SIMAC and Tanning Tech together in Bologna

The exhibition layout for the new technological event in the leather sector is being planned. As already announced, SIMAC (footwear and leather-goods machinery) and Tanning Tech (tanning machinery, chemical products and laboratory and purification plants) will be held together at the Bologna exhibition centre from April 17-20. The decision to combine the whole technological supply under the same roof was prompted by the need to offer advanced solutions to all system production problems: those working in the manufacturing and semi-finished goods industry know they will find all the state-of-the-art technology in a single visit. Certainly, the technological sector has high hopes for this exhibition and it is only natural to expect a major contribution for the relaunch after three years of serious difficulties for the international technology sector. The downward trend seems to have halted in 2006 - for example Italian exports rose by almost 4% between January and July. The new SIMAC-Tanning Tech approach goes beyond the bringing together of supply and demand and is proposing a number of initiatives that will attract both exhibitors and visitors alike. Once again, SIMAC-Tanning Tech expect visits from at least ten delegations of tanning and footwear operators and the interested countries are emerging with the aid of the Istituto del Commercio Estero (ICE). The major areas of provenance are Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa. On the afternoon of Tuesday April 17, the opening day of the exhibition, a conference on the CEC-Made-Shoe project is being organised in the Sala Sinfonia at the via Michelino entrance by the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry. The ASSOMAC study regarding the standards of communication between machines will be presented at the end of the encounter. SIMAC-Tanning Tech will mark the end of two training courses organised by the Politecnico Internazionale per lo Sviluppo Industriale ed Economico (PISIE) for footwear factory managers and tanning factory managers. Two other events are scheduled: The first will reappraise the handicraft know-how of developing countries with a longstanding footwear and leathergoods tradition. ASSOMAC has produced a study for a pilot plant that can produce up to 50 pairs per day. The plant envisages the use of inexpensive and efficient machinery to manufacture quality footwear with a limited investment and is intended both for small workshops already in operation but in need of updated technology and bodies or associations that intend to use the plant for employee training or to start up new small firms. The plant has already been presented in Kenya, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal and recently Cairo during Meet in Africa. The second event consists in a forum that will propose financing means for the pilot plant. These opportunities will be illustrated by existing service centres or private financing bodies. 25 guests are expected from Africa. The 'Tech Piel y Cuero' project is organised in conjunction with the Centro Estero of the Veneto Chambers of Commerce and plans business meetings between European and South American firms. Basically, 50 operators from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay will have a stand at their disposal for bilateral meetings with footwear manufacturers and tanners from Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain who are interested in studying the opportunities offered by synergic business strategies.