From European standardisation committees to disclosure: solutions to harness the potential of technology and make it a global sales tool
The Italian leather and footwear manufacturing machinery industry is an internationally recognised sector of excellence. Assomac, the National Association of Footwear, Tannery and Leather goods Machinery Manufacturers, represents Italy’s leading companies in the leather and footwear processing machinery sector. They are committed to promoting innovation, research and technological development to ensure the competitiveness of its member companies. In an increasingly global and competitive environment, technological innovation represents a fundamental challenge for the Italian leather and footwear machinery industry. Italy must maintain its competitive edge by developing advanced technological solutions and improving communication and distribution at international level. In this context, Assomac plays a crucial role, offering support and services to its member companies to promote innovation and technological research, as well as to promote European standardisation in the sector. Thanks to the collaboration between member companies and the association, the Italian machinery industry can maintain its competitiveness at global level and continue to represent an excellence recognised worldwide. We talk about this with Roberto Vago, Director of Assomac.
During our last visit to you, we received an overview of the current activities of the association and the current state of the industry. In particular, we were told of some significant changes and positive signs affecting the industry. Could you give us more details on these aspects? How is the association dealing with these changes and what are the future prospects for the industry?
“We did not only participate in the Lineapelle fair, but also in the ILF in India and the APLF in Dubai. All these trade fairs are an important opportunity to assess the market situation and are a positive sign for the restart of the sector. It is difficult to predict in which direction the sector will develop in the long term and what the predominant trends will be, but I believe we will see the concrete elements in September. At the moment, we are investigating what will happen in the future. The positive signals we have received are interesting because they come from worlds outside of our own, such as the accessory industry, which is doing a lot of business. This indicates that if accessories are sold, there is an induced effect and products are being made. This is a positive indicator of the sector. Furthermore, it is clear that the metamorphosis of the sector is taking place and there is a cross-pollination between fashion, fashion and accessories. This is an inescapable element and we can also see it at this fair, where leather is certainly a fundamental element, but around it revolves a whole world of new fibres and fabrics that make up a mix of products to create a varied and differentiated range of products. This is the current thermometer of the sector that I see at the moment’.
Is your feedback on the current situation in the industry positive?
‘In general, yes. As an association, we have three entities, representing tanneries, footwear and leather goods, which allows us to have a 360-degree view of the production system landscape. Moreover, as part of Federmacchine, we are pushing hard to ensure that Italian technology is at the centre of international interest, especially in those countries that are trying to create local production systems. This translates into a reorientation on the part of many countries that want to break away from dependence on the Chinese market. Let us also not forget the big issue of transport costs, which are eroding the advantages of moving production from China to America. These costs also include energy costs, such as oil, and are driving companies to seek solutions closer to their target markets. Finally, there is the growing demand for variety and customisation in products, which results in reduced production batches and increased production flexibility. This means that companies have to be able to change their product range rapidly in order to always offer something new to their customers. This is the current scenario I see, but of course the future is always uncertain and there will be new challenges to face.”
Have there been any recent developments regarding the difficulty in finding qualified personnel, technicians and labour in the sector? What is the latest news on the subject and how is the sector reacting to this situation?
‘As an association, we are promoting various initiatives to train new skills and resources through the creation of ITS training courses. However, the problem of the lack of qualified personnel remains a priority for our sector and for the manufacturing industry in general. The first aspect we focus on is the need to ‘re-engage’ young people with the world of manufacturing. This requires a storytelling approach that shows interesting opportunities both for those wishing to develop their artistic skills and for those interested in mechatronics and the development of intelligent production processes. In our role as an association, we also worked on the definition of European standards for the sector, helping to determine the future direction of production. The second major problem is international, not just Italian. As an association, we receive more and more requests from foreign countries all over the world to contribute to the training of highly qualified professionals. We currently have at least four ongoing projects on this front. In short, our goal is to attract and convince young people and families of the interest and possibilities offered by our sector, while at the same time we are working to meet the growing demand for highly qualified personnel globally’.
What capacity does Italy have to best respond to other foreign countries?
“The greatest responses seems to be that of other foreign countries. In fact, they see Italy as a source of high-end production, fashion and quality, recognising our country as a decisive element in this sector. On this subject, we have much to offer and sell. In our role as an association, we have tried to explain at an institutional level the importance of solving not only the problem of training professional figures in Italy, but also of making Italy a ‘training vessel’ for all countries seeking to increase their national production, in line with social responsibility and sustainability. It is important to find and employ professionals that our sector needs, as it employs manpower, technology, people and intelligence. After 40 years of work and experience, I believe that our sector is of great global excellence, as demonstrated by the fact that the French have bought several Italian textile brands, but have left production in Italy. However, production is not enough if there are no earnings. I believe that if we put our ability to communicate that we are an outstanding technology company at the centre, it could make the difference. In fact, we wanted to introduce the slogan ‘Made with Italian Technology’, which emphasises our ability to create quality production processes. Last year’s figures show that our industry has overtaken France and Germany in the technology sector, and we have surpassed England in both production and sales of production machinery. In short, we have proven to be of world-class excellence in this sector.”
Who is Italy’s main competitor from a technological point of view today?
“Currently, there are two main competitors of Italy in the technology sector. The first is China, which has historically been a threat and has now taken a step forward in phase two of its technological development, namely becoming autonomous in creating internal technologies, instead of copying and replicating external solutions. This new direction of China represents a challenge for Italy, which must find internal solutions to remain competitive. Furthermore, there are some smaller competitors such as the Koreans and Taiwanese in our sector, but they remain mainly in Asia. The only European nation that is doing something in our sector is Turkey, but in a very limited way. Therefore, at the European level we are the only ones left as a sector of excellence – unfortunately it is still too little considered by the European Community – and we should use this opportunity to maintain our competitive position’.
What can we do to count for more in Brussels?
“What we would like to do more, based on our experience, is to build European standardisation committees to also become international partners in this field. In this way, the safety of machines, the production of technologies for reducing environmental impact, and so on, would become standards not only confined to European territory, but also sales tools. It is important to emphasise that, nowadays, technology alone no longer sells. Manufacturers must be able to explain how a machine works, but also consider the environment in which it will be used and the needs of the customer. In the past, the company was run by a large entrepreneur with a broad business vision, but today this model has changed and evolved into something more complex. As a result, we need to fill the gap in disclosure, training and information, which we currently lack. We have lost a fundamental piece in communication and we need to retrieve it’.
What is the underlying flaw, in your opinion?
“In my opinion, the current flaw is that the designer is often unaware of what technology can offer to create a new product and cannot be the promoter of technological innovation. This creates a mismatch between what we propose as a technological solution and what the designer has in mind to realise. Today, for our sector, it is therefore fundamental and necessary to work more and more on this front’.
Roberto Vago, Direttore Assomac
