Bio & beyond

This will be API's slogan at the K 2013, summarising its strategy for the development of environmentally friendly polymeric materials. The company has always created efficient, user-friendly solutions for innovative products: from Apilon 52, used to make the first TPU ski-boots, to Megol and Apigo, new generation TPEs for the automotive, electrical appliance, medical and construction sectors. It prioritises human health and the environment and uses risk-free raw materials to make increasingly safe and eco-friendly products and to work in more delicate fields of application.
The company has now also broken into the biopolymer sector, with Apinat. This soft, recyclable and biodegradable material, which can be used in combination with all thermoplastic conversion technologies, was recently adopted by Puma to make the sole of its first fully biodegradable shoe: the Basket Shoe, as part of the "Bring Me Back" project that promotes environmental awareness and the use of eco-friendly, recyclable materials.
At the K event, API will also present the evolution of its range of TPE and TPU-based compounds, now made from renewable sources using cleaner technology, and its revamped company organisation now with three business units dedicated to the same number of market sectors (sports footwear and equipment, automotive and technical articles, packaging and medical), focusing more on applications than on the product.