2026-06-01

On 29 May, we were at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto for the Design Reveal of the FS FEUP 03 and we left genuinely energised!
Watching a room full of engineering students present a race car they designed and built from scratch is the kind of reminder that the manufacturing industry still has a lot to look forward to. The level of technical maturity on display was striking. These are not students playing at engineering. They are doing it, navigating real trade-offs between weight, aerodynamics, structural integrity and budget constraints, while working within a team of over 50 people under genuine competitive pressure.
That is the kind of talent that keeps industries like ours moving forward.

The Virtuous Triangle: Metalworking, Engineering and Motorsport
There is a reason why motorsport has always been a proving ground for manufacturing innovation. The demands are extreme, the tolerances are unforgiving and the feedback loop between design intent and real-world performance is brutally honest. What works on the track tends to work in the factory and vice versa.
At V Laser On, we work daily at the intersection of precision metalworking and complex industrial fabrication. We cut, bend, weld and finish metal components for OEMs across Europe, often to tight tolerances and demanding specifications. When the Formula Student FEUP team needed components manufactured to a standard that matched their engineering ambitions, this was a natural fit.
Metalworking. Engineering. Motorsport. These three disciplines form a virtuous triangle, each one sharpening the others, each one demanding the best from the people involved.

Why We Choose to Support Academic Projects
The decision to support Formula Student FEUP is not incidental. It sits squarely within our ESG commitments, specifically our approach to social responsibility and our belief that businesses have a genuine stake in the talent ecosystems around them.
Portugal produces excellent engineers. The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto is one of the country's flagship institutions and Formula Student FEUP is one of its most demanding extracurricular environments, the kind that bridges the gap between academic learning and industrial reality faster than any classroom can.
When companies like ours invest time and expertise in these projects, we are not just being good corporate citizens. We are making a calculated bet on the future. The engineers who learn to manufacture a race car under competitive pressure are the same people who will, five or ten years from now, be making decisions on factory floors, in procurement offices and in design studios. Building that relationship early and building it on the basis of real technical collaboration rather than logo placement is the right kind of investment.
The wins we care about are not the trophies.
They are the engineers who leave the FEUP workshop knowing what it takes to take a design from CAD to component to competition.

Looking Ahead
The FS FEUP 03 is currently in the manufacturing phase, with international competitions on the horizon. We will be following the team's progress closely and cheering them on from Porto to wherever the circuit takes them.
If you want to see what the next generation of engineers looks like up close, we suggest you pay close attention to what this winning team is building!