Swiss premium sports brand On, which has just reported sales for the first six months of 2025 CHF 1,475.8 million, up 37.2% on the same period in 2024, has recently inaugurated the first LightSpray Factory in Zurich.

LightSpray is a new technology for the manufacture of high-performance shoe uppers which enables production by robots in a fully automated single-step process.

While traditional shoe upper production involves some 200 steps and various locations – from the manufacture of the yarn to the final assembly – LightSpray uses a robotic arm and 1.5 kilometres of filament to produce an ultra-light one-piece upper in just three minutes.

The highly efficient process saves both space and time, minimises waste and produces an upper with 75% fewer carbon emissions than On’s other racing shoes.

The LightSpray Factory houses four robots and is now enabling On to manufacture all of the uppers for its performance running shoes directly in Switzerland, using fully automated and industrially scalable processes and procedures.

The technology was developed, programmed and brought to product maturity in Zurich over four years by a multi-faceted team of some 20 On personnel.  The brand has been steadily creating jobs at its headquarters in Switzerland since the company was founded 15 years ago. Over 1,100 people are now employed in Zurich, more than 300 of them in R&D, where they continue to drive innovation in product and materials development, sports science and design.

“Swiss innovation doesn’t just happen”, said Professor Joël Mesot, president of ETH Zurich, one of the world’s foremost research universities, in a keynote address during the opening of the new LightSpray facility. “Collaboration, investment in education and research, boldness and openness remain the best guarantors of continued success, even in today’s far-from-certain times.”

www.on.com