JV International the future of footwear is NEXX4™

The new technology patented by JV International ensures constant and optimal technical performance over a temperature range from -40°C to +40°C. Thanks to the special production process, the sole meets the needs of each shoe model in terms of shape, thickness and intended use.

“One brand, one sole, one story”. This is the modus operandi of JV International, the company that has held the worldwide license for the design, production and marketing of Michelin technical soles since 2013.
JV International was the protagonist, with many new features, of a press day organized last October in Milan. An opportunity to formalize not only the most recent collaborations in the footwear sector with brands such as Lotto, Oysho and Rossignol, but also to present the company’s new brand more in depth (the launch took place last February at the Enforce Tac in Nuremberg). NexX4™ is the exclusive technology developed in the laboratories of JVI-Engineering, the JV International division for strategic consulting and innovation in the various application segments of footwear.
“NexX4™ is the result of reflection,” explains Ambrogio Merlo, Managing Director. “Every step forward made in upgrading vulcanized rubber soles was now a marginal advance. We had reached the limits of the material’s performance, with increasingly specialized compounds depending on the particular conditions of use. A bit like what happens in car and motorcycle races on the track and off road, where each climatic and terrain situation requires the use of specific tires. We then asked ourselves if we could design a product that would overcome these limits and write a new story in the world of technical soles for footwear.”
After two years of R&D activities, drawing on types of materials used in the automotive sector, here is the alternative. Completely transparent and customizable, the NexX4™ sole stands out for several key factors: lightness (average weight reduced by 50% compared to the rubber version) and optimal grip guarantee greater speed and safety, while abrasion resistance and durability (three times more resistant than rubber) extend the performance of the shoe. The technical breakthrough is that these characteristics maintain their function unchanged in a constant temperature range that goes from -40°C to +40°C. All performances, therefore, abridged for the first time in a single and identical sole, which can work on multiple fronts simultaneously.
The special production process allows us to achieve very low thicknesses, up to 0.6 millimeters on both the tread and the side, and therefore extreme lightness: “Compared to our fiberlite sole, the lightest we produce, the NexX4™ weighs 70% less!”, continues Ambrogio Merlo.
Thanks to the fact that the material is born completely transparent, NexX4™ can be aesthetically customized to levels never achieved before. “By separating the tread design from the sole – as it is possible to apply any type of graphic printed inside the mold in turn on a special, almost inconsistent fabric base – we have freed the creativity of stylists and footwear designers whatever the sector of application. With NexX4™, customization originates from the sole, which can refer to the look of the upper by reproducing its graphics. If before the tread design was the protagonist, now it becomes secondary because the chosen graphic image prevails, from the skyline of the mountains to the writings, from the waving flags to the city maps with the most complex geometries”.
Another key feature, NexX4™ is compatible with the need to use a polyurethane foam midsole, without the need for any chemical treatment or prior gluing: “A big advantage in terms of sustainability,” concludes Ambrogio Merlo.
Last but not least, NexX4™ can be sewn, so the application of the material extends to a wide range of products beyond soles, such as gloves, backpacks, clothing, etc., allowing for a truly extraordinary “catalogue” of uses.
Of course, JV International is already studying a version of NexX4™ that reuses production waste. But that’s another story.

jvinternational.com

NexX4™ is the new brand of JV International: the technical sole of the future. The technology was applied for the first time on a camouflage combat boot (Striker model) presented by the Czech brand Prabos at Enforce Tac 2024 in Nuremberg