Nike updates manufacturing to include Taiwan technology

Nike更新製造業包括台灣技術

Gen 13 Air Jordans made with Taiwan lasers


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After a rough year for Nike, the company announced they will shift their manufacturing strategy to the adopt production innovations used by Taiwan's Feng Tay Enterprises Co, Ltd. (豐泰), reports Commonwealth Magazine.

The announcement addresses the company's manufacturing strategy, namely that Nike is ready to keep up with other big names in shoes and integrate 11 new automated technologies into their production process, including automated airbrushes, computer-designed patterns, laser cutting, and laser stitching.

As a result, the manpower used to create the 13th generation Air Jordan line will be decreased by 30 percent and the margin of overall output increased by 50 percent.

Eric Sprunk, Nike's operation manager, commented on the move, saying "Feng Tay's new automation technology is the best in the shoe manufacturing industry."

By 2023, Nike plans to offer automated customization options for every shoe product they sell, says Commonwealth Magazine.

Currently, shoes with customizable features can be completed and shipped in 3 - 4 days, almost twice as fast as the initially estimated 10-day waiting period.

While a certain level of automation is already normal in the Taiwan shoe manufacturing industry, the next step includes smart distribution systems and lowering the cost of these electronic processes.