Shoe industry experts speak at UITIC

Delegates gathered to discuss a variety of key issues.

The 19th International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians (UITIC) congress was held in Chennai in February. The event was attended by 596 delegates, including 174 international visitors, who listened to a day and a half of technical presentations on the theme of ‘the future footwear factory’. On the opening day, overseas delegates were also given the opportunity to visit local footwear factories and leather tanneries. The UITIC congress was organised by the UITIC in conjunction with the Indian Council for Leather Exports (CLE).

There were four sessions of the congress, each of which covered a different topic: i) manufacturing based on the needs of the consumers, ii) intelligent factory and smart supply chain, iii) sustainability and regulatory trends impacting on factories, and iv) attractive footwear factories and new way of management.

SATRA was represented in session three by technical manager John Hubbard, who described the sustainability benefits for shoemakers who use SATRA production efficiency tools. He described how the materials savings and quality using systems such as SATRA Timeline, SATRASumm and SATRA Visionstitch can be translated into environmental benefits in terms of reduced waste, transport and energy. Other subjects discussed in this session included 'tannery blue waste as raw material for plastic composites fabrication', 'the variation of chromium VI content inside the leather used in footwear', and 'footwear carbon footprint calculation'.

The congress was well received and provided an opportunity for the Indian footwear industry to showcase itself to the world, while allowing experts to network and learn from existing best practice. The next UITIC congress will be held in 2018, with Portugal acting as the host country.

Photograph at top of page shows speakers for the session on sustainability and regulatory trends.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 40 of the April 2016 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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