Main Stage: Hall 18 – F42 F46 H43 H47
Opening Ceremony — Simac Tanning Tech & Lineapelle
Organizer
ICE Agency (tbc) Assomac – National Association of Italian Manufacturers of Footwear, Leathergoods and Tanning Technologies UNIC – Italian Tanneries
Description
Institutional opening ceremony for the 2026 editions of Simac Tanning Tech and Lineapelle, open to exhibitors, visitors, international delegations and all interested participants. An opportunity to meet and exchange views while officially launching the events and the days dedicated to the leather, footwear and leather goods value chain, its technologies and machinery, and innovation in manufacturing processes.
Verified hide data, end to end: closing the intelligence loop from wet-blue to finished leather
Organizer
Mindhive Global
Speaker
Dion Bettjeman — CTO and founder, Mindhive Global
Description
Wet-blue and finished leather have always been graded separately. One record at the start, one at the end, nothing between them. Connect the two, and grading changes. When one verified record follows each hide from wet-blue to finished leather, you can trace a defect back through the process. You can finally answer what tanneries never could: was the defect already there, or did it appear in processing? Then you fix the real cause. Dion Bettjeman, Mindhive Global’s CTO, shows what changes when both stages share one record. The value grows at every step. Best article, best use, every time.
Roadmap to Decarbonisation in the Portuguese Footwear Cluster
Organizer
CTCP – Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre
Speaker
Rui Moreira — Director of Organization and Business Management, CTCP
Description
The Portuguese footwear cluster’s decarbonisation journey was catalysed by the Green Pact initiative and continued through the Roadmap to Decarbonisation project, focusing on Scope 1 and 2 emissions. These initiatives revealed that the sector as a whole had already reduced its GHG emissions by 55% by 2022, against a 2005 baseline. An online tool was also developed, enabling any company to calculate its annual corporate carbon footprint, supporting continuous monitoring and the transition to lower-carbon operations while strengthening the cluster’s competitiveness.
Robbiki Leather City — From Project Implementation to New Development Opportunities
Organizer
Assomac – National Association of Italian Manufacturers of Footwear, Leathergoods and Tanning Technologies AICS Cairo – Italian Agency for Development Cooperation
Description
Robbiki Leather City as a model for industrial development in Egypt’s leather value chain: achievements, investments, innovation, sustainability and new growth prospects. At the core are cooperation between Italy and Egypt, the contribution of Italian technologies and know-how, skills development, technology transfer and investment opportunities. A dialogue among institutions, companies, research centres and industrial partners to strengthen a more competitive, integrated and sustainable leather sector.
Krista Exhibitions Press Conference — presenting the 2027 UITIC Congress
Organizer
Krista Exhibitions UITIC – International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians
Speaker
Seno Pratomo — Director of Indonesia Trade Promotion Center Milan, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia William Wong — Krista Daud Salim — CEO Krista Exhibitions Group Sergio Dulio — President of UITIC
Description
Krista Exhibitions, one of Indonesia’s leading B2B exhibition organizers, joins UITIC to present the 23rd UITIC International Congress, to be held in Jakarta from 2 to 4 August 2027. Hosted in one of Asia’s key footwear manufacturing markets, the Congress will bring the global industry together to explore innovation, emerging technologies, manufacturing processes and the transformations shaping the future of footwear production.
Digital Technologies for training in the TCLF sectors
Organizer
Confindustria Accessori Moda in collaboration with Fondazione PIN, Politecnico Calzaturiero, SPIN 360, COTANCE
Description
Confindustria Accessori Moda, in collaboration with Fondazione PIN and Politecnico Calzaturiero, SPIN 360 and COTANCE, presents the concrete progress of the European project METASKILLS4TCLF. This project was created to support the fashion manufacturing world with specific actions on work and training, the skills mismatch between labor demand and supply, sustainability, and the digital/technological gap. The Talk hosts the launch of the “European Virtual Fashion Campus” portal and the augmented reality tools for virtual visits in real companies created in the Metaskills4TCLF project, to educate and attract young workers to the fashion manufacturing sectors.
Italy–Latin America Seminar — Technologies, Markets and Opportunities for Industrial Development
Organizer
Accal – Association of Latin American Footwear Chambers Assomac IILA – International Italo-Latin American Organisation
Speaker
Mauro Bergozza — President Assomac and CEO BERGI S.p.A. Daniel Risafi — General Coordinator ACCAL Cristian Schlindwein — Marketing and Strategy Manager Abicalçados Horacio Antonio Moschetto — President CIC – Cámara de la Industria del Calzado de Argentina Willian Armando Parrado Basto — Executive President ACICAM Naomi Costantini — Head of Socio-Economic Secretariat IILA SACE representative
Description
Latin America in focus: the evolution of the footwear, leather goods and tanning value chains, the transformation of production models, industrial innovation and growth prospects. An analysis of the main production systems, emerging technological needs, levels of automation and digitalization, planned investments and internationalization opportunities. The session will also address tools to support exports, investments and new forms of industrial cooperation between Italy and Latin American countries.
Knowledge in Motion — Driving the Portuguese Footwear Industry
Organizer
CTCP – Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre
Speaker
Cristina Marques — Project Manager, CTCP
Description
The Knowledge in Motion: Driving the Footwear Industry project, promoted by CTCP under Portugal 2030, aims to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability and innovation of the footwear sector by connecting scientific knowledge, technology and companies. Through knowledge transfer, experimentation, prototyping, technology demonstration and technology watch, it promotes solutions for the green and digital transitions, new materials and production technologies. The project also fosters knowledge sharing and collaboration, helping build a more innovative and future-ready footwear industry.
Machine Builders for a Smart Value Chain. Data, Connectivity and New Services for the Future of Fashion Technologies
Organizer
Assomac, Campania DIH – Digital Innovation Hub
Speaker
Agostino Apolito — General Manager Assomac Edoardo Imperiale — CEO Campania DIH Mariella Ferraro — Head of Innovation Campania DIH Rosario Mascolo — Innovation Manager Eva Bongard — TWIL World
Description
Digital transformation is reshaping processes, services and development models for technology companies serving the leather-fashion value chain. Starting from the Digital Assessment promoted by Assomac and carried out by ConfIN-Hub under the coordination of Campania DIH, the session will focus on some of the key elements driving this evolution. Highlights include: process and data integration, the main digital gaps, the evolution of maintenance towards higher value-added services, and the development of a shared strategy across the value chain. A project designed as a best practice and a replicable model, with a forward-looking perspective on the future of digital transformation and the priorities needed to support the competitiveness and evolution of the sector. In addition, an American perspective on AI-driven search and digital visibility, exploring how companies can strengthen the representation of their expertise, technologies and sustainability efforts in the AI landscape.
From collaboration to data: building the future of the chemical-tanning value chain
Organizer
UNPAC – Italian Leather Chemicals Manufacturers Association, SPIN360
Speaker
Federico Brugnoli — CEO and Founder of SPIN360 Arianna Civiletti — Sustainability Consultant
Description
In a context where the ability to measure and understand environmental impacts is becoming increasingly important, the availability of primary and representative data is essential to support informed decision-making across the entire value chain. Through the results of the UNPAC LCA project and the exchange between chemical companies and tanneries, the meeting will explore the value of collaboration in data collection and sharing, highlighting how a deeper understanding of leather chemicals can contribute to the development of tools and assessments that increasingly reflect the actual conditions and characteristics of the sector. An opportunity for discussion on how to turn data into shared knowledge and, together, contribute to building a solid information base to support the ongoing development of the leather chemicals and tanning value chain.
STEP2Digital — Accelerating the Digital and Green Transformation of the Footwear Industry
Organizer
CTCP – Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre
Speaker
Pedro Tavares — Researcher, CTCP
Description
The STEP2Digital project aims to accelerate the digital and green transformation of the Portuguese footwear cluster by helping companies assess their digital maturity, build skills and explore advanced technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, digital twins, automation and robotics. Through practical training, technology demonstration and strategic tools, including a Digitalisation Roadmap and a Good Practices Toolkit, the project supports SMEs in adopting more efficient, sustainable and data-driven production models, strengthening the competitiveness and future readiness of the sector.
Attend the events in your own language
At Simac Tanning Tech, thanks to Nubart TRANSLATE, a live instant translation service will be available during the events.
No app to download: simply scan the QR code with your smartphone, choose your language and listen to the translated speech in real time.
The speaker talks. You choose the language. Everyone can follow.