3D printing will be the next disrupter

Advances make 3D printers a more potent option for industrial production and may have a dramatic impact on the Indian job market. Adidas intends to use the 3D-printed soles to make trainers at two new, highly automated factories in Germany and America, instead of producing them in the low-cost Asian countries to which most trainer production has been outsourced in recent years. 

The firm will thus be able to bring its shoes to market faster and keep up with fashion trends. At the moment, getting a design to the shops can take months. The new factories, each of which is intended to turn out up to 500,000 pairs of trainers a year, should cut that to a week or less. As this trend gains momentum in other segments of the industry, it will have serious implications for India. But from shows, it is now moving to industrial valves, and before long the oil and gas industry will feel its impact too.

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