BASF resin aids Reebok shoe project

Reebok plans to build a small factory in Rhode Island that will manufacture shoes incorporating a new polyurethane resin developed by BASF. Rather than rely on the traditional mold-based process, the factory will create shoe outsoles using a three-dimensional drawing technique. Robots squirt the liquid polyurethane in a lacey web that is wrapped around the rest of the shoe. Reebok currently produces all of its shoes at factories in Asia.