Dryflex TPE from Elasto makes the difference in Polyco’s award-winning gloves

A special grade of Dryflex thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) from Elasto UK Ltd. (Manchester, UK) has been chosen to give superior non-slip grip to Polyco's award-winning Grip It Max gloves. The gloves are reusable and are typically used for transport, logistics, scaffolding, roofing, engineering and manufacturing applications.

For more than 35 years, UK-based technical glove company Polyco has been designing and delivering hand-protection products that help people work better and safer. The Grip It Max gloves have a knitted liner with a three-quarter injection molded TPE coating. The ergonomic design with underslung thumb matches the natural position of the hand at rest to allow for ease of movement and the tapered fingers ensure that dexterous tasks can be performed with ease. The three-quarter TPE coating which has been reinforced in critical areas, offers exceptional abrasion resistance delivering maximum protection; it has a unique and specially designed tread pattern on the palm and fingertips which contributes to its exceptional gripping ability.

The Grip It Max is the result of a truly collaborative effort: Elasto worked with distribution partners Distrupol UK (Chertsey, UK) on the development of the custom formulated grade for Polyco. As Mark Griffiths, R&D Manager at Elasto UK explained: “The material structure of the Dryflex TPE compound helps to produce the high surface friction required for the non-slip properties in this application. It was also critical that we developed a compound that could perform efficiently in the high precision manufacturing process.”

Interplex makes the actual glove using liners provided by Polyco, into which the TPE is injected to form the three-quarter coating.

Grip It Max was recently recognized at the prestigious Plastics Industry Award’s in the UK where the judges were said to have been impressed with the complexity of the product and level of engineering that went into it, in terms of design and tooling.

On winning the award, Development Engineer for Distrupol, Simon Clegg, commented: “We are really proud to have been able to work in partnership with Polyco and Interplex to develop the Grip It Max design and manufacturing process. This project was so completely different from anything we have tackled in our 25 years in business.”