Polyurethanes drive innovation in footwear

摘要

An estimated 20bn pairs of shoes were pro-duced in 2013, represent- ing roughly $ 10 a pair to an industry predicted to have 2018 sales revenues of around 211.5bn by Transparency Market Research (TMR) revenue analysts. Based on market capitalisation, apparel and footwear ranks 31st under Bloomberg's Industry Market Leaders analysis. The industry segment's position for sales revenues is number 35, with chemicals listed ninth by both measures. The footwear industry relies heavily on polyurethanes.About 13bn pairs of shoes and boots were made in China in 2014, which is equivalent to 60% of total production, according to footwear machinery maker DESMA's ceo Christian Decker. Decker's aim is to replace labour intense production lines with footwear production automation.