Strideline (asi/89926) just greatly accelerated the speed at which it can produce orders of custom-printed socks, executives for the supplier told ASI Media.

The Seattle-headquartered company has opened a new production facility in South Carolina that enables the firm to reduce the production time for custom socks from nearly three weeks to 24 hours, said CEO/co-founder Jake Director.

Jake Director and Riley Goodman are childhood friends who co-founded Strideline while in high school.

“We want to give distributors every possible tool to succeed, and faster production times were something our customers were looking for,” said Director. “That’s just what we’re delivering with this new state-of-the-art facility.”

The production hub includes what Director described as cutting-edge printing technology, such as direct-to-garment 360-degree printing capabilities, which produce “vibrant designs that truly stand out,” the company said in a statement.

Director noted that blanks will continue to be produced in the same facility in the Philippines where Strideline has long been making socks, meaning customers can be comfortable that quality consistency will remain. Once constructed, the blanks will be ocean-freighted to the U.S. and stored to significant stock levels where they’ll be ready for quick-turnaround customization in the South Carolina facility, Director said.

“We believe this is a game-changer that can really help drive sales for distributors,” said Director.

Riley Goodman and Director are childhood friends who founded Strideline in 2009 while still seniors in high school. Exponential growth followed: By 2011, Strideline had received its first six-figure purchase order from LIDS, ranked as the top-selling sock at Nordstrom for the holiday season, and secured national distribution at Costco.

Eventually, the company expanded beyond the retail channel to begin making custom socks. These days, Strideline is a licensing partner of the National Football League, Major League Soccer and National Collegiate Athletic Association. Celebrities that range from rapper Snoop Dogg to NFL running back Marshawn Lynch have donned Strideline socks.

The company’s comfort-and-performance-focused sock options cater to sports teams, corporations, individuals – anyone who may wear socks really, said Director. Promo has become critically important to the business.

“The promotional products market is our primary channel and it’s our goal to be a great partner to our distributor customers,” said Director.