Adidas seems serious to use 3D printers in the production of high-tech items. The company is now building its factory in the town of Ansbach, Germany. As reported by Economist.com, the factory will be used for 3D manufacturing process. Germany, which is familiar with such high-tech and innovative things, is the right place for its manufacturing base.  Nonetheless, the factory, which is called Speedfactory, is not going to manufacture high-tech cars or aircrafts, for which Germany is known for. Instead, it will be manufacturing sports shoes and trainers.

The Speedfactory Will Bring Most Productions Back to Germany

Right now, the manufacturing of trainers and shoes are mainly conducted by its offshored factories in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. Speedfactory is set to begin production in mid-2017 in smaller scales. However, the factory slowly to increase production up to 500.000 pairs of trainers every year. Besides  the Ansbach plant, Adidas is also building the second Speedfactory near Atlanta. Unlike the first plant that is aimed at bringing the Asian production back to Germany, the second factory targets American market.

The Asian factories are now using people to assemble the trainers’ components, shape, bond, and sew the materials. The Speedfactory will apply different technologies and transform how the trainers are created. However, the new plant will not bring home all the productions. Instead, the manufacturing techniques applied in the two plants will be rolled out to its Asian plants. In fact, demands from Asian countries are increasing along with the increasing living standards in these countries.

Are Labor Costs Behind the Speedfactory?

Some economists claim that increasing labor costs and labor shortage are behind the construction of Speedfactory. As a matter of fact, the increasing living standards in Asian countries lead to increasing labor costs. People with craft skills for certain jobs are increasingly difficult to find, and the labor costs for such people are way higher.

However, Adidas claimed that labor costs are not the sole motivations for Speedfactory. Adidas claimed that it tried to keep up with the increasing demand for fashionable sports shoes and trainers. They are committed to providing the consumers with what they want. Speedfactory aims at shortening the supply chain, thus allowing the company to meet the demands in a shorter time.

Under the current process, it takes at least 18 months from the first sketch to shipping the finished goods. The process not only requires much time but also more costs. The Speedfactory is claimed to enable Adidas to shop the new shoes within less than a week. The design process is done by using digital technology. The sketching, styling, and testing are all done on a computer. This will provide the company with very fast and flexible production system.

However, Adidas still keeps the details secret. Some analysts said that Adidas will depend less uon the component ordering as Speedfactory will assemble the components for new pair of trainers. The Speedfactory can make the finished trainers from raw materials. Does this mean laying of many of its employees? Let’s wait and see.