Adidas, Reebok both bringing shoe production to US

Düsseldorf, Germany — The made-in-the-USA running shoe business is about to get a lot more competitive.

Earlier this year, sporting goods giant Adidas AG announced it was backing plans to open a SpeedFactory plant in Atlanta — its second globally, behind a similar plant in Germany — to make high performing running shoes.

Now Reebok is ready to launch a new plant in Rhode Island to make its new Reebok Liquid Speed running shoes, using 3-D printing.

It's a big step forward for an industry that has produced the bulk of its shoes off shore, although production for Adidas and Reebok will be limited at this point. Adidas' new Atlanta SpeedFactory will be able to make up to 500,000 pairs of shoes at full capacity. In its Oct. 20 announcement for the new plant in Lincoln, R.I., Reebok did not specify production targets. Its first Liquid Speed production will be a limited 300 pairs made at headquarters in Canton, Mass.

Reebok is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adidas, purchased by the German firm in 2005.

The two companies will join a “made in the U.S.” branding for athletic shoes by Boston-based New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., although New Balance's output is far higher. It says it “makes or assembles” more than 4 million pairs of athletic shoes per year in the U.S.

Adidas was the first to announce plans for U.S. production, although Reebok may beat it to bringing those shoes to market.

The SpeedFactory plant will be Adidas' second, following the trail of the SpeedFactory site in Ansbach, Germany, said Chris Holmes, director of materials engineering and future team at Adidas.

The Atlanta SpeedFactory plant will be followed by other specialty production sites, which will cover other global regions in subsequent years, Holmes said during a VDMA Industry 4.0 discussion at K 2016 in Düsseldorf.

Covering 74,000 square feet, the Atlanta factory will be fully functional in the second half of 2017, producing running shoes. Adidas is targeting production of 50,000 pairs of shoes in 2017, and eventually ramping up to 500,000 pairs.

The U.S. plant, which will create around 160 jobs, complements the first SpeedFactory in Germany. Both facilities are being operated by Adidas' strategic partner Oechsler AG.

During the VDMA event, Holmes introduced the first output from the German plant — comprising 500 pairs of running shoes equipped with sensors that can generate performance data for wearers.

The shoe, made in Germany, uses Adidas' “Boost” shoe cushioning, which is based on an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer developed in collaboration with BASF SE.

The sensor data is based on material performance properties such as elasticity and modulus, translated into terms more readily understood by consumers. The product has gone on retail at special events in Germany, selling at 250 euros a pair ($271).

Under its “Creating the New” business plan launched in 2015, Adidas aims to develop a series of “independent and scalable” manufacturing cells in operation by 2020.

It also has links to advanced manufacturing initiatives led by the German government.

Launching the business plan, then Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said: “We want to bring production to where the consumer is. And if we have robotics that can do the production, [Adidas] can put it into America, Germany, France, the [United Kingdom], wherever it's needed.

“Today we don't have production [in those countries] because it is too expensive. In the future, [production] can be much more flexible.”

The aim, the CEO said, is to increase the company's ability to respond to fast-changing consumer trends achieving, for example, concept-to-shelf targets of 45 days for its Adidas and Reebok footwear brands.

The SpeedFactory employs highly integrated automation and intelligent robotics to provide customized products in very short lead times.

The Adidas project is being carried out in collaboration with industrial partners, including suppliers of materials, molding machinery and automation systems.

The Reebok team, meanwhile, announced its plans on Oct. 20. Like parent company Adidas, it will rely on material supplied by BASF. The Liquid Speed was created with a three-way collaboration between Reebok, BASF and Ramph Group Inc., of Wixom, Mich., the U.S. division of Ramph Holding GmbH & Co KG of Grafenberg, Germany.

Reebok's effort will change the typical way of making running shoes, however, relying heavily on 3-D printing.

“Footwear manufacturing hasn't dramatically changed over the last 30 years,” said Bill McInnis in a news release. McInnis is the head of development for Reebok, whose officially title is Head of Future.

“Every shoe from every brand is created using molds — an expensive, time-consuming process. With Liquid Factory, we wanted to fundamentally change the way that shoes are made, creating a new method to manufacture shoes without molds.”

Liquid Factory uses 3-D printing with a proprietary liquid resin from BASF to draw a new outer sole, building it up a layer at a time. The “outsole” also wraps around the foot and works with the laces to provide what the company said is “comprehensive feel and sensory feedback for the entire foot.”

“The Reebok Future team was created to innovate not only the products we make, but also the process by which we make them,” Reebok President Matt O'Toole said in the news release. “We're looking at how we can bring speed, customization and enhanced product performance to the process of creating footwear — and Liquid Factory is a very exciting development in this area.”

Reebok says it will open Liquid Factory in Rhode Island in early 2017, in collaboration with AF Group Inc. of Lincoln, R.I.

AF is a supplier of PU and thermoplastic elastomer molded products for shoemakers, with production in the U.S., Vietnam, China and India.

Reebok's video introduction of its Liquid Factory production.