PVC ELASTOMER SHOE-CLEANING FIXTURE FOR GOLF CARS WITHSTANDS ROUGH TREATMENT ON THE COURSE AND RIGORS OF COLD-WEATHER STORAGE

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GREENVILLE, SC, U.S.A., May 3, 2007: Golfers have been known to brave some pretty bad weather to play the game they love, but an injection molded shoe cleaner for mounting on the floorboard of a golf car takes even harsher treatment, according to its developer, Carolina Engineered Products, LLC.

SoftSwipe® cleaners are rubber-like 7-inch (18-cm) diameter disks with molded-in rods (see photo) that clean away mud, sand, and grass from non-metal spikes or cleats when golfers scrape their shoes against the cleaners. The company has enhanced the durability of SoftSwipe cleaners by switching from standard vinyl to Flexalloy® PVC elastomer from the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex Company, according to Wes Jolly, product development manager for Carolina Engineered Products.

“The toughness of Flexalloy elastomer is a great benefit to our customers because of the punishment that the cleaning rods on each SoftSwipe product endure in regular use and at temperature extremes,” said Jolly. “Golfers not only scrape their cleats on the cleaners but step on them and kick them. The black cleaners can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer sun. And golf course operators store the cars in sheds and clubhouse basements, where the cold can cause the cleaning rods from standard materials to become brittle and break off.”

Carolina Engineered Products holds a patent on the design of molded shoe cleaners for use with non-metal cleats and for mounting on golf cars. “While steel-bristled brushes effectively clean old-style metal cleats, they cannot do the job on the smaller, shorter, and more intricate plastic cleats on today’s golf shoes,” said Jolly. “Since 1998 we have shipped 80,000 SoftSwipe cleaners to major golf car companies like Club Car, E-Z-Go, and Yamaha.”

Flexalloy Compound Outperforms Standard TPEs and Flexible Vinyl

Because rubber-like performance is important for removing debris trapped in the cleats of golf shoes, Carolina Engineered Products first used a standard thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for its cleaner, then flexible vinyl, before turning to the 80 Shore A durometer Flexalloy compound that it now specifies. The molders that produce SoftSwipe cleaners for the company are S E Moulding, Inc., Carlisle, PA, and Bright Plastics, Inc., Greensboro, NC.

“Flexalloy elastomer provides the look, feel, and rubber-like elasticity of more widely known polyolefin and styrenic TPEs and surpasses them in tear and tensile strength and resistance to flexural fatigue,” said Philip R. Morin, Teknor Apex industry manager. “Unlike standard flexible vinyl, it is truly elastic and exhibits superior low-temperature flexibility and tear strength.”

Flexalloy PVC elastomers are based on proprietary formulation and compounding technology developed by Teknor Apex and have no counterparts among competing raw material producers, according to Morin. “Our PVC elastomers are based on ultra high molecular weight PVC resin, which differs considerably from the PVC used for compounding the vast bulk of vinyl formulations,” Morin said. “As a result, they exhibit outstanding toughness even at temperature extremes.”

Shoe Cleaning Is More than a Matter of Neatness for Golfers and Golf Course Operators

As any golfer will attest, clogged cleats are a nuisance, may disrupt performance, and even present safety concerns. Carolina Engineered Products’ idea of mounting SoftSwipe cleaners on golf cars provides a valued convenience for golfers. “Your product has allowed our players to clean their shoes between shots, not just at the tee,” said Bruce Lewis, head golf pro at San Juan Oaks in a testimonial for SoftSwipe cleaners. “This is vital during the winter and in rainy weather.”

But the debris gathered in golf shoe cleats also presents problems for golf course owners. Those whose golf car fleets include SoftSwipe cleaners say they have improved cleanliness at clubhouses, prevented contamination of tees and greens, and reduced the spread of poanna, a type of grass that is undesirable on tees and greens and whose growth is difficult to stop once the seeds have been carried there in golfer’s shoes.

“The design of the cleaning rods in our SoftSwipe products makes it easy for golf course maintenance people to rinse away residual debris with water,” said Jolly.

Carolina Engineered Products, LLC can be contacted at P.O. Box 8960, Greenville, SC 29604. Tel: 1-864-272-2056. Fax: 1-864-272-2054. Email: sales@carengprod.com. Visit www.softswipe.com.