Baltimore, MD. — “Traditional” and “by the book” have never really been a part of Kevin Plank’s business outlook. When he started Under Armour 20 years ago he set out to make a better T-shirt and felt that the apparel industry was operating (and still is) with materials, machines and ideas that were decades behind other industries.
“It is amazing for me to think about, we make a shirt the same way we do 100 years ago and it’s insulting,” Plank explained to a media event outside his converted garage in Baltimore late last month. “It takes 140 people to make one pair of shoes, how come there isn’t a better way? How can we add robotics and other technology to make a better product and produce it more efficiently.”
With this approach in mind, Under Armour recently unveiled its new manufacturing and innovation center that has been tagged as the “Lighthouse” that will bring seemingly futuristic technology to the world of apparel. The 35,000 square-foot center will house top designers, engineers and other manufacturing experts. The goal will be to continue to innovate Under Armour’s line of products as well as drastically cut down the amount of time it takes to produce the products as well lowering manufacturing costs per item.
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As Plank told the crowd, “We want the Under Armour Lighthouse to serve as a beacon to make products faster, more efficiently and solve problems that athletes face during competition. We want to re-invent the manufacturing process and keep this work in the United States in the process.”
Once inside of the Lighthouse it is easy to see how advanced the facility is and its high level of sophistication. The employees walk around in lab coats and the whole place resembles a science laboratory more so than a typical apparel manufacturing warehouse. Each area of the facility has specific markings with everything from 3D body scanning and printers as well as athlete prototyping. 
For the 3D designing and body scanning, Under Armour has setup machines to give athletes a body scan and an exact size and fit to not only enable the athlete to avoid getting sized up as often but also give them feedback on how their body changes from season to season. When all of the athlete specifications are in their system, they can build custom footwear depending on the sport of competition and reduce waste through extraneous apparel that doesn’t fit and gets discarded. The entire development process is much more efficient and instead of the athlete having to make multiple trips to Under Armour headquarters for sizing, it can all be done once a year with the new technology.
The facility also includes 3D printing, which allows ideas to be turned into tangible products in much less time than the normal manufacturing processes usually takes. Under Armour produced its first 3D printed shoe in March 2016, the Architech when it used its Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printer which created the shoes lattice-structured soles. This process also allows Under Armour to test and improve on ideas beyond the traditional cuts of shoes and methods for manufacturing with the quick product for testing. It also enables quicker feedback on new ideas and viability can be judged before Under Armour has to decide whether to begin production.
The “Lighthouse” overall is a very bold move by Under Armour to bring new-age technologies to the apparel production process and in turn keep the manufacturing done locally whether it be by country or region. Plank has long wanted to revitalize his hometown of Baltimore and have the strong majority of Under Armour’s operations be in the city. He feels that through technology better products can be produced cheaper and locally. Plank also feels his work is just getting started with manufacturing innovation and that the Lighthouse is the “tip of the spear” of innovation in an an apparel industry that is running behind many others.
The project is no doubt an enormous investment, but Plank and his team believe that over time it is an investment that can eventually lead to much better manufacturing processes and save the company lots more money through lower manufacturing costs and new innovations to clothing and shoes that can continue to shift more market share Under Armour’s way.
Like with everything Under Armour is doing, Plank is always for the next great idea.
“At Under Armour,” Plank said. We are truly just getting started.”