The high-performance fabrics company created Minotech, a new water-repellent outerwear material, and expects the launch to help its annual sales increase to approximately $20 million by the end of March 2019.
Minotech was developed with the Chinese and Japanese markets in mind, to protect consumers from rainy weather. The water-repellent fabric’s design culls inspiration from ancient Japan’s straw raincoats and it’s composed of umbrella-quality fabric, a practical and highly functional material for coats and jackets.
Minotech’s micro-garter structure enables any outerwear garment to ward off unexpected rain. Tiny convex bulges minimize horizontal surface tension, which enables raindrops to vertically slip off the garment’s surface. Due to its non-laminated structure, Minotech also contains high moisture permeability, allowing sweat vapor to escape and the inner surface to stay dry. Other notable features of Minotech include Grade 4 repellency, Grade 3 durability after 30 washes and over 300 millimeters pressure resistance.
Samples will be displayed at Teijin Frontier’s ninth General Exhibition for Autumn/Winter 2017 at the TEPIA show (Technological Excellence Promoting Innovative Advances) in Tokyo this month.