We replaced solvent based glue with waterbased glue. As drying times are longer, it was a difficult change-over for our shoe production, but the advantages for all made it worth the effort.

"From the very beginning I was very suspicious of solvent glue. Even in the orthopedic workshop where I learned to make shoes, I installed a handmade suction system. The next suction system appeared in my workshop in Kreuzberg. When we moved to Zehdenick, the industry developed better waterbased glues, but it took me a couple more years to convince our team to switch to a waterbased glue. It was only about timing – the waterbased glue takes longer to dry and the open time to connect the prepared pieces is much shorter. It might have been one of the longest conflicts in our production, but ultimately, the health benefits won.”
 

– Michael Oehler, CEO