From PU Magazine International
03. May 2016



Covestro announced that it is helping the textile industry create waterborne, polyurethane-coated textiles that serve the decorative and functional needs of diverse industries while embracing sustainable production. According to the company, PU coatings play a key role in bringing a broad range of functionalities and a broad range of effects, finishes and colour to textile materials. This enables their use in diverse applications from athletic shoes to automotive upholstery to protective gloves.



Covestro says it continues to develop new products that push the boundaries of what can be achieved with waterborne polyurethane technology for textile coating under its product brands Impranil, Imprafix, Impraperm and its product and service brand Insqin, which launched in 2014. Insqin helps the fashion and sportswear industry on its path towards sustainability, says the company.



One example of expanding the application envelope of waterborne polyurethane is Imprafix 2794, a crosslinker that activates at very low temperatures enabling its use even on temperature-sensitive substrates like polyamide-based knitwear. Covestro is also presenting Impranil eco, a series of bio-based polyurethane dispersions (PUD) that contain up to 65 % of renewable carbon. The product enables users to reduce their carbon footprint, while matching the performance levels of the conventional PUD with minimal reformulation.



According to the company, application technology innovation is just as important as product innovation, and Covestro is continually developing coating processes that enable waterborne polyurethane to be deployed in an ever-expanding range of material types, including dipped microfiber non-wovens that combine high performance with the softest hand.



“We believe that the solutions to product innovation and sustainability challenges are best developed in close collaboration. We hope that our exhibit at Techtextil serves as proof of our excellence in product and application technology,” said Nick Smith, global head of textile coatings, Covestro. “Our textile coating efforts revolve around our ultimate goal of inventing future materials for you.”