Press Release
Francis Lacroix Is Honored with the Golden A' Design Award for Xpan 2 Work Boot in Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design
Francis Lacroix honored for safety clothing and personal protective equipment design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 15, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Xpan 2 Work Boot by Francis Lacroix, designed for Royer, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Golden A' Design Award Means
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
More About Xpan 2 Work Boot
The Xpan 2.0 boot features a breakthrough sole architecture built for extreme metallurgy environments, where thermal protection and lightweight performance must coexist. Its advanced sole resists heat, slips, and abrasion in high risk industrial settings. A heat and flame resistant rubber shell encapsulates the polyurethane midsole, forming an integrated thermal barrier without sacrificing shock absorption or adding weight. The result sets a new benchmark in molten metal safety footwear.
About Francis Lacroix
Simon La Rochelle is a Canadian entrepreneur with a focus on work and military footwear, driven by a commitment to improving the safety and performance of people working in critical and demanding environments. He has been part of Royer since 2003, holding progressive leadership roles across supply chain, innovation, and executive management. As CEO from 2014 to 2024, he led a decade of international growth, oversaw the inauguration of a new, state-of-the-art production facility, and directed the reshoring of 50% of the company's manufacturing back to Canada.
Award Record
This recognition makes Francis Lacroix a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design Award
The A' Protective Equipment Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good protective equipment by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to protective equipment designers, safety clothing manufacturers, personal protective equipment brands and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include helmets, gloves, goggles, respirators, earplugs and safety boots. The awarded protective equipment designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/protective-equipment
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/182031
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182031
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182031
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/380608
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://royer.com/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Xpan 2 Work Boot
- Function
- Work Boot
- Category
- Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Manufacturing and Fashion
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Black and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Royer
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Francis Lacroix
- Country
- Canada
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182031
Credits
- Team
- Simon La Rochelle, Vincent Blais, Elyzabeth Bouchard, Etienne Sirois, Brittaney La Penna, Simon Turk, Benedetto Scarnera (SFB Srl) and Felice Scarnera (SFB Srl)
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The sole is designed in a way to encapsulate the quasi-totality of the polyurethane midsole by the heat and flame resistant rubber outsole leaving only a slight contour. Thus, offering a lighter and highly shock absorbing sole all the while providing maximal foot protection and durability.
- Inspiration
- The sole design draws inspiration from the aerodynamic geometry of the CF-105 Arrow developed by Avro Canada. Its triangular wing structure and directional arrow motifs informed the tread’s dynamic chevron pattern, engineered to enhance forward traction and stability. The project merges aerospace precision with industrial safety research, translating principles of thrust, grip, and structural resilience into a high-performance work boot outsole.
- Research
- Type of Research: Experimental product R&D following a five-phase Stage-Gate methodology. Research Objectives: Improve protection, comfort, and durability in molten metal environments. Methodology: Define measurable performance criteria and validate materials against them. Data Collection and Tools: Iterative lab testing on weight, slip resistance, molten metal splash and aluminum bath immersion. Participants: Internal R&D and manufacturing teams. Results: Measurable gains across all parameters. Insights and Impacts: Enhanced safety standards, industrial reliability, and long-term value for high-risk metal processing sectors.
- Challenge
- The most complex challenge was achieving resistance to molten metal, particularly full immersion in liquid aluminum exceeding 1,000°C. Aluminum’s very low viscosity allows rapid penetration, making material selection and upper construction highly critical. The difficulty was intensified by bonding the upper to a rubber outsole through polyurethane injection, a material sensitive to heat above 150°C. Balancing extreme thermal protection with manufacturability required extensive experimentation and process control.
- Realization and Technology
- The design process began with exploratory hand sketches to define proportions, functional zones and visual identity. Concepts were refined using Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator and Photoshop) to develop precise renderings and material simulations. A detailed technical drawing was then produced to guide tooling and upper manufacturing. A comprehensive tech pack ensured accurate translation of design intent into production.
- Operation and Interaction
- The Xpan 2.0 boot improves upon previous generations in every critical aspect. It offers higher resistance to molten metal splash, enhanced slip protection on certified test surfaces, reduced weight, improved ergonomic fit, and greater durability against abrasion and tearing. Each performance parameter was tested and validated, demonstrating measurable progress over the previous model, already recognized as a global benchmark in primary and secondary metal processing environments.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in January 2023 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, and was completed in December 2025. The three-year development cycle included the Definition, Design, Prototyping, and Production Implementation phases. The product was officially launched in January 2026. A continuous Monitoring and Feedback phase has been ongoing since market introduction to ensure long-term performance optimization.
- Specifications
- A US size 9.0 (42 EU) pair has an approximate height of 200 mm and is built on an ergonomic shoelast designed to closely follow the natural morphology of the foot, ensuring fit precision and comfort. Each pair is packaged in a rectangular box measuring approximately 200 x 200 x 100 mm. The packaging, made from recycled and recyclable cardboard, protects the product from factory to end user.
- Keywords
- Work boot, Safety boot, Cold Weather Protection, outsole technology, extreme job sites, Metatarsal Protection, Industrial Design
