Interview to Richard Bevan of ECCO Sko A/S
about new footwear made with
RUBBER+PUR integrated process

ECCO is a worldwide known trademark whose fundamental principles are the same as back in 1963 when Karl Toosbuy founded ECCO. They are based on four notions: passion, innovation, humanity and dynamics.

Initially it was the passion of the founder and the rest of ECCO Corp.'s enthusiasm about creating comfortable walking gear. Today more than 8,500 people worldwide, not counting the employees of more than 3,000 shops join forces in a global business with headquarters in Denmark and in Portugal, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Argentina, Cyprus, Brazil, China, Poland and India. With a production that exceeds 10 million pairs of shoes per year. 

Richard Bevan holds the position of Senior Vice President of Production - chemical engineering degree, after a long experience in the automotive industry, reached Ecco ten years ago and immediately gathered the ECCO's founder philosophy taking care of production with the same passion and enthusiasm.

Ecco is considered the reference point in the market of direct injection onto uppers. Ecco's production includes various materials. Can you tell what they are and how they are diversified?

Ecco's philosophy has always been to produce shoes that are fashionable, comfortable, but yet functional; good for any different aspect of today's active life.

Our present production has left behind PUR+PUR opting for TPU+PUR finding it more suitable for the type of shoe we want to sell. Actually one-density PUR covers 60% of our production. At the same time, as there has been a change in the last few years towards the use of different materials for outsoles, TPU+PUR represents 40% of our total production. It is quite true that we use many types of materials, but as you must know we are always looking for new products to keep us in touch with an ever-changing market.

Today Ecco is looking into realizing a new type of shoe with soles in RUBBER+PUR. Why has Ecco chosen this route?

We have always considered RUBBER to be one of the best outsole materials available because of its characteristics, therefore we found quite easy to take the first opportunity to produce RUBBER in an easier and more practical manner than the traditional one. At the present time Ecco is in a pre production trial stage of a RUBBER+PUR new technology. We will start full-scale production very soon.

Where do you position this new technology using different outsoles from the ones mentioned earlier?

Ecco has always positioned itself in the higher scale of direct injected shoes. We have not changed our philosophy but we feel that RUBBER will take us to gain shares of markets not reachable with the present materials. RUBBER+PUR bottom will allow us to supplement a more complete range of shoes to our customers.

Now let us talk about this new technology. Before you had mentioned pre-production trial stage. What do you mean by this?

3 years ago with MAIN GROUP, who is our partner in the development of new technologies, we analyzed the possibility to begin a study to produce out-soles in RUBBER and mid soles in PUR in an integrated process.

This system is considered innovative because it is designed to function in one only machine.

After long and attentive research taking place in Ecco and MAIN GROUP laboratories, we have received the first production machine some months ago where we are undergoing tests and thereafter-full production.

It is for this reason that the first machine for the production of RUBBER+PUR has been installed in Portugal where we will have the first large-scale production.

What can you say about the results so far?

From the large number of samples and tests produced we can say that the results are more than positive.

The process has shown to be very reliable even in full production mode.

There are many advantages to this production system some of which are:

• No human intervention in the bonding of the two materials used in the process RUBBER+PUR.

• High simplicity in the full production cycle: all happens in one only machine with no need to remove the rubber sole from one machine to another

• As a consequence production cycle becomes automatic and increases considerably the number of shoes produced

• Use of robots not slowing down or stopping the production process.

• Environmentally unsafe adhesives are fully avoided.

Product passes all the requirements set out by our quality standards. We can maintain a production with 12 sec. cycle time giving us plenty productivity, but yet allowing us to achieve a constant 3 N/mm of adhesion between the RUBBER and PUR.

You often speak of an integrated sys-tem realized in one machine. Why this choice? Can you not easily purchase soles in the market since there is a large existing production?

It may be true, but since we have been using Main Group's technology and we have chosen them as our technological partner, we have opted for this type that gives many new advantages.

Not to mention that Ecco has always looked for better production system that is "ecologically" friendly.

We call it a "clean process".

An integrated system allows us to be more flexible in production, more dynamic in responding to the production schedules, and more reactive to the needs posed by the market.

As we have mentioned, style is one of the key factors that distinguishes Ecco trademark.

The integrated system allows us to adjust our production and design with much more freedom than ever before running tests without being tied up with outside suppliers.

Not only, but with an integrated system we can have a better quality control not possible if soles are produced with two or more machines, especially when we talk about RUBBER.

You must know that even with treated RUBBER shelf life and production processes require detailed planning.

Well how about the utilization of rubber? Certainly rubber is one of the best materials for soles as you mentioned, but it requires a lot of attention in the handling and during production.

Yes, but we may say that with the new process from Main Group most of these problems have been resolved.

We have found that the machine in our factory uses an innovative process that has cleverly resolved the problem of adhesion between RUBBER + PUR and enables us to maintain all production schedules without modifying our internal working systems.

This process relates to the contemporary application of three essential elements:

for More information on RUBBER+PUR integrated process 
Please Contact:

MAIN GROUP S.p.A.
V.le dell'Industria, 65 - 35129, PADOVA, Italy
Tel.: +39 049 8290111, Fax: +39 049 8290133
Telex 430330 MAINGR I, P. O. Box 1043 Padova
E-mail: sales@maingroup.com
Website: www.maingroup.com