The LFI Story: Engineered for Peak Performance

A Founder’s Note from Kevin Wang

If you spend enough time at the track, you start to feel every single component of your car. You feel the chassis flex, you feel the tire temperatures rise, and, most importantly, you feel the unsprung weight of your wheels.

I will be perfectly honest that I didn’t start my career in the automotive industry. By trade, I am an industrial designer and engineer in the audio industry. I cut my teeth working for Kenwood, learning the meticulous engineering and precision required to develop high-end audio equipment and communication devices from the Japanese.

Following my time there, I didn't just open a design firm—I founded an audio & communication manufacturing company, complete with our own production factory. Our mission was to own the entire process, bridging the critical gap between a conceptual design and a flawlessly manufactured physical product. We were commissioned to design, engineer, and produce goods for global giants, navigating the uncompromising industrial standards of Rolls-Royce, the Singapore Air Force, Sinopec, and the highly precise consumer tech demands of Sennheiser and Razer.

In those industries, and especially on the factory floor, there is no room for error. Tolerances are measured in microns, and structural integrity is a matter of absolute success or total failure. A massive part of our daily operation involved CNC-machining thousands of highly intricate, small-format product parts and precision aluminum enclosures. My job was to oversee everything from the initial CAD and engineering simulations to the final quality control on the assembly line.

But my true passion has always been on the tarmac.

I am a lifelong car enthusiast and an avid track driver, with a particular love for BMWs. Over the years, I’ve pushed my own cars to the limit on the circuit—wringing out every ounce of performance from my manual BMW E82 135i, M4, M5, and a string of MINI Coopers.

It was in the paddock between sessions that La Forge Industries (LFI) was truly born.

As I pushed my cars harder, I realized a massive gap in the aftermarket wheel industry. Many wheels looked great but couldn't handle the sustained thermal and structural abuse of a heavy track day. Others were strong but weighed far too much, killing steering feel and acceleration. I realized that the aftermarket wheel industry needed the exact same rigorous, factory-level engineering and manufacturing philosophy I was applying to aerospace, defense, and high-end electronics.

I founded LFI to bridge that gap.

For me, the transition from tech manufacturing to automotive wheels was completely natural. Scaling our manufacturing up from precision-machined aluminum communication parts and components to a large-format forged alloy wheel relies on the exact same core principles: rigorous CNC toolpath optimization, precise material removal rates, and strict structural tolerancing.

I took the meticulous industrial design methodologies, the strict factory-floor manufacturing processes, and the material science engineering I developed working with global tech leaders, and applied them directly to the art of forging wheels.

We don't just design wheels that look aggressive. We engineer and manufacture forged wheels that reduce rotational mass, optimize brake cooling, and withstand the punishing forces of threshold braking and apex-curb strikes.

At LFI, we aren't just selling a product; we are engineering a vital component of your track-day success. Every wheel we produce is a reflection of my personal obsession with motorsport and my professional dedication to flawless engineering and manufacturing.

See you on the track.

Kevin Wang Founder & Lead Engineer, La Forge Industries

The LFI Engineering Advantage

• Factory-Level Expertise: Kevin built and ran a manufacturing company before LFI, producing precision parts for demanding industrial and consumer-tech clients.

• Precision CNC Mastery: Decades of CNC-machining precision parts now translate into toolpath planning, load targets, and structural tolerancing for large-format forged wheels.

• Aerospace-Grade Precision: Built on rigorous engineering, quality control, and manufacturing principles developed for commissioned projects for SAF pilots and Rolls-Royce Marine.

• Track-Proven: Engineered by an avid track enthusiast. Every design philosophy is tested against the realities of high-performance driving on platforms like the BMW M-Series.

• Data-Driven Manufacturing: The same R&D discipline used for precision components now goes into LFI wheels: careful design, controlled production, and real quality checks.