Under Armour is partnering with Lockheed Martin, the defense and aerospace giant, to come up with the fastest speedskating suit. The suit will be unveiled at the Winter Olympics in February.
According to a report in the Washington Post, the making of the suit, called the "Mach 39," involved the creation of six mannequins mimicking different body positions assumed by skaters as they skate that were used to test the uniforms in wind tunnels. In ALL, more than 100 textiles were tested, including 250 configurations after including different variations on seams, zippers and fabrics. The suit uses five fabrics.
The company is exposure at the Olympics helps expand the brand's name recognition globally. The brand is also sponsoring Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn.
"If you look at the global marketplace, only 10 percent of our sales come from outside the United States," Kip Fulks, Under Armour's chief operating officer, told the Washington Post. "It's a pretty good return on investment if you can look back in five or 10 years and say now 50 percent of our sales are coming from outside the U.S."
