BASF presents new concepts and recycling methods for polyurethanes at Simac Tanning Tech. The international trade fair for machinery and technology for the footwear and leather industry takes place from 17-19 September in Milan, Italy.

Under the motto ‘Make the Move’, BASF will showcase materials and technologies designed to create shoes that are lighter, more comfortable and incredibly durable.

With versatile polyurethane solutions such as Elastopan (PU), Elastollan (TPU) and Infinergy (E-TPU), all processing technologies can be utilised to meet the diverse needs of the footwear industry. Make the move towards pioneering footwear solutions with BASF.

Ready for recycling with meltable polyurethane foam Good news for all sustainability initiatives in the footwear industry: BASF offers PU systems for shoes with thermoplastic properties. Felix Willenbrink, Marketing Manager Footwear, Sports and Leisure at BASF Polyurethanes, explains the significance for the footwear industry: “Our PU materials for footwear are meltable.

This is a unique property of thermoplastic materials such as Elastollan (TPU) and Infinergy (E-TPU). We can now confirm that our Elastopan PU systems also come with this property. Meltable PU is a further step towards a circular economy in the footwear industry: soles, shoe components or even complete shoes made of polyurethane are ready for mechanical recycling. Even combinations of PU, TPU and E-TPU can be recycled without separation.” Make the move towards a circular economy for footwear systems.