WL Gore celebrates the lasting legacy of the cof - sportstextiles: Lea SportsTextiles

News

WL Gore celebrates the lasting legacy of the coffee-cup test

17/11/2016
WL Gore celebrates the lasting legacy of the coffee-cup test
The leader of WL Gore’s fabric division, Christian Langer, has revealed that the company’s well known coffee-cup test was fundamental in convincing him to join the company in 1995, two decades after it helped launch Gore’s waterproof, breathable membrane material into the outdoor market.

Still a student at the time, Mr Langer said the demonstration of the fabric’s properties by using it to cover a coffee cup, allowing the steam to pass through without any of the liquid spilling out, fascinated him. Speaking at an event to mark the fortieth anniversary of the start of Gore’s contribution to the outdoor industry, he said: “I went to an interview at our site in Putzbrunn, near Munich, they did the coffee-cup test and I was hooked.”

He explained that Gore-Tex’s commercial introduction was in 1976 when it was used in a two-person tent produced by Seattle-based outdoor brand Early Winters. “At that point, WL Gore had been turned down by quite few big-name brands; they couldn’t see Gore-Tex’s potential,” Mr Langer continued. “But Early Winters could see it, and the coffee-cup test helped convince them.”


Related stories:

Gore-Tex shells feature in new Goldwin collection 23/02/2017
Innovation the key to eliminating PFCs for Gore 07/02/2017

Sportstextiles.com cannot be held responsible for content if the language setting is changed from English.

The translations provided by Google Translate are automated and therefore might not be accurate and may contain incorrect, offensive or misleading language. We offer this facility as a guide only.