Clariant focuses on footwear
The first Clariant global shoe workshop was held in January at the company’s technical headquarters in Leinfelden, Germany, as part of its new Global Shoe Concept campaign. Further one-week workshops are scheduled to take place in Asia, the Americas and Europe. The workshops are designed to generate innovative and fashionable ideas to suit customers’ needs in the respective regions and countries.
The Global Shoe Concept is aimed at all the main shoe markets worldwide, addressing customer needs from beamhouse to finishing, for all types of shoes such as luxury, classical, sporty, fashionable and high-tech shoes. It is specifically focusing on trends, innovation, performance and ecology.
A dedicated shoe team has been established and is led by Ralph Schneider, product manager finishing. “Availability of good quality hides and skins is limited and goes hand-in-hand with a devaluation of leather sales prices. We need a differentiation in the market by high-performance and fashionable articles. Enforced ecological regulations will of course play an important role, and especially here our customers can count on a product portfolio of environmentally-friendly chemicals,” says Mr Schneider.
“Based on the specific shoe expertise of our international teams, we continuously innovate in order to provide new products, ideas and applications. In addition, joint developments together with our customers are key to actively face the challenges of the market,” said Oliver Kinkel, head of leather business.
