Dinkie Ltd has announced that the production of both steel and composite toe caps is now fully operational in China.

This is said to mark a significant step forward in the development of the Dinkie business and is particularly aimed at providing the major international safety shoe buyers with production facilities located as close as possible to the areas of footwear manufacture.

The steel toe cap factory, located in Guan Dong Province in the south of China, will complement the production already available from the Dinkie factories in southern Africa. Production started in China in July 2005 and new tooling has already been geared to produce most of the major styles used around the world. At present the factory in China can produce almost 80% of the entire Dinkie range, and additional styles will be added during the remainder of 2006.

The Composite factory is located further north in China and has taken over all composite production from the plant in the UK. As well as producing the original Stealth cap the factory has also developed the next generation of Stealth 2 caps, which are much thinner and much lighter and yet still meet both the EN and ANSI standards. Composite caps meeting CSA standards have also been developed.

According top the company, reaction to the Stealth 2 caps has been excellent, with the product really being seen as pushing back the boundaries of composite development, allowing, for the first time, steel and composite caps to be fully interchangeable on existing lasts and moulds.

Headquartered in the UK Dinkie Ltd was formed in December 2004 through the buyout of Dinkie Heel Plc by Paul Mooney and Chris Ball.