Bayer and adidas reveal UEFA Euro 2004 football
Bayer MaterialScience AG and adidas have collaborated together to produce the official football of the European Soccer Championship – UEFA Euro 2004, which kicks off
The soccer ball is constructed from high-tech materials. The surface consists of a high-solid polyurethane coating formulated with products from Bayer MaterialScience’s Impranil range. It is highly resistant to abrasion and characterised by very low water absorption. A new thermal bonding technique developed by adidas produces a seamless surface, resulting in consistent accuracy and balance in flight.
The coating is the outer side of a polyurethane composite while beneath the surface an elastic layer of Impranil syntactic polyurethane foam with low-temperature flexibility is used. This consists of evenly sized, extremely elastic and highly resistant gas-filled microcells. This composite ensures an especially good ball feel and good damping properties, but it is also responsible for the ball’s precise, predictable trajectory. The syntactic foam is embedded in a composite of multiple polyurethane layers, which in turn is applied to a textile fabric.
The ‘wonderball’ will be unveiled at the Asia Pacific Leather Fair, to be held in
