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go EEddiittiioonn 11 .. 22001100FFoooottwweeaarrNNeewwss!
go!commentDefying the economic crisis, the Europeanbranch of
BASF Polyurethanes shoedevelopment has maintained its
leadingposition in 2010 in technological deve-lopment and creative
design in closecooperation with the shoe industry. Aparticularly
fine example of the courageto explore new ways, materials
anddesigns has again been the FootwearDesign Contest at the
PolitecnicoCalzaturiero in Padua, Italy.
Held now for the third time, it proves once more that the right
mix of curiosi-ty, creativity, technical understandingand
polyurethane is capable of makingthe novel, the surprising and
sometimeseven the spectacular come to fruition.Enjoy your read of
the new go!
Dr Johann Diedrich Brand, GeneralManager, European Business
Manage-ment Footwear
Cool, really comfortable, sustainableand recyclable thats how
kidsshoes have to be today. And this pre-cisely describes the shoes
manufac-tured by RICOSTA.
Back in March, visitors to GDS inDusseldorf had the chance to
preview
the latest development of the childrensshoe manufacturer from
Donaueschin-gen, Germany. And now RICOSTA is presenting its iRIC
concept sandal to the broad public. Healthy growth withmaximum
performance was the guiding
To be continued on page 3
Generation iRIC.
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With Elastopan Grip Tec from BASFPolyurethanes, Timberland, the
worldmarket leader, is again a big stepahead of the
competition.
Timberland is the world market leader in the design, composition
and market-ing of top-quality footwear, outerwear and accessories.
The first guaranteedwaterproof boot of the cult brand
wasmanufactured at its company base inStratham, New Hampshire, USA,
in 1973.Its therefore no surprise that a companythat has conquered
markets with somuch expertise and perfection wantsnothing less than
the best in the choice
go!exhibition
After the first two successful versionsof the pure concept shoe,
its time forthe next one at the coming SIMAC:the pure 1.2.
The new model also responds to oneof the most pressing issues of
ourtime that of resource conservation.BASF will present newly
developedmaterials that demonstrate the use ofrenewable resources
in PU.
For all applications, researchers havesucceeded in developing
TPU andPU systems that, like conventionalproducts based entirely on
mineraloil, meet the requirements of todaysshoe industry in every
respect. So,welcome to the future at SIMAC,Bologna, from 12 to 14
Oct. 2010.
satisfies even the most challenging requirements of its
customers and sur-passes them more often than not.
Contact: [email protected],[email protected]
of its partners. In the develop-ment of PU soles for work-boots,
the Americans are therefore engaged in close cooperation with the
develop-ment engineers of BASF Poly-urethanes.
In this joint effort with the shoeexperts of Timberland
PRO,exceptionally high standardshave been achieved. First, theres
the outstanding abra-sion resistance ensuring anextra-long life.
And then thereare the excellent flexural properties for
unbeatablewearing and walking comfortand particularly in extremesof
cold outstanding resist-ance to sliding on icy surfaces.
For all of these features,Elastopan Grip Tec was devel-oped at
BASF Polyurethanesand proposed as the PU solu-tion for the
Timberland PRO.Grip Tec is an extremely flex-ible, hardwearing and
easy-to-process PU shoe sole system.
By means of a new chemical composi-tion, Grip Tec now not only
matches, butalso to some extent surpasses thephysical properties of
high-performancerubber, while reducing shoe weight sig-nificantly
thanks to its 30 per cent lowerdensity.
In the development of shoes, Timberlandand BASF Polyurethanes
have trulybecome sole mates. One of them is aglobally successful
shoe manufacturerwho selects only the best componentsand suppliers
for its products. And thentheres BASF Polyurethanes, the devel-oper
of high-tech sole systems that
2 Footwear News
Nonslip, waterproofand heavy-duty.
The original for men who mean business:waterproof workboot with
a steel toe
pureperfection.
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3Footwear News
principle for the Swabians in the development of their new
childrensshoe.
Blazing the trail for a new generation ofshoes is how RICOSTA
Sales ManagerKai Moewes describes the iRIC, whichconsists of a kit
of three parts walkingsole, insole and instep pad. It is
designedfor kids aged seven to ten years. Thanksto the choice of
polyurethane (PU) as its material, the iRIC not only features
unique functionality and exceptionalwearing comfort, but also
impresses witha futuristic design unparalleled in thechildrens
segment. It has also benefitedfrom the experience of the BASF
expertsfrom the development of the pure
concept shoe, particularly as far as sus-tainability is
concerned.
All the components of the new iRIC aremade entirely of a single
class of materi-al, namely polyurethane (PU). This makesthe iRIC
completely recyclable andhence good news for the environment.Which,
in addition to its cool design andoutstanding walking comfort,
ought to be another persuasive selling point forthe
ecology-conscious parents of the generation iRIC.For further
information see:www.ricosta.deContact PU
systems:[email protected]:
[email protected]
go!Putting its best footforward.DESMA is one of the leading
sourcesof injection moulding machines,moulds, automation strategies
andservices for sole production with PUtechnology. On September 13
and14, 2010, an Open House will againbe held at its company
headquartersin Achim near Bremen, Germany, towhich customers and
suppliers arewarmly invited.Desma will introduce its new,
currentmachine strategies. BASF will bethere with its own booth and
presentPU solutions, which will also bedemonstrated on the
machines.Contact: KLCKNER DESMA Schuh-maschinen GmbH, Desmastr.
3-5, 28832 Achim, Germany, Tel.: +49-4202-990 0, Fax: +49-4202-990
210,E-Mail: [email protected]: www.desma-tec.de
Continuation of page 1
invitation
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The second polyurethane conceptshoe also abounds with
innovations.
On the successor of the legendary firstconcept shoe, weve
integrated over adozen new PU applications. Simply be-cause we
again decided not to rest onour laurels, however spectacular
theachievements, but to go back to thedrawing board and break new
ground.
The outcome is another big step forwardin modern shoe design
which hardlysurprisingly is already outdated. The premiere is at
the coming SIMAC in Bologna (see exhibition info box onpage 2).
The neon-yellow concept shoe is packedwith the accumulated
expertise, con-centrated knowledge and decades of ex-perience of
the experts of BASF Polyure-thanes from the fields of
polyurethanesystems and thermoplastic PU (Elastol-lan). From heel
to toe, and from sole toupper. Together with specialists from
theEuropean shoe industry, they have devel-oped the design, tactile
properties andmaterial variants of the over a dozen indi-vidual
parts. Whereas the emphasis ofthe first pure was clearly on the
design,
its successor concentrated more strong-ly on materials. And on
the third version,at SIMAC, the main focus is on
materialssustainability.
BASF Head of Project Dr JohannDiedrich Brand explains: Our pure
is thecontinuation of our vision of the poly-urethane shoe of the
future. We want toshow how much potential polyurethanehas as a
universal material for shoedesign and shoe development. And wewant
to demonstrate that we can putourselves into our customers shoes
atany time, understand their problems andneeds, and respond to them
in the short-est time.
This is hardly likely to surprise you whenyou encounter an old
friend in a newguise at the upcoming SIMAC inBologna. Once again
with unusual opti-mizations and refinements. And onceagain with
many polyurethane high-techsolutions, just as one has come toexpect
from BASF Polyurethanes.
And if you happen to be at the EXPO inShanghai at the moment,
then you canalso take a closer look at the pure con-cept shoe at
the German Pavilion.
4Footwear News
Contact PU systems:johann-diedrich.brand@ basf.comTPU:
[email protected]
pure invention.
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5Footwear News
From the North Cape to Cape Town from Tierra del Fuego to
Newfound-land. Or, to be more precise: By the timehe arrives in
Newfoundland in Canada inaround October 2012 after clocking upabout
40,000 kilometers, Danish ultra-long-distance runner Jesper Olsen
willhave worn out about 40 pairs of EccoBiom running shoes with a
midsole ofElastoflite.
50 kilometers per day, from the NorthCape down to Cape Town and
fromTierra del Fuego up to Newfoundland.This is a distance that
will keep even anultra-athlete like Jesper Olsen on themove for
quite some time. His staunch-est companions for this
unbelievablygruelling journey are his Ecco Biom running shoes with
a midsole made ofElastoflite.
The other star of the run is Ecco Biomwith a midsole of
Elastoflite.
The overriding principle at Ecco for theBiom running shoe is:
The foot has to
go!sc i ence
eco-friendly. So on with what are maybethe worlds best running
shoes and offyou go. But you dont need to run aroundthe world to
appreciate Elastoflite. Ajog around the park will do just as
well
More about the long-distance runneramong midsoles:
www.pu.basf.de,www.thebiomproject.com
Around the world on 80 soles.
Sole test.The Technical University of Chemnitzand BASF
Polyurethanes have inves-tigated the effect of midsole materialsin
sports shoes on running behavior.And they have discovered that PU
ismore durable and retains its dampingcharacteristics for longer
than other,conventional materials used in sportsshoes today. With
polyurethane it isalso possible to counter the inwardturning of the
foot. This has beenconfirmed in a running test over
600kilometers.
The first results of the study were bepresented at the
conference of theInternational Sports EngineeringAssociation (ISEA)
in Vienna from12 to 16 July 2010.
World Run II, 4 years 40,000 km
NorthAmerica AsiaEurope
Africa
SouthAmerica
World run II, at the finish line of the first stage:Cape of good
hope
be able to move as naturally as possiblewith each stride. In
addition: The form ofthe shoe must adapt completely to theform of
the foot and not the other wayround. In view of such strict
principles,its understandable then that only thevery best materials
will do. Ecco obvious-ly doesnt want to take any risks.
Elastoflite is light, flexible and durable.Sole systems from
BASF Polyurethaneshave got what it takes.
Elastoflite is an extremely light andtechnically sophisticated
sole system forall kinds of midsoles. This three-compo-nent
low-density PU system is also anastonishing 40 per cent lighter
than theusual sole system for midsoles. In addi-tion, independent
tests have demonstrat-ed that Elastoflite shows much
lowercompression set than conventional mid-sole materials used in
the shoe industry.As a result, the shoe sole retains its properties
even after ultra-long runningdistances (see article Sole
test).Elastoflite is a water-blown PU systemthat can be attached to
the upper with-out adhesives, which makes it extra
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Publisher: BASF Poliuretani Italia SpaStrada per Poirino 3814019
Villanova d'Asti (AT)P.I.
[email protected]
Editorial staff: Dr Sylvia Kaufmann, Dr JohannDiedrich Brand, Dr
Nicoletta Fissore
Concept, Text, Design: Alder Koenig, Hamburg,Germany
Photos: BASF Polyurethanes GmbH, Gettyimages,Politecnico
Calzaturiero, Ricosta GmbH, www.worldrun.org
Lithography: bockermann medien.repro, Bnde, Germany
Print: Grohmann Druck, Bnde, Germany
go!
6Footwear News
The winners were Marisa Rampin in themens shoe category and
Stefano Gentilefor womens shoes. 50 students took part in this
challenging competition thisyear. After a technical briefing by the
PUFootwear Team from BASF PoliuretaniItalia, the students got down
to designingthe mens and womens shoe fashions oftomorrow. The two
best designs wereselected by a jury composed of expertsfrom BASF PU
and the PolitecnicoCalzaturiero in Padua.
The themes were the natural landscapeand Kandinskys abstract
art. In the realization of the sole, TPU and a newly developed PU
foam were joined by thenovel RPU technology from Stemma SRLwhich
makes it possible to develop extremely complex sole profiles
withoutair inclusions. As a result, very specialsurface effects are
now possible. Further-more, the process has a very green pro-file,
as it eliminates the need for silicone
With astuteness, intelligence and anunerring instinct for the
needs of thesafety shoe market, Jean-Paul Rouxand David Bocquet
have built up busi-ness for polyester-based PU systems
inFrance.
Jean-Paul Roux is the Europe-wide headof this segment and
responsible forsafety shoes in BASFs global foot-wear team. At BASF
since 2006, DavidBocquet has over 18 years of experienceof
development and technical customersupport in the shoe sector.
Together, thetwo professionals have put business inFrance on a
successful and sound basis
for the future. But it hasnt been easy, asthe shoe market in
France hasnt beenimmune to global developments. At thesame time,
France has always pioneeredthe manufacture of safety shoes with
PUsoles. Today there are seven big-nameproducers that use PU soles
all of themBASF customers. These trust in technicalexpertise
provided locally and in the
huge commitment of people like Jean-Paul and David. And thus
vindicate the strategy of BASF that has defined the shoe sector as
a core business, is constantly developing new systems
andformulations for and with its customers.
Contact: [email protected],[email protected]
PU makes it possible.
The Footwear Design Contest 2010 inPadua once again demonstrated
thatpolyurethane is the material of thefuture for shoes.
The prizes for the Footwear Design Con-test 2010 were awarded on
June 25, 2010.
Dr Johann Diedrich Brand awarding the prizes: 1st prize mens
shoes: Marisa Rampin,1st prize womens shoes: Stefano Gentile
release agents and downstream cleaning.
You can now order the current catalogueof the best designs
[email protected], [email protected]
imp r i n t
Jean-Paul Roux David Bocquet
An instinct forthe market.
KU
/WM
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