Adidas (ADS) To Restart Manufacturing In Germany -- Using Robots

German sportswear manufacturer Adidas announced Tuesday that it would resume production of shoes in Germany more than 20 years after it stopped making them in its home country. Completely overhauling the way it produces shoes, the world's second-largest sportswear maker said its new "Speedfactory" will use robots, as opposed to the manual process the company employs in its manufacturing hubs in Asia. In a statement, Adidas said "the first pairs of high-performance footwear to come out of the Adidas Speedfactory will be revealed later this year." However, the still under-construction "Speedfactory facility will begin large-scale production in 2017." The new production facility is being designed to speed up manufacturing and also bring it closer to the company's big European markets.