adidas to use robots to make 800,000 T-shirts daily

In line with its efforts to automate manufacturing and move production closer to Western markets, sportswear giant adidas has laid out plans to produce 800,000 T-shirts per day using fully computerized sewing machines and will do so in a factory located in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The plant, which was acquired recently by Jiangsu province-based Suzhou Tianyuan Garments Co., adidas' largest apparel provider, is expected to be fully operational by the end of next year and will be equipped with the Sewbot Workline, a fully automated sewing production line from US-based technology company SoftWear Automation.

The new system adopts a combination of high-speed computer vision and lightweight robotics to steer fabric to and through the needle with greater speed and accuracy than a human. The technology was developed by and is patented by Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center.

Using the machine, it will take roughly four minutes to manufacture a T-shirt, from fabric cutting and sewing to finished product.

Suzhou Tianyuan plans to install 21 production lines in the factory. When fully operational, the system will produce one T-shirt every 22 seconds and 800,000 pieces daily.

The move is another huge step for adidas in its bid to fully automate operations. In 2015, the sportswear brand announced its intention to open its first fully automated shoe factory in Germany to expedite production time. Earlier this year, the company has set up a pop-store in a mall in Berlin where shoppers can design a sweater, scan their bodies to determine fit and have the garment knitted in a matter of hours.