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On Running Opens Robot Shoe Factory in South Korea, Plans U.S. and Europe Sites

Tariff pressure drives a pivot to nearshored, automated production.

Overview

  • The new Busan facility deploys 32 robots with output around 1,000 pairs a day, a major step up from the Zurich pilot that began in July 2025 with four robots.
  • LightSpray production uses a robot arm to spray material onto a mold to form a seamless upper, compressing a roughly 200-step process into a single automated operation.
  • On says additional robot factories are planned in the United States and Europe to speed deliveries and reduce exposure to import duties.
  • Executives cite higher U.S. tariffs and a recent Supreme Court ruling on tariffs as key drivers of the shift, with calls for clearer trade rules.
  • The company says the South Korea site lifts global LightSpray capacity roughly 30-fold in 2026, and its first product, the LightSpray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper, rolls out March 5 in North America with a global launch on April 16.