.
How remote development actually runs for a Chicago client
- Kickoff call to write the brief, then a standing weekly review with the engineer doing the work.
- Shared CAD and renders you can open in a browser, updated as the design moves.
- Prototypes shipped to Chicago, typically about two days in transit, with build photos before they leave.
- On-site attendance when it earns its cost: user testing, a factory visit, a trade show, a pitch.
- NDA before the first technical conversation; files transfer to you as the project closes out.
- No local surcharge — rates are the same wherever you are, only freight varies.
Where to go next
- Prototyping and 3D printing for ChicagoEngineered prototypes shipped into Chicagoland in about two days.
- Service areasHow we work with clients in every US metro from our Louisiana base.
- Product development portfolioProducts we designed, engineered and manufactured.
- All development servicesResearch, design, engineering, prototyping and short-run production.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which Chicago product development companies should I compare you with?
CHOI Design Group, Product Council, Rute Design and Morrow Design are all established Chicago industrial design and development firms. The table on this page compares what each advertises against what we do in house.
How much does product development cost for a Chicago client?
A mechanical product from design to a working prototype typically runs $18,000 to $60,000, and a connected product with electronics and firmware $45,000 to $150,000 or more. A cost-down redesign of an existing product is usually quoted against the per-unit saving it targets.
Are you located in Chicago?
No. Our engineering base is in Ruston, Louisiana — the "LA" in our name is Louisiana, not Los Angeles. Chicago clients work with us remotely: weekly reviews with your engineer, shared CAD, and prototypes shipped in about two days.
Does working remotely slow the project down?
It has not. Reviews happen weekly with the engineer doing the work rather than an account manager, files are shared live, and prototypes move by freight rather than by car — which is how they would move in your own city anyway.
Do you charge more for out-of-state clients?
No. Rates are the same wherever you are; only shipping cost varies. Our Louisiana overhead is why the same senior engineering hours cost less than a big-metro studio.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, before the first technical conversation. Files and IP transfer to you as the project closes out.
Can you redesign an existing product to reduce its cost?
Yes, and it is common Midwest work. We model the existing unit, find where the cost actually sits, change the fewest parts that move it, and prove the change with a built unit before tooling is touched.
Do you work on industrial and food-service equipment?
Yes. We have developed food-service machinery, refrigeration, shop tooling and industrial control enclosures, including the electronics inside them.
Where to go next
- Prototyping and 3D printing for ChicagoEngineered prototypes shipped into Chicagoland in about two days.
- Service areasHow we work with clients in every US metro from our Louisiana base.
- Product development portfolioProducts we designed, engineered and manufactured.
- All development servicesResearch, design, engineering, prototyping and short-run production.