Mastek presents the first water-based primer for EVA sole treatment

 

Mastek, an Italian company and leader in the production of eco-friendly water-based adhesives and primers for the footwear and leather goods sectors, presents the first water-based primer for EVA sole treatment, FIXEKÓ® PRIMER EVA 10.

 

This innovative eco-friendly primer represents a significant solution for the entire footwear industry, as it meets the growing demand from companies—especially luxury brands—for fully GREEN adhesives.

 

Responding to market requests and in line with its corporate goals, Mastek’s “Innovation & Competitiveness” team at the R&D laboratory, in collaboration with one of Italy’s most prestigious universities, completed a visionary and chemically challenging project: to develop a fully eco-friendly procedure for treating EVA soles (using an ecological cleaner, a primer, and a water-based adhesive). The goal was to enable a true transition toward water-borne, UV-curable, and above all, solvent-free solutions.

 

Until now, EVA soles could only be treated through a process that involved:

• a first step using solvent-based cleaners and primers (as no water-based alternative existed);

• a second step of UV irradiation of the soles (if treated with an EVA primer requiring UV polymerization);

• a third step of applying a water-based adhesive (as an alternative to solvent-based adhesives).

 

Mastek has now formulated both the ecological sole cleaner EKOCLEANER 26 and the water-based primer for EVA sole treatment, FIXEKÓ® PRIMER EVA 10.

 

The new primer not only ensures a completely eco-friendly process but also provides performance comparable to the best solvent-based solutions on the market, in terms of cohesion strength, temperature resistance, yellowing resistance (non-yellowing primer), and hydrolysis resistance. MASTEK, always attentive to sustainability and human health, considers the formulation of this primer as an important step forward toward eliminating solvent-based solutions.