Diadora Utility: safety, innovation and culture at the Safety Expo in Bergamo
Diadora Utility, leader in the safety footwear and workwear sector, is back to the Safety Expo in Bergamo with a focus on innovations dedicated to worker safety. After the success of the collaboration with Promoberg, the Bergamo trade fair organization, which saw the brand take on the role of “Safety Partner” of the three Bergamo fairs – Edil, Industrial Valves Summit and Electrical Installer Day – Diadora Utility does not stop and is ready to face new challenges and ambitious projects to consolidate its role as leader in the workplace safety sector. Among the flagship innovations, the Athena line stands out, specifically dedicated to female workers. Not just a simple unisex PPE, but a shoe designed for the ergonomic needs of women’s foot, the result of collaboration with the Biomechanical Institute of Valencia. Another important news is the partnership with Ducati, which started to rely on Diadora Utility safety footwear. The challenges for the future? Make PPE more acceptable to workers, with lightweight, breathable and comfortable products. And create gender-specific PPE, such as the Athena line, specifically designed on the ergonomy of women’s feet. With its new technologies, innovative solutions and never-ending commitment to promoting a culture of safety, Diadora Utility establishes itself as a reference point in the workplace safety sector. At the Safety Expo in Bergamo, the company will launch its latest innovations and once again show its dedication to the well-being of workers, be them men or women. We talk about it with Romina Zanchetta, Marketing & Communication Director Utility, and Giorgio Pira, Global Sales Director Utility.
How did the partnership between Utility and Promoberg come about? How did the partnership between Utility and Promoberg at the three fairs in Bergamo (Edil, Industrial Valves Summit and Giornata Installatore Elettrico) reach expectations?
Romina Zanchetta: “We met and got to know each other at the Safety Expo fair last year and hit it off immediately. The Bergamo hub is growing year after year and is now a national reference point for B2B. After Covid, trade fairs have returned to playing a fundamental role for professionals: a moment to meet but above all to discover the latest trends, innovations and products. These events are enriched year after year thanks to talks, seminars and workshops, offering thousands of professionals an increasingly complete experience. Promoberg was looking for a high-level safety partner and saw the right one in us. We started collaborating with the above-mentioned fairs because they are the most in line with us, the result was so much positive that we will do it again next season at those shows dedicated to the dairy sector and sports facilities.”
What innovations will you launch at the Safety Expo in Bergamo?
Giorgio Pira: “During the Safety Expo in Bergamo we will launch many new footwear and workwear products and we will keep on talking about the women’s world with the Athena line. To Diadora Utility, Athena it’s not an end, but a starting point to be increasingly closer to female workers by offering a line conceived and designed specifically for their needs. Among the many new features, the most interesting one is certainly the partnership with Ducati which from this year, in addition to clothing, will also feature safety footwear on the starting grid. The value of this partnership is huge considering the sporting heritage of both companies and the constant search for the highest quality that let Diadora and Ducati stand out. The fruit of this combination is the new ootwear that blends design, technology and safety, therefore the best for those looking for these three elements. The range consists of FLY Motor, Shark Engine and Speedy Race. We are therefore ready to run the grand prize of safety, certain that we will best represent the soul of Diadora Utility”.
In line with the fair’s theme “Safety at Work: Innovation and Culture”, how does Utility intend to show its commitment to worker safety through its product innovations?
“Product innovation is our history and will be our future. Everything we do has a simple goal, to offer utmost innovation while guaranteeing the best safety. Innovation is therefore not a purely aesthetic quirk but is functional to the safety of workers. The search for new, lighter and more resistant materials is the soul of the products we have launched in recent years. New shapes and lines that must respond to the needs of a market, which after the pandemic, is much more thoughtful and criticizing. A final point on culture, a topic which Diadora Utility cares a lot about. Awareness of the risks and knowledge of the solutions to avoid them are two key aspects for reducing deaths, accidents at work and occupational diseases to a minimum. Creating a culture of safety is a duty for those who produce and market PPE, we do this constantly by meeting institutions and professionals, be they RSPP, ASPP or the commercial technicians of our distribution partners”.
What are the most urgent workplace safety challenges that Utility believes it can face with its new technologies and solutions?
“There are many challenges but I would like to mention two: the first is the acceptance of PPE, that is, making PPE less invasive for the wearer. Often the worker reluctantly uses the product selected by the company because it is not comfortable, does not breathe, does not cushion, weighs too much or because he simply does not like it. Our mantra is to work to reduce this discomfort, thus making the product lighter, more attractive, breathable and consequently offering greater comfort. Doing it is not easy but in recent years we can calmly boast of having introduced increasingly performing products onto the market, in some cases with FLY lighter than a sneaker or a running shoe, more breathable, see Run Net Airbox which thanks to the Diadora patent and the breathable membrane increases the breathability of the shoe, more shock-absorbing with the Glove MDS Mass Damper technology or with the Shark Stable Impact System. The second is gender PPE. With Athena we have produced footwear designed for women, that is, developed to meet the ergonomic needs of women. Not a unisex PPE but a safety shoe in line with the anatomy of the female foot. To do this we used all the know-how of our research center CRD – Diadora Research Center, the flagship of our company which combines all the knowledge in the sports field and in the field of workplace safety and that of the Biomechanical Institute of Valencia has been our partner for a few years now. The result is a product that stands out compared to our and other footwear in terms of shape, sole, lacing and fitting”.
Romina Zanchetta, Marketing & Communication Director Utility
Giorgio Pira, Global Sales Director Utility
Fiera Bergamo: new partners for the B2B events of the future, starting with Diadora Utility.
Promoberg, the historic exhibition center of Bergamo, expands its strategy and establishes a valuable partnership with Diadora Utility, a leading company in the footwear and workwear sector, with Diadora Utility take on the role of “Safety Partner” for three important trade fairs scheduled in Bergamo – Edil, Industrial Valves Summit and Giornata Installatore Elettrico, providing Promoberg’s technical staff with Diadora Utility outfits designed to guarantee maximum comfort and protection during work activities. In addition, the partnership provided for the visibility of Diadora Utility within the exhibition spaces, reinforced by the brand logo in the communication of Fiera Bergamo. This collaboration represents Promoberg success, which for forty years has been working with passion and competence to support the economic, social and cultural development of the Bergamo area. With an offer of over 20 annual events, Promoberg attracts around 2,500 companies, 600,000 visitors and over 50,000 MICE operators every year. We met Matteo Ferrari, Head of Marketing and Communication of the exhibition center for a year and a half:
How was the partnership with Diadora Utility born?
“The transformation of Fiera Bergamo into a joint-stock company marked the beginning of a new era. Fiera Bergamo boasts several strengths that make it unique. First of all, the strategic position: its intermodal location, with the airport 500 meters away, 150 air connections to all over Europe and a territory with a high entrepreneurial density (the GDP of Bergamo and Brescia is equivalent to that of Belgium), makes it easily accessible for visitors and exhibitors. Secondly, it represents a point of reference for various sectors, from gas to cosmetics, from electricity to construction, up to the dairy industry, offering an ideal showcase for companies in every sector. The return to fairs is encouraging and Fiera Bergamo B2B events with direct contact between companies and operators stand out: the partnership with Diadora Utility was born from this strategic vision.”
What are the expectations for the collaboration between Fiera Bergamo and Diadora Utility?
“This synergy has already proved to be a winning combination. The ambition for the future is to elevate this collaboration to an all-round strategic alliance. The goal is to build a solid and lasting relationship, based on mutual trust and a shared vision of the future.”
What are the next steps?
“Our goal is to maximize the value of the exhibition center, focusing on the visibility of our partners. Even if our dimension is not as big as Milan and Bologna trade fair organizations, Fiera Bergamo has chosen to focus strategically on the B2B segment. This choice is motivated by the awareness that B2B fairs do not necessarily require large exhibition spaces, but rather a targeted and qualified environment to encourage the meeting between companies and operators in the sector. With this aim, by 2027 the exhibition area will double, going from two to four pavilions taht will allow to host more exhibitors and visitors, consolidating the role of Fiera Bergamo in Italy and in the international scene.”
Matteo Ferrari, Head of Marketing and Communication