10 November 2009, Osaka - Teijin Fibers Limited has
announced that it has begun to market its high-strength polyester nanofibre
Nanofront for use in the palms of golf gloves manufactured and marketed by
Acushnet Japan Inc. under the FootJoy brand. Called Nanolock, the new product
is the world's first golf glove to use nanofibre material, and will be
available in Japan from November.
Conventional golf gloves are made with natural or artificial
leather, with waterproof coating applied to products developed for wet
conditions. For its new gloves, however, Acushnet Japan has chosen Teijin
Fibers' Nanofront, attracted by its slip-resistant and soft features, as well
as its high absorbency and diffusion property.
Nanofront is a high-strength polyester fibre with an
unprecedented thickness of just 700 nanometres, 7,500 times thinner than a
strand of hair. With its proprietary ‘island-in-sea’ composite spinning
technology, Teijin says it has eliminated the problem of unstable quality
associated with conventional mass-produced nanofibres. With a surface area
dozens of times greater than regular fibre, the nano-sized bumps on the surface
of Nanofront create a higher frictional force, giving the material outstanding
slip resistance. The ultra-fine fibre is also soft and stretchable, and boasts
excellent absorbency and opaqueness.
Teijin Fibers started commercial production of Nanofront in
2008 and has been developing applications in areas such as innerwear, sportswear,
and industrial materials. The company will continue to market Nanofront for use
in golf gloves as well, aiming to generate sales of 3 billion yen from finished
products in three years.
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