Adidas and engineering firm Siemens "are teaming up to improve the production of custom-made sportswear such as trainers and speed up the process from design to finished goods." Under the terms of the partnership announced on Monday, Siemens said that it will use its "know-how in factory automation and simulation" to enable the entire adidas production process to be "simulated, tested and improved upon." Siemens said that it would create a "digital twin," or virtual copy, of the adidas "Speedfactory." Adidas' "so-called speed factories are helping it replace cheap labor in Asia" with highly-automated manufacturing in its home markets. It has one in Germany and is building another in the U.S (REUTERS, 4/24).
McDonald's Malaysia was named a silver sponsor of the 29th Southeast Asian Games and ninth ASEAN Para Games in deals worth a total of more than 1M ringgit ($229,000). The sponsorship will include cash, goods and services at several branches in Johor, Penang and Putrajaya that are "the stopovers" for the Torch Relay 2017 event. It is the first time McDonald's has participated as a sponsor (THE SUN DAILY, 4/25).
Derbystar will supply the official match ball for the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga for four seasons, through '21-22. The Bundesliga's previous match ball supplier was adidas (Bundesliga).
The Ghana FA named Nasco Electronics a sponsor of the Ghana Premier League for the next four years. The sponsorship package for this season is worth 223,000 cedi ($53,000), which covers awards for the rest of the season (GHANA BUSINESS NEWS, 4/25).
Fitness company EXOS and adidas extended their partnership through '21. The deal allows adidas to combine its product expertise with EXOS' human performance experience to serve athletes (THE DRUM, 4/24).
Serie A side Napoli signed a partnership extension with fruit and vegetable company COF. The expanded agreement "begins with immediate effect and will see COF become an extra-regional sponsor" of the team. Neither "the financial terms nor the duration of the deal have been revealed" (SOCCEREX, 4/24).
Bayern Munich partnered with Beijing's Tsinghua University Center for Development of Sports Industry. The club will assist in the expansion of the study of sports management, which is new and unique in China (Bayern Munich).
Hughes Insurance signed a two-year deal to sponsor Irish FA Football Camps until '19. The camps will take place three times a year across Easter, summer and Halloween. During the sponsorship period, more than 200 camps will be delivered, supporting 17,000 children ages 5-13 (DERRY NOW, 4/24).
The Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) and Spanish insurance company MAPFRE renewed their partnership for two years, with the option of an extension for an additional year (MARCA, 4/25).
Ligue 2 side Chamois Niortais and sportswear brand Erima announced a multi-year agreement starting in July. Erima France will become the club’s official kit provider. Chamois will be the first professional French football club to be equipped by Erima (Chamois Niortais).