It will produce 5,000 pairs per day.
Vapesol, one of the largest Iberian manufacturers of soles for the footwear sector, which recently published its Sustainability Report, prepared in collaboration with CTCP – Centro Tecnológico do Calçado de Portugal (Portuguese Footwear Technology Center), has established a commercial agreement with Tecnirolo/Lary Portugal that will lead to the creation of a rubber sole (SBR) production unit.
This agreement will enable, following an investment of around €1.5 million, the daily production of 5,000 pairs of two-color rubber soles by injection from February 2026, with lower energy consumption compared to similar equipment in Portugal, less material waste, and lower labor costs.
A partnership with a company that has two decades of experience in the rubber market and is a leader in implementing technology considered to be among the most advanced in the market, ensuring greater production efficiency and lower waste rates.
At Vapesol, rubber will be produced 100% by injection, whether single-color or two-color, abandoning the traditional compression method and focusing on innovative methods that meet complete monitoring requirements, in line with Industry 4.0 principles.
A gradual investment in equipment that, for now, will be installed in Vapesol’s existing facilities, with plans to build a new industrial unit to house it.
With the process underway, the Felgueiras-based company will continue to make sustained investments, aiming to show the results in February 2026. “It will be the big news to present at the largest international footwear components trade show,” says Vapesol CEO Décio Pereira, referring to Lineapelle.
“It is a natural consequence of Vapesol’s evolution.”
Décio Pereira emphasizes that Vapesol is “the market leader in TR, TPU, and EVA soles,” ranking as “the largest Iberian producer,” and that it was the customers themselves who inquired about the possibility of producing rubber soles.
He then states that the investment comes after the Felgueiras company said “no” “too many times.” “Customers like to come to Vapesol and find a complete range of soles, whether TR, TPU, EVA, or rubber. It ends up being a natural consequence of the evolution we have undergone over the last few years, meeting customer demands and building their loyalty,” he explains.
It will also allow us to explore another market segment. “Trail running is an area we would like to explore, but the predominant material is rubber, so we decided that now was the right time, bringing together, at the same time, a new reality: barefoot footwear, which also requires rubber soles,” he adds.
In summary, it is “a combination of factors that led Vapesol to invest around €1.5 million in this product to create competitive advantages for customers, who will come to the company and have all the products at their disposal.”
For the CEO, Vapesol “is not approaching this new challenge unprepared.” “Rubber is a material we know and master. We have never put it into large-scale production for the market, only for internal supply. Now we are going to start doing so,” he continues, lifting the veil on the goals for… 2027.
“The idea is to double the installed capacity in this new injection molding system, which allows us to produce single-color and two-color soles. It will go from 5,000 pairs per day in 2026 to 10,000 pairs per day in 2027,” he aims.
Source: CTCP