US workshops held at ARIAT and The North Face

Reporting on a new and more personalised seminar programme for members.

SATRA often organises free seminars and presentations in various parts of the world, and last year ran three roadshows in the USA. These events were held in California, Massachusetts and New York, and they proved to be very popular with the member companies located in those areas. For 2015, the concept has been modified to focus on individual member companies rather than a collective group. This allows visits to more remote locations, as well as the opportunity for employees to discuss issues openly in front of colleagues rather than in the presence of potential competitors.

These workshops were recently presented in northern California at the offices of ARIAT in Union City, and at The North Face in Alameda. The programme was designed to introduce new members of staff in member companies to SATRA’s services, and to remind existing employees of the technical support and facilities available to them. It also provided a brief insight into recent developments in SATRA’s testing capabilities. Presented by SATRA’s North American business manager, James Corton, and Tom Bayes, SATRA’s head of research, the discussions provided an introduction to SATRA, covering the Technology Centre’s history, services and technical expertise, as well as the benefits and services available to member companies. The issue of comfort was discussed, including thermo-regulation and breathability in footwear, in addition to material selection and construction of footwear for optimum climate performance and how this can be accurately evaluated. This part of the programme also investigated the successful management of moisture in different temperatures and humidities, and how performance relating to the activity level of the wearer can be measured.

Another issue considered was the production of water-resistant footwear, and how material selection and design can vastly improve performance. Delegates also discussed how the performance of whole shoes can be evaluated and possible causes of failure in wear.

Employees at ARIAT and The North Face assisted by promoting the events internally and arranging space and equipment on our behalf. Both workshops were extremely well received by both organisations, with many key members of staff in attendance and a considerable number of questions being asked and answered. At the end of the presentations, James and Tom were on hand to discuss any current issues relating to the topics discussed, as well as other areas with which the staff members needed support, as well as future potential project ideas to make such seminars even more mutually beneficial.

SATRA is now looking to repeat similar events in the near future in the USA, Canada and Mexico. So, if you would like your company to be included, please email info@satratechnology.com to find out more. Alternatively, if you would like SATRA to visit your company in any other part of the world, please also get in touch so we can add these visits to our future plans.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 46 of the July/August 2015 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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