ASICS LAUNCHES INDUSTRIAL ROBOT AUTOMATED SHOE PRODUCTION SYSTEM IN JAPAN

KOBE, Japan – ASICS Corporation (Tokyo: 7936; ISIN: JP3118000003), a true sport performance brand, has introduced an automated shoe production system using industrial robots for lifestyle shoes at Sanin ASICS Industry Corporation (SAI), ASICS’ only shoe production base in Japan.

The new system partially automates the process of bonding together the upper and sole of the shoe. A robotic system pre-treats the adhesive surface with plasma, and then applies adhesive to bond the upper and sole together. The system was conceptualized and designed by the ASICS Institute of Sport Science (ISS) using data gathered through decades of footwear research and development. The system’s robotic components were made by YASKAWA Electric Corporation, one of the world’s leading industrial robotics companies.
To meet increasingly varied customer needs, ASICS is quickly shifting towards a more flexible high-mix low-volume production model. With the recent introduction of the automated production process at SAI, per-worker output can be increased by roughly 40%.

SAI is ASICS’ only proprietary shoe production base in Japan. SAI produces high value-added products that feature premium ‘Made in Japan’ quality. ASICS is working to leverage the strengths of its Japan factory and further enhance production technology, such as new material development in partnership with ISS and new production process improvement for ASICS as a whole.

By improving the automated system, ASICS aims to more than double production efficiency, and accelerate the production speed by more than 150%. Going forward, ASICS will expand its use of robotic automated production technology to build a system that can offer customers the products they need with ever greater stability and speed.