Kimpur Introduces Value-Added, Sustainable Products

Kimpur R&D Delivers Value-Added and Sustainable Products to the Industry Our company, which ranks among Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises, has 39 years of experience in the chemicals sector and operates the region's largest polyurethane systems house capacity with 129,000 tons in Turkey and 25,000 tons through affiliated companies in Europe. With our Düzce investment, we aim to reach approximately 200,000 tons of total production capacity and secure a place among the world's top 10 systems houses. We lead the sector by exporting to more than 50 countries. The polyurethane systems we produce are used in various sectors including footwear, automotive, furniture, heating and cooling, insulation-construction and defence. As Kimpur, we have continued our work by increasing R&D investments year after year since our establishment. Since May 2017, in our R&D Center registered by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, our 27-member R&D team of specialists in the field produces customized, unique solutions for our customers. In 2022, we accelerated our efforts for the defence industry and laid the groundwork for numerous new partnerships. By collaborating with both universities and our customers, we added twenty-four new systems to our portfolio that provide production efficiency, sustainability, and are unique in the sector. Eleven of these are KIMfoot® Footwear Systems, eight are KIMflex® Flexible Foam Systems, three are KIMrigid® Rigid Polyurethane Foam Systems, and two are KIMplus® Auxiliary Materials product groups.

KIMfoot® Footwear Systems Delivering Ergonomic, Comfortable and Durable Steps

Developed by our Kimpur R&D Footwear team, the KIMfoot® Footwear Systems products we added to our product group are aimed at ultra-low-density slipper, sandal and sports shoe sole, occupational safety midsole, winter and spring sole and insole production. The new members of the KIMlite® Low-Density Slipper Systems family are our slipper system with 210-230 kg/m³, the lowest density in the sector, providing a 20% weight advantage compared to standard systems, and our soft sandal system with 300-350 kg/m³ density used in soft carpet slipper and slipper midsole applications featuring high elasticity. Our developed sports systems created a difference in the sector with 15-20% weight advantage compared to standard systems. Offering different hardness alternatives, these ultra-low-density (340-380 kg/m³) systems are attracting great interest as they provide light steps while reducing our customers' raw material usage. We added to our portfolio a new low-density, antistatic, dual-density occupational safety midsole system that provides safe steps. Our system provides 10-15% more weight advantage compared to existing midsole systems. In line with our customers' expectations, we expanded our sole systems group with a low-density, soft spring sole system providing 10-15% weight advantage, and a winter sole system that stands out with high elasticity at low temperatures, offering advantages such as brighter skin appearance compared to standard systems, the ability to work at lower density and high flex value. For insole applications, we developed two new systems. Our dual-component polyether-based low-density insole systems provide more uniform skin structure, elasticity, short mold opening times for production efficiency and are suitable for series machine operations. Beyond these systems, our R&D Footwear team presented a sustainable recycling example to the industry. We implemented our project 'Polyester Polyol Synthesis from PET Bottle Waste and Commercial Use in Polyurethane Systems,' which was awarded at the 10th R&D Project Marketplace organized by Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) in 2021, achieving slipper production that does not compromise physical and mechanical properties compared to standard systems while providing cost advantage. We obtained approximately 20% of the polyester polyol used in slipper manufacturing from PET waste and approximately 17% from bio-based raw materials. Our system, launched on 20 September 2022 and attracting considerable interest, is the first in the sector to enable slipper production with elastic properties derived from PET waste. Finally, at the AYSAF Fair held in November, we launched our new-generation polyurethane slipper system enabling single-piece polyurethane slipper design that creates a difference in the sector. Our system enables the design of models with low density, high elasticity and uniform skin structure while also offering high production efficiency advantages.

KIMflex® Flexible Foam Systems for High Living Comfort

Developed by our Kimpur R&D Flexible team, the new KIMflex® Flexible Foam Systems products added to our product group include HR foam systems, integral systems, sound insulation system, viscoelastic system and pig foam system. In this product group as well, we focused on sustainable product production. With the awareness that lightweight vehicle design has gained considerable importance in the automotive sector today for energy efficiency, we sourced graphene obtained from automotive tyre waste from Nanografen, the world's sole producer, without almost any impact on the vehicle's total weight, and used it in our sound insulation system production, achieving 65% improvement in sound absorption to obtain a high-performance sound insulation system. In addition, with the same carbon-based recycled material, we obtained a high-performance HR foam system used in automotive and office chair production without requiring extra material usage in our production. In this way, we contributed to both the circular economy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in our production to benefit nature. For the automotive sector, we also developed prepolymers with silky skin properties and high elasticity used in seat systems production, and gas-based integral systems used in the production of products such as armrests, buffers, shock absorbers, automotive floor mats and steering wheels. To increase our target sector diversity, in addition to the automotive sector, we added to our portfolio a thixotropic water-based filter box system for electromedhanical and lighting industries, which is not found in domestic polyurethane systems houses in Turkey. Again, leading the domestic sector, we launched to market a pig foam system with high elasticity and strength used in cleaning oil and natural gas lines. Our viscoelastic system was developed for low-density cushion production and has lower planned density compared to standard systems. This allows our system to provide producers with weight advantage and production efficiency while offering visco cushion users a quality sleep experience.

KIMrigid® Rigid Foam Systems for a Comfortable and Peaceful Environment

Developed by our Kimpur R&D Rigid team, spray foam systems and wood-effect systems added to our KIMrigid® Rigid Polyurethane Foam Systems product group. Our closed-cell spray foam systems with high fire resistance provide high energy savings solutions that minimize the environmental impact of buildings while increasing quality of life, enhancing our competitive advantage in the market. Our wood-effect system for low-density applications is used for inner and outer facade applications such as corrugated cardboard used for both protection and decoration purposes in buildings. As Kimpur, we not only developed polyurethane systems but also launched unique products in our KIMplus product group comprising mould release agents and liquid colorants developed to facilitate production. Our KIMreactive MB Liquid Colorants and KIMrelease R series Next-Generation Mould Release Agents, which we call the 'Perfect Pair,' do not require washing and solvent use when used together. This reduces labour and energy costs, offering high advantages in production. In addition to the systems added to our portfolio, with the projects we developed, we won two awards at the 11th Chemistry R&D Project Marketplace Awards Ceremony organized by İKMİB (Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association) this year. In the Plastics and Rubber Category of the competition, our 'Performance Improvement with Waste-Derived Graphene in Commercial Polyurethane Sound Insulation System' project, which we implemented and mentioned above, won the first-place award, while our 'Development and Recycling of Bio-Based Polyurethane Gel System' project, which aimed to obtain a sustainable product by using bio-based raw materials in polyurethane gel system production, received the third-place award. As the Kimpur R&D team, we continue our work in our simulation centre with high and low-pressure machines and necessary equipment, conducting correct analyses and obtaining fast results in line with our customers' needs. As a company followed in the Turkish and global market, we continue our efforts to produce unique solutions touching every aspect of life and innovative products focused on sustainability. Dr. Yener Rakıcıoğlu R&D Director Kimpur