Desma’s new shoe concept could dramatically reduce labour needs
The 2014 House Fair of footwear machinery supplier Desma, which concluded today in northern Germany, was the largest such event, with an extended marquee and a broader range of products.
One of the highlights presented at the event was the Quadwrap athletic shoe - a concept that uses four layers of polyurethane, made on a new version of its Amir machinery that can make a pair in just three minutes.
The development offers the possibility of dramatically reducing labour needs - by approximately 90%, according to the company - as only one or two operatives are needed. Instead of a typical shift of 200 workers that can produce 1,200 athletic shoes in an eight hour shift, 1,200 Quadwrap shoes could be made in 24 hours but with a bare minimum of workers.
The development, which the company worked for a year on with chemical company Bayer, can offer a solution to rising labout costs in Asia and enable reshoring of manufacturing, said Karsten Stobener, Desma technology manager. The concept could be developed to suit a number of types of shoe.
We will look at this, and the House Fair, in more depth in the next issue of World Footwear.
