Under Armour’s UA Lighthouse Opens at City Garage in Port Covington
Yesterday, Under Armour cut the ribbon on UA Lighthouse, a 35,000 sq. ft. facility at the 133,000 sq. ft. City Garage in Port Covington which was recently redeveloped by Sagamore Ventures. Under Armour described UA Lighthouse as “the proving grounds for developing new, cutting-edge product and efficient manufacturing processes” and “the guiding light for developing best practices and efficient methods for how all Under Armour product is made.”
“As Under Armour celebrates 20 years in business, we are committed, more than ever, to driving global innovation and continuing to expand our Global Headquarters in our great hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, USA,” said Kevin Plank, Founder and CEO of Under Armour in a press release. “The UA Lighthouse will serve as a beacon to make product better, faster, and more efficiently, ultimately solving real problems for athletes and making them better around the world.”
The UA Lighthouse will provide Under Armour’s designers, developers, and external partners the physical space and tools to create and build products for athletes around the world. Processes and technologies created at UA Lighthouse will be shared with Under Armour’s global teammates and partner factories.
At UA Lighthouse, employees and partners will have access to:
- 3D Design and Body Scanning: Allows for the design of custom footwear and apparel while reducing waste in the development process and providing better service for Under Armour’s growing roster of athletes.
- 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping: Where ideas are turned into tangible products, this hard good model shop has a state-of-the art 5-axis simultaneous machining center as well as a suite of fabrication tools.
- Apparel and Footwear Prototyping: Where designers and developers come to ideate, test, and refine products and processes with concepts brought to life in new ways beyond the traditional cut-and-make methods.
- Apparel and Footwear Pilot Lines: Proving ground for process and evaluating how concepts will perform in a full-scale production environment.
Under Armour is partnering with The University of Maryland’s Engineering Department, The Dow Chemical Company, Huntsman, Lectra, Bemis, Epson, Desma, 3dMD, and others to drive innovation in product and process technology. This innovation will also serve as a foundation for Under Armour’s local-for-local vision, where product is to be designed for and made in local markets around the world.
“Under Armour’s approach to open innovation and collaboration can be seen in our strategic partnerships brought to life within the UA Lighthouse,” said Kevin Haley, President of Product and Innovation at Under Armour, in the release. “We are excited about this game-changing opportunity and the endless possibilities created by bringing together our talented team and our world-class partners, to pioneer the future of design and manufacturing.”
Along with UA Lighthouse, Social Leagues, Bustin Boards, Sagamore Spirit, CWIST, and Tapologie occupy the Main Street section of City Garage. The Foundery also recently opened a 20,000 sq. ft. maker space.
Demian Costa, managing partner of Sagamore Ventures, the building’s owner, told SouthBMore.com City Garage is fully leased and that additional tenants would be announced in the near future.
Photo Courtesy of Matt Rybczynski of Matt Ryb Pictures
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
