Huntsman ’s footwear team has unveiled three new water-blown polyurethane technologies creating a portfolio of innovative, fully water-blown, polyether soling solutions that provide excellent flow and surface definition and can improve the look and feel of shoe soles. The technologies will be promoted at the 2019 footwear fair – SIMAC show in Milan, Italy.
The business also revealed details of two brand new Avalon thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) grades.
The three new technologies come four months after launch of Daltoped AquaPUR technology.
Daltoped AquaPUR GRIP technology delivers all the advantages of Daltoped AquaPUR technology but offers a softer compound resulting in greater slip resistance. Daltoped AquaPUR Lite technology enables footwear manufacturers to decrease the weight of shoe soles by up to 35 per cent and is ideal for the production of slippers and low heel sandals. Daltoped AquaPUR Lite Energy technology is perfect for high quality footwear thanks to its superior energy return which offers up to 40 per cent more rebound than standard systems.
Huntsman’s Daltoped AquaPUR technologies are designed for footwear manufacturers who want to make the switch to using a water-blown system but don’t want to compromise on quality. As standard, Daltoped AquaPUR technologies provide good cold flex properties plus hydrolysis and slip resistance.
Suitable for the direct-on process and casting of unit soles and midsoles, Daltoped AquaPUR technologies are compatible with standard polyurethane processing machines. Offering excellent flow characteristics, they can enable the production of complex soling designs in multiple colour combinations. They also have superior blend stability in the machine tank and can be processed at room temperature – which helps reduce energy consumption and shortens the production cycle.
Huntsman will also be promoting two brand new highly transparent TPU grades at SIMAC 2019. Avalon 65 DHT TPU and Avalon 85 AHT TPU are the latest additions to the company’s popular Avalon AHT range, which was first launched back in 2014. Providing harder and softer alternatives to Avalon 90 AHT and Avalon 95 AHT grades, the new grades join a family of products that offer excellent UV resistance combined with high mechanical properties.
