Swiss athletic footwear brand On has opened a 32-robot automated manufacturing facility in Busan, South Korea, expanding its LightSpray technology from pilot production to industrial scale. The factory increases the company’s robot-sprayed shoe production capacity thirtyfold compared to its four-robot Zurich facility that opened in July 2025.
The LightSpray process condenses traditional shoe upper manufacturing—typically requiring approximately 200 steps across multiple factories—into a single automated operation. Robots spray specialized filament onto foot-shaped molds in approximately three minutes, creating seamless sock-like uppers without stitching or gluing separate components.
The Busan facility debuts with production of the LightSpray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper, a running shoe targeting everyday runners rather than elite athletes. The shoe features full-length Helion HF hyper foam and will display “Sprayed in Korea” on the inside sole. Limited release begins March 5 in North America, with global launch April 16.
On developed the entire LightSpray system in-house, including robots, spray paths, and software, because no existing market solutions met requirements fully. The company spent four years developing the technology before opening its first production facility. Scaling from prototype to production required creating new manufacturing protocols for coordinating multiple robots simultaneously while maintaining quality standards.
The automated approach addresses supply chain vulnerabilities that have disrupted traditional footwear manufacturing. Conventional production concentrates in Southeast Asian factories vulnerable to pandemic shutdowns, shipping disruptions, and tariff complications. On’s strategy brings manufacturing closer to primary markets while reducing reliance on labor-intensive processes.
