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Founded by German cobbler Adi Dassler in 1949, Adidas had closed
all but one of its 10 shoe factories in Germany by 1993 as it
shifted most production from Europe to lower-wage Asia,
particularly China and Vietnam.
But advances in robotics and automation means that Adidas can
now afford to bring production back closer to customers to meet
demands for faster delivery of new styles and to counter rising
wages in Asia and lengthy shipping times.
The company gave journalists a first look at its new "Speedfactory"
in the southern German town of Ansbach on Tuesday, saying
large-scale production will start in 2017 after producing the
first 500 prototypes for sale later this year.
"With the Adidas 'Speedfactory', we are revolutionizing the
industry," said Chief Executive Herbert Hainer.
"Our consumers always want the latest and newest product – and
they want it now."
Hainer said Adidas hoped to open a similar plant in the United
States next year and expects the two factories to produce at
least a million pairs of shoes a year combined within the next
couple of years.
"In the medium term, you will see our factories in all major
markets," he said.
Hainer said the new plants would supplement rather than replace
production in Asia, noting that Adidas currently makes about 300
million pairs of shoes a year and already needs to add two
factories a year to keep up with current rates of growth.
The new factory is being operating by Oechsler Motion GmbH and
Adidas is also working with German engineering group Manz to
develop new automated production technology.
The factory is expected to employ 160 people.
(Reporting by Joern Poltz, writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by
Keith Weir)
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