Formlabs and New Balance Come Together to 3D Print High-Performance Footwear
The Massachusetts-based companies joined forces to enable large-scale, domestic manufacturing
BOSTON, Jun 5, 2017 – At the Digital Factory manufacturing conference today, global athletic leader New Balance announced it is working with 3D printing powerhouse, Formlabs, to bring 3D printing to large-scale, Massachusetts-based footwear manufacturing.
The relationship between the two Boston-based companies includes the development of footwear-specific materials, as well as printers to create products to improve athlete performance. Production will be powered by Form 2, the best-selling SLA print engine that has already stood the test of printing more than 10 million parts.
“New Balance is excited to work with fellow Boston-based Formlabs on our next evolution in 3D printing,” says Rob DeMartini New Balance President and CEO. “We have been a leader with 3D printing technology for many years, when we were the first to bring customized spike plates to our professional runners and have expanded into other sports since then. Now we look forward to taking this technology to consumers to further improve athlete performance.”
“We’re proud to work with New Balance to provide cutting-edge 3D printing technologies for large-scale domestic manufacturing,” said Max Lobovsky, CEO of Formlabs. “3D printing gives companies the ability to provide higher performance, better fitting, and more personalized products. With New Balance, we are demonstrating that it can be done at scale for consumer goods.”
Continuous production using the new materials and machines within New Balance owned manufacturing facilities is expected to begin in 2018.
About New Balance
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is the only major company to make or assemble more than 4 million pairs of athletic footwear per year in the USA, which represents a limited portion of our US sales. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes Made in the USA. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 5,000 associates around the globe, and in 2016 reported worldwide sales of $3.8 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit newbalance.newsmarket.com.
About Formlabs
Formlabs designs and manufactures powerful and accessible 3D printing systems. Headquartered in Boston with offices in Germany, Japan and China, the company was founded in 2011 by a team of engineers and designers from the MIT Media Lab and Center for Bits and Atoms. Formlabs is establishing the industry benchmark for professional 3D printing for engineers, designers and manufacturers around the globe, and accelerating innovation in a variety of industries, including education, dentistry, healthcare, jewelry and research. Formlabs products include the Form 2 SLA 3D printer, Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer, Form Cell manufacturing solution and Pinshape marketplace of 3D designs. Formlabs also develops its own suite of high-performance materials for 3D printing, as well as best-in-class 3D printing software. For more information, visit formlabs.com.
CONTACT
Connie Zheng, Formlabs
415-878-3782, [email protected]
Mary Lawton, New Balance Athletics, Inc.
617-746-2525, [email protected]