GEAR for Sports Expands Direct-to-Garment Print Capabilities

Kornit Digital has announced that GEAR for Sports, a division of Hanesbrands Inc., has installed a Kornit Avalanche Poly Pro system to supplement previously-implemented Kornit Digital direct-to-garment (DTG) print systems within the company’s Lenexa, Kansas production facility. GEAR for Sports sells its products under some of the most powerful brands in sportswear, including Under Armour, Champion, Alternative Apparel, Hanes, and Gear for Sports.

This compelling portfolio of brands allows GEAR to provide a longstanding history of quality graphics and innovative apparel design, giving customers a single resource for all their sportswear needs. Installing Avalanche Poly Pro, which integrates Kornit’s proprietary NeoPoly print technology with the brand’s production strategy, will enable them to custom-print poly rich garments on demand.

GEAR for Sports has implemented three Kornit DTG print systems in the last two years. Having established a process for delivering imprinted cotton garments on-demand, and further answering the voice of its customers, the brand decided to expand these capabilities to polyester and poly-blend pieces.

“We’ve been inviting key customers to our facility to demonstrate what the Poly Pro equipment can do, as we expand our digital printing capability throughout our facility,” said Cindy Olivarez, Director of Operations—Customs and Logistics with GEAR for Sports. “Digital printing is an ever-growing business and is key to our business initiatives. Having the ability to print polyester t-shirts one unit at a time will allow us to gain consumers who want poly rich garments, and Kornit’s Poly Pro system offers the best possible quality to allow GEAR for Sports to expand our direct-to-garment business.”

Continuous investment in digital DTG systems is anticipated as the custom imprint business grows. “When we developed our NeoPoly technology, the only digital direct-to-garment print technology made specifically for polyester and poly-blend materials, it was very much with brands like GEAR for Sports in mind,” said Omer Kulka, Kornit’s EVP of Marketing and Product Strategy. “Demand for sportswear and athleisure apparel has exploded, and digital empowers suppliers to customize, personalize, and fulfill any quantity on a moment’s notice, profitably, without limitations of design or color, and with retail quality and durability that is worthy of such a brand’s established reputation.”