New 3d Boding Technology Using Novel Polyurethane for Footwear Manufacture

Simplicity Works partners with Huntsman Polyurethanes and DESMA to deliver project with potential to shake up the footwear sector. A footwear material from Huntsman Polyurethanes sits at the heart of an innovative new way of making shoes, which has the potential to transform shoe production worldwide. In the biggest change to footwear assembly in 40 years, Spanish company Simplicity Works – working together with Huntsman Polyurethanes and DESMA – has developed a revolutionary new shoe production method that offers game-changing possibilities to manufacturers looking to produce products closer to customers in Europe and North America. In collaboration, the three companies have created a highly automated, cost effective way of bonding together two-dimensional components, in a single shot, to form a seamless, three-dimensional upper. Requiring no stitching and no lasting, the process connects all pieces of a shoe simultaneously, in just a few seconds. Faster and cheaper than conventional footwear manufacturing techniques, the new technology can be customized to suit requirements and is already proving popular with a number of big brand shoe companies, helping them bring local production overheads into line with lower labor cost countries.