New Balance has opened a new Sports Research Lab in its Lawrence, MA facility. The modern 3,000 square foot facility houses state-of-the-art biomechanics equipment, office space, a 120-foot running track, 30″ by 30″ court and Smash Lab. The facility will focus on technology and product testing, innovation research, education and also host customer visits.


Previously, New Balance tested biomechanics through a long-standing relationship with the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Although it will continue to maintain that relationship to keep its strong outside perspective into footwear technology, the move essentially brings much of this biomechanics testing in house to help drive product development.


“It’s one thing to get a biomechanics report that tells what ‘shoe A is doing versus ‘shoe B and it’s another thing to be conducting it in-house,” Sean Murphy, manager of advanced products advertising for New Balance, told Performance Sports Retailer. “Well have the athletes right here and the designers and developers interacting with those athletes. So that helps them understand their problems more intimately, and develop empathy for the issues theyre having. Just being able to look at high-speed video up close, they really understand, Oh, this is what the numbers mean!”


The Smash Lab is maintained and managed by two University of Massachusetts-Amherst PhD candidates, Trampas TenBroek and Pedro Rodrigues. TenBroek, who has become manager of sports research at New Balance, said New Balance has long worked with Dr. Joseph Hamill, his advisor at U. Mass., to test product, but he agreed that moving such testing in house enhances collaboration with design.


“It’s not far for the developers and designers to come to U. Mass,  but it’s a lot easier to go down a few flights of stairs and be able to see all this get done and interact with athletes as it’s being done,” said TenBroek. “They can just gain so much information from all that than they can from a report that was generated and sent back to them.”


Murphy said in addition to being experts in biomechanics, TenBroek and Rodriguez will become experts in shoes through their work at New Balance’s lab. This will help the two diagnose problems and come up with solutions much quicker. But a big reason for the establishment of the lab is being to work closer with athletes in product development.
“It’s a beautiful space and a very creative space with the athletes working alongside the developers and designers,” adds TenBroek. “Hopefully it’s going to be a great space to be able to brainstorm and come up with some new ideas.”