ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - Loughborough University

Background
The sporting goods market is worth £130
billion per annum and is growing at circa 4%
per year. There are approximately 450,000
people in sport-related employment in the
UK. Furthermore, the UK has around 850
companies that specialise in manufacturing
sporting goods. Of the UK sporting goods
manufacturers, there are a small number of
large companies with turnovers in excess
of £1 billion and circa 10,000 employees
as well as many small, niche companies.
Working within the IMCRC, researchers
in sports technology have been pivotal in
developing new technologies for the sports
sector.
The group
The Loughborough University Sports
Technology Research Group is a worldleading
research team with a proven
track record in user-driven innovative
manufacturing research within the sporting
goods sector. Sports Technology research
Group members who have led research
projects within the IMCRC include: Prof. Mike
Caine; Dr Andy Harland; Prof. Roy Jones;
Dr Jon Robets, Dr Andy West and
Dr Neil Hopkinson. Their research has
been in collaboration with industry-leaders
including: adidas (Germany), Burton
Snowboards (USA), Callaway Golf (USA),
Dunlop (UK), Head (AUSTRIA), New Balance
(USA), Nike (Netherlands), UK Sport, Reebok
Fitness (UK), Slazenger (UK), Speedo, (UK)
and Umbro (UK).
Impact
Research findings from the Elite to High
Street (E2HS) project have already
contributed to improved performance of
leading athletes. The technical advances
related to this work have been recognised
with a ‘Breakthrough Award’ by the American
Society of Manufacturing Engineers. A
patent is also currently being filed for a new
footwear concept. Work by the research
team has been featured on a UK National
News Channel, while key note lectures
have been given at high profile public
and academic meetings and conferences
including presentations at the National
Science and Engineering week. The team has
also provided research on impact injuries for
television’s History Channel, which produced
a subsequent programme titled ‘Ancient
Discoveries’. A ‘Working in science’ careers
booklet, which was sent to all secondary
schools, included an interview with Dr Ruth
Goodridge about working at Loughborough
University on the ‘Scuta’ project (the project,
which is seeking to reduce sports injuries).
Future Research Directions
Successful manufacturers continually
condense new product development cycles
and gain competitive advantage by expedient
commercialisation of emergent technologies.
Efficient and effective modes of new product
introduction and manufacture are essential.
The Sports Technology Research Group
is currently working to assist companies
to devise, develop, test and market new
products.
In addition to supporting a discrete
cohort of the UK’s largest sporting goods
manufacturers in optimising their companies’
product offering via an integrated approach
to new product development, the Sports
Technology Research Group is working to
facilitate product development in the SME
sector. As a result, clusters of non-competing
sporting goods manufacturers are working
with the Sports Technology Research Group
to unite around common manufacturing
challenges and to develop products, which
the rest of the world desires but does not
have the technical capability to produce.
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