Bahadurgarh, India – Horizon Performance Polyurethane (HPP) has launched a polyurethane system, Rymbal, for shoe soles. It is made from recycled PU from post-consumer waste footwear that would otherwise wind up in landfill.
The chemical recycling process is carried out at its site in Bahadurgarh, near New Delhil The company also operates an R&D centre at Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Shersingh Kumar:
increasing recycled content
“We introduced our recycled polyurethane system with Hillson Footwear, an Indian safety shoemaker, in April 2023 and received positive response," said Shersingh Kumar, HPP’s CEO. “During product manufacturing, we replaced the traditional polyurethane system used to create footwear soles with our recycled polyurethane system, which performed comparably to virgin polyurethane.”
With 2.2bn pairs produced each year, India is the world’s second largest footwear producer. Lack of recyclability means they are usually dumped in landfill or incinerated. The use of recycled PU soles remains at a nascent stage in the country, but the growing focus on sustainable solutions in the industry means it will likely become a priority across all footwear segments.
“While we are ready with our offerings, our R&D is continuously working on increasing the recycled content from the current levels without compromising on performance versus virgin polyurethanes,” Kumar said. “This will create a lot of value to footwear brands both in India and in several other countries in Europe and Asia.”
HPP has also identified few regional waste management businesses who are ready to help it procure post-consumer footwear. It also intends to collaborate with major footwear brands and industrial businesses to treat their PU sole production waste.
HPP is currently focused on the footwear industry, where it works with major Indian brands including Relaxo and Liberty. It is also evaluating opportunities to create value in automotive and construction segments.
The company makes MDI-based prepolymers for both polyester and polyether systems, polyester polyols and blended polyether systems. Its current total production capacity is more than 40kT/year at Bahadurgarh. It is also reviewing the possibility of setting up a second plant in south India.
