Sergio Dulio   

UITIC, the international association of footwear technicians, celebrated its 21st Congress last September (19th-22nd) in Milan and Vigevano, marking the comeback of this important event after a five-year break (the 20th Congress was held in Porto, Portugal in 2018 and, due to the pandemic that disrupted everything, the 21st was put back). It was a very successful gathering both in terms of content as well as in the number of registered participants in particular if we consider how much travel habits and the willingness to attend events in person have changed in the meantime.

But there were indeed other reasons to celebrate. The association, established originally in France in 1972, did in fact accomplish 50 years of history in 2022, though the celebration was postponed until 2023 to have it at the same time as the Congress. UITIC, a non-profit organisation, was conceived and launched by a French footwear entrepreneur, Georgy Bidegain, with the aim of promoting innovation in the footwear industry. We must bear in mind that in 1972 less than 30 years had passed since the end of WWII and mankind had just managed to stamp its footprint on the surface of the moon. Article 1 of the Association’s statute states that its aim is to ‘disseminate technical knowledge in the footwear industry, in particular through the periodic organisation of international congresses and taking every initiative to promote the exchange of information between its members, all principally regarding the technical aspects of shoe design and manufacturing’. 

The UITIC label has in fact been typically associated with the International Congress that has been organised every two–three years to disseminate the technological culture of footwear and to spread innovation among the footwear companies of the world. The first Congress was launched in Evian, France in the same year as the foundation of the association and with the title of ‘New materials, new processes’. For a long while European locations were selected for the venues: Alicante in Spain, Mainz in Germany (in 1977 when words such as computers and automation made their first appearance) and then Bristol, Belgrade and Milan in Italy for the first time  in 1983, where the key topic was: automation of processes to enhance productivity, quite a far-fetched vision at the time.

In 1989 in Nantes, we spoke about Just in Time. In 1996 the Congress landed for the first time in Portugal (Porto) to then cross the Mediterranean to reach Tunis and moving out of European borders. In 2010 it became ‘intercontinental’, celebrating its 17th edition in Leon, Mexico. It was then time to look at the Far East where a growing and powerful shoe manufacturing industry had developed, so in 2013 footwear technicians from all over the world gathered in Guangzhou and Dongguan in China to debate ‘Social responsibility as a challenge for the footwear industry’, well before all the hype on sustainability and ESG.

The Congress then moved on to Chennai, India in 2016, Porto again in 2018 and eventually Milan and Vigevano in 2023. All these were occasions in which the most recent technological advancements developed by research centres, academic institutions and technology providers, were presented. They have attracted an international audience (as an average, delegates from no less than 20 different countries attended the various sessions of the Congress) of businessmen, practitioners, students and in general all those who have an interest in shoe making. Today the members of UITIC are shoe trade organisations, research centres, public institutions as well as private individuals supporting the association. There are currently more than 60 members coming from 21 countries and the number is growing.

Innovation and sustainability

Coming back to the present day, the 21st edition had a very captivating title ‘Innovation and Sustainability: moving towards sustainability through Innovation’ and two distinct locations. These were Milan Assago at the NH Congress Centre where the technical sessions took place and Vigevano, site of the Gala Dinner that was held in its beautiful renaissance castle. More importantly, Vigevano is where ASSOMAC, the international association of footwear, leather goods and tanning machinery producers, has its headquarters. ASSOMAC was the main organisational and strategic sponsor of this edition, playing a major role in all the operational aspects as well as in the promotion of the event. 

This year, for the first time the Congress followed a slightly different pattern. Its typical three-day format was split into one congress day (the first) that was actually spent at Simac – TanningTech in Rho Fiera, considered the most important international exhibition on design and manufacturing technologies for the footwear sector. The last two days were dedicated to technical sessions, ending on Friday midday, instead of Saturday as it used to be in most of the previous editions, in order to follow the preferences of conference attendees. The visit to Simac was in fact a kind of preview of many of the innovations and topics that would be the subjects of the presentations in the sessions on the two following days.

Factory visits

As is customary for the UITIC Congress, the technical programme is normally complemented and preceded by factory tours, a very valuable occasion for the participants to visit local companies and be exposed to the specifics of the footwear sector in the host country. It was also the case  for this congress, in fact, three parallel programmes the attendees could choose from which were all very quickly sold out. The first was focused on footwear companies and two were included: Calzaturificio Roveda and SeyMeChamLou, both in the Parabiago shoe district. Both produce high quality womens shoes with a unique combination of craftsmanship and modern technologies (including robotics), companies that are not normally easy to visit, so the opportunity was much appreciated by all the participants in this tour.

The second programme looked at the shoe supply chain, with an intensive tour of Industrie Chimiche Forestali, a supplier of footwear materials and components as well as of high-performance adhesives. It was followed by Tacchificio Villa Cortese, a component supplier (heels) and TFL, an experimental and high technology tanning facility. The programme was completed by a visit to CIMAC, the research and testing laboratory of the Italian association of footwear manufacturers (Assocalzaturifici).

The third and final programme was quite unique in the long tradition of the Congress. Participants had the opportunity to visit two important institutions in the domain of research and innovation. One was Kilometro Rosso in Bergamo, an innovation park hosting many high-tech activities and modern start-ups and MADE Competence Centre in Milan, active in technology transfer from academia to different industrial sectors and with a focus on  technologies related to the Industry 4.0 framework. This last programme, appropriately called ‘inspirational’, was aimed at inspiring delegates with case histories and best practices adopted in other sectors and with a potential positive impact on the footwear world. More than a hundred delegates participated all together in the three programmes during the event.

Speakers contributions

On the following days, the Congress returned to the NH Centre where, through the contributions of the many speakers present, its main theme was developed: how innovation and sustainability are closely linked and interconnected. There cannot be true innovation if it does not incorporate elements of sustainability and, in order to be sustainable, one must innovate. A few numbers will give an idea of the richness of the programme and the span of topics covered. There were two keynote speakers (one for each of the two leading themes), four sessions, twenty presentations and twenty speakers, plus two panels very professionally moderated by a journalist with seven panellists in each. 

From the keynote speakers we learnt how sustainability is no longer a communication argument but rather an industrial, technological and organisational precondition and how companies cannot become really green if they do not transform digitally at the same time. This will push companies, both from the technology supply side and technology users, to deal less with hardware and more with Data, AI and software, to consider innovative business models such as servitisation, to choose co-engineering instead of pure customisation and to include sustainability in all aspects of the design of their products. So sustainable products from their inception and sustainable supply chains resulting from a new product create a process culture that requires innovation at all levels, from circularity to safe and responsible factories, from low impact materials to waste optimisation and reduction, and from low impact processes to transparency and traceability. All topics were extensively covered in the conference sessions.

Congress takeaways

We could perhaps summarise the outcomes of the congress by commenting on the main messages or takeaways at the end of the two intense days of work. The first is to create responsibly by choosing materials appropriately, selecting in particular those with a low environmental impact and a high degree of recyclability. We must also consider right from the early stages of the product’s conception, its end of life, how to deal with it and extend it as much as we can. Digital technologies provide a means here to trace materials and the supply chain, calculate the environmental impact and connect to digital experiences and contents, as in the proposed introduction of a ’digital product passport’ that is in fact a way to render these ‘create responsibly’ efforts more visible and certifiable.

When we move on to manufacturing, the key takeaway is to produce intelligently, using the full power of modern, leading-edge technologies such as AI (for example, to identify undesired left overs in the finished shoe using advanced vision system) or harvesting the power of big data to instil intelligence in the design of the last, the true starting point of every shoe design. And again, transforming machines into ‘smart and IOT connected’ devices that continuously generate data on their operations to monitor the insurgence of potentially dangerous situations and with the final goal of never stopping, much to the satisfaction of their users and of their manufacturers as well. Then there are the omnipresent robots (could they have been absent?) in their new ‘collaborative’ flavour, with applications increasingly aimed at assisting human workers and alleviating their fatigue.

A third takeaway is to transform workers and work places. We have had barely the time to assimilate Industry 4.0 as the new industrial paradigm and now Industry 5.0 is here. This calls for a revision of the manufacturing processes in a more human oriented way. If technology was at the heart of 4.0, human beings regain the stage in 5.0. But this requires that workers are properly educated and trained on a new skill set that can be profoundly different from what it used be in the past and that calls for a realignment of the training curricula and an upgrade of educational approaches and contents.

Finally, to turn sustainability projects into real success stories, we need to measure and recycle. In other words, measuring the environmental footprint of a product or the efficacy of a sustainability policy with objective tools that allow a quantitative assessment of the actions undertaken and to address certification bodies using adequate tools to officially confirm the results. Recycling is, last but not least, the way to go forward using robots. This time to disassemble the shoe rather than assembling it, separating its various components and materials, and eventually recycling them appropriately, material by material.

Conclusions

Be innovative from the ground up, as was debated in one of the two panels where it was presented. How the intuition of an innovative shoe concept drives innovation through the entire supply chain; suppliers of the materials used in the 3D printing process, providers of the high-performance adhesives used to bond the shoe parts together, developers of the automation and robotic machinery to produce them, down to the minute automation components these machineries incorporate. Something that we could possibly define as a new ‘holistic’ shoe design process that involves an entire innovation ecosystem. Furthermore, practise suitability actively at all levels and use the power of communication to make these efforts evident to the widest possible audience.

As another comment on the 21st UITIC Congress, it is worth mentioning the new section called Innovation Showcase, a dedicated exhibition area where 17 companies and institutions could present their work and achievements. Before concluding these notes, we must also report about the changeover of the leadership of UITIC. Yves Moring, after having served as President for more than 12 years, stepped down during the congress and now holds the position of Vice President. His place has been taken by Sergio Dulio, a member of the executive board and former Vice President, who will lead UITIC in the years to come. And finally, we look forward to the 22nd UITIC Congress to be held in 2025 in Shanghai, China. 

Attendees at the conference.
ALL CREDITS: UIRIC

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