India's leather sector seeks Italian partners

The first step will be the visit to the tannery district of Santa Croce sull’Arno: to know an excellent example of industrial cluster for the Indian delegation, which visited specialized companies such as shoe factories and producers of both machineries and chemical products.

Entrepreneurs could not only to be acknowledged on the state-of-the-art of tannery techniques and technology, but also on the organization and the structure of this integrated tannery supply-chain, based on flexible production and market demand adaptability.

The study tour will carry on with the visit to the SIMAC - Tanning Tech Fair, one of the most important international exhibition about technology that contributes to efficient and productive manufacturing processes in the footwear, leather goods and tanning sector. The Indian delegation will have the chance to know the conditions of footwear technology, for what concerns cutting, sewing, design and, in particular, cad-cam systems.

To be held during the event, UNIDO ITPO Italy organized several ad hoc meetings between IFLMEA and some trade association, such as Assoconciatori and Assomac, in order to explore the possibility of partnerships and institutional and industrial cooperation agreements.

This year’s edition of the fair, will also focus on technological innovation as crucial to the development of a more sustainable production system to meet the need to alleviate the risks of climate change. In this context, the study tour will conclude with a focus on environmental issues: the specific seminary on thermodynamic solar energy, organized in cooperation with Soltigua, will be followed by the visit to Acquarno, a centralised water treatment plant in S. Croce sull’Arno.

This initiative will take place in the framework of the “Consolidated Project for SME Development in India”, an ambitious technology transfer plan, aimed at transferring Italian know-how and technologies to Indian SME, in order to improve their competitiveness and capabilities, through a programme of technical assistance, as well as the promotion of the partnership between India and Italy in the three target sectors with high development potential (leather, textile and automotive).

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)