Reebok new ‘Liquid Factory’ technology coming to R.I.

THE LIQUID FACTORY method to make sneakers is shown here. Reebok, based in Canton, Mass., is using the technology, which uses a proprietary liquid material, to draw shoe componentry cleanly, precisely and in three-dimensional layers. It is being used as an alternative to mold making. The technology will be used in AF Group's technology lab in Burrillville. / COURTESY REEBOK
THE LIQUID FACTORY method to make sneakers is shown here. Reebok, based in Canton, Mass., is using the technology, which uses a proprietary liquid material, to draw shoe componentry cleanly, precisely and in three-dimensional layers. It is being used as an alternative to mold making. The technology will be used in AF Group's technology lab in Burrillville. / COURTESY REEBOK

(Updated 3:39 p.m.)
CANTON, Mass. – Soon, Burrillville will be home to a new way of making sneakers.
Footwear, apparel and equipment maker Reebok International Ltd., headquartered in Canton, Mass., is collaborating with three other companies, footwear component supplier AF Group in Lincoln, which has a technology lab in Burrillville; equipment maker Rampf Group Inc. in Wixom, Mich.; and international raw material supplier BASF to create unique footwear, without the use of traditional mold-making methods.
Starting in mid-December, “Liquid Factory” will operate out of AF Group’s technology lab.
“We’re really excited about it. It’s a new groundbreaking technology Reebok has developed,” AF Group President Keith Lonergan said Monday.
Lonergan said Reebok has been working on the project for the past four years, while his company has been involved for the past two.
Developed by the Reebok Future team, the Liquid Factory process uses software and robotics to draw shoes in three-dimensions, leveraging 3D drawing by using a proprietary liquid material created by BASF for Reebok.

“This is a process where no molds are required,” Lonergan said, adding that it will significantly reduce lead times, enabling products to be made regionally, instead of in Asia. It can take 60-90 days for products to reach the U.S. from Asia, he said.
“This is also a process that you can change,” Lonergan said. “It’s a programmable machine that you can change on the fly.”
He explained that his company, which also has operations in Vietnam and a joint venture in China, has worked with Reebok for several years, and supplies the company with insoles from its Vietnam operations.
The machine that allows the Liquid Factory process is on order from Germany. After it is installed in Burrillville, Lonergan said it will be a collaborative effort between his company and Reebok on how to move forward. He said he already has hired approximately three people as a result of this project.
Bill McInnis, head of future at Reebok, spearheaded the Liquid Factory process. He said the facility in Rhode Island will be used for both research and prototypes, and small batch production.
McInnis said that footwear manufacturing hasn’t changed dramatically in more than 30 years, noting that mold-making for shoes is 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. This opens up brand new possibilities both for what we can create, and the speed with which we can create it,” McInnis said. “We can create and customize the design of shoes in real time, because we’re not using molds – we’re simply programming a machine.”

McInnis explained that through the new process, they were able to program robots “to create the entire shoe outsole, without molds, by drawing in layers with a high-energy liquid material to create the first ever energy-return outsole, which performs dramatically better than a typical rubber outsole.” He said this creates “a unique fit system that stretches and molds around the foot, providing a three dimensional fit.”
A limited edition run of 300 pairs, called Reebok Liquid Speed, already were made using the process at a Rampf facility in the Midwest, Lonergan said. McInnis said they sold out of the running shoe in two days; they were available online for $189.50 a pair. McInnis said Reebok is targeting 18- to 25-year-old consumers, and their quickly-changing tastes, with the technology.

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