A leader in the sporting goods industry, adidas has announced that its “industry-changing” SPEEDFACTORY is all set to go commercial in Germany, with a plan to begin large-scale production in 2017.

"As a sports company we know that speed wins. That's why we defined Speed as one of the key choices of our strategic business plan Creating the New,” commented Herbert Hainer, CEO of the adidas Group. 

“With the adidas SPEEDFACTORY we are revolutionising the industry. It's a constantly changing world out there and our consumers always want the latest and newest product - and they want it now. That's what adidas SPEEDFACTORY delivers, starting right here in Germany, with best-in-class German technology.”

Flexible production

The concept of the SPEEDFACTORY flexible model is said to challenge the idea of centralised production and make product close to where the consumer is, the company reports. According to the manufacturer, it opens doors to creation of product completely unique to the fit and functional needs of consumers, through a combination of the craft of shoe making and cutting-edge technology.

"Every day our teams come together to bring speed to life, and with the adidas SPEEDFACTORY, we have a game changer in our hands. It enables us to combine speed in manufacturing with the flexibility to rethink conventional processes,” said Glenn Bennett, Executive Board Member of the adidas Group responsible for Global Operations.

“Our goal is to give consumers what they want when they want it. It's a new era in footwear crafting - with greater precision, unique design opportunities and high-performance. Products of tomorrow are going to look different to what we have today.”

Future plans

The pilot adidas SPEEDFACTORY in Ansbach was set up in December 2015 in partnership with industry experts to provide a testing ground for this trailblazing model.

The first pairs of high-performance footwear to come out of the adidas SPEEDFACTORY will be revealed later this year. The large-scale commercial production facility will be operated by adidas' strategic partner Oechsler Motion GmbH across an area of 4,600 m².

www.adidas-group.com