Coats announces new insole materials

The company now offers soft-flowing thermoplastic materials for specialist insoles and orthotics.

Coats Footwear – part of Coats Group – a global supplier of threads and structural components for apparel and footwear, has announced the introduction of seven ‘soft-flowing’ materials for medical and orthopaedic insole applications. Addressing market demand for increased flexibility in the design and production of specialist insoles and orthotics, the Rhenoflex and Texon materials are being marketed as offering a range of firmness options, as well as being available in a variety of colours and thicknesses to meet wearers’ individual needs.

Made from soft-flowing thermoplastics, the materials are said to have been designed to create insoles with soft edges for extra comfort while being highly resistant to breakage and delivering shape retention. The seven new products reportedly require no skiving or grinding, are heat activated and feature an adhesive inside the polymer mass to deliver a bond. During thermoforming, the edges of the material turn slightly fluid, creating a smooth finish and outflow that, according to Coats, has the ability to seamlessly fuse to different substrates used in the construction after being pushed into place.

Commenting on the new products, Robert Grueneberg, director of transformation and procurement at Coats Footwear, said: “With the acquisitions of Texon and Rhenoflex in 2022, Coats has become a global market leader in the footwear industry for pioneering reinforcement solutions that can improve the production, integration and performance of structural components into all kinds of shoes and medical applications. These seven soft-flowing materials show us continuing to drive innovation and broadening the range of reinforcement options available for medical and orthopaedic footwear manufacturers.”

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 4 of the November 2023 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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