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OUR INNOVATION MILESTONES

Along the road to success, SHOWA’s innovation and commitment to creating gloves that perform better have resulted in industry milestones – gloves that have literally shaped the industry and engraved the SHOWA brand as a market leader.

B0500 PU PALM COATED GLOVE

Leading the way in precision work

In 1980, computer hardware manufacturing started to gather momentum in Japan. With this came a need for an innovative glove that was low-lint and had a lower tendency to create dust. Precision work required greater flexibility of the fingers and breathability to improve worker’s comfort. Adopting new materials like woolly nylon and polyurethane producing foam, the process finally led to a significant SHOWA innovation: a breathable, low dust glove B0500 was born.

310 GRIP® GLOVE

 Changing the industry forever

Workers in the transportation sector were wearing knitted gloves with dots, or blocks of PVC or Natural Rubber to enhance grip performance. This type of glove lasted long, but the ill-fitting fingers prevented precision dexterity and the gloves were often removed while driving or with paperwork. SHOWA solved this problem with another major innovation: the 310 GRIP®.
Instead of simply attaching the rubber to the knitting with adhesive, the 310 Grip® was developed with our improved dipping method: latex is coated onto the knitting directly, penetrating the liner and providing permanent flexibility and durability. This new method was further improved to eliminate the irritation users could feel from the latex inside the glove. Through rigorous trial and error, SHOWA realised a new palm coating process that, together with a breathable back of hand, gave the user unmatched fit, form and resilience – a process that changed the glove industry forever.

281 TEMRES® GLOVE

Making the impossible possible

By the start of 2000’s, palm coated gloves had become main stream in the industrial glove industry due to breathability. However, the gloves allow water or sand to permeate inside the glove, making them less practical for sectors such as agriculture. On the other hand, water resistant gloves are fully covered with resin, making hands sweat in heat and the glove uncomfortable for users.

A fully coated glove with breathability seemed like an unreasonable or unachievable mission, but with SHOWA innovation leading the way, development started. Moisture wicking and the water resistant new materials turned into the creation of the much anticipated TEMRES® – a glove that allows moisture from the hand to breathe out, but preventing water from permeating the outer coating. This glove also fit the natural curvature of the hand and had greatly improved flexibility.

The original glove was too expensive for the market at the time, so after a complete redesign, TEMRES® was relaunched and eventually expanded to a series offering thermal and jersey cuffs. Today, the gloves are used in many industries and activities.