Timberland puts its best foot forward

Efforts by The Timberland Company to create footwear for the hard-to-fit population has earned the Stratham-based company the 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA award) for its new Timberland PreciseFit system, which will debut next month.

The award, sponsored by The Industrial Designers Society of America and Business Week, is given to companies that display superior industrial design and creative solutions. The Timberland entry was chosen from among 1,500 entries.

The new patent-pending system will cater to the population of men who are unable to find comfortable footwear in the traditional market.

The PreciseFit system addresses forefoot volume, as well as traditional foot length and width measurements, by offering a set of inserts varying in thickness. The inserts lock into the footbed of the shoe, adjusting for volume and allowing for variations in left and right shoe sizes. – TRACIE STONE