On 7 March, the court of Venice recognised that Rotacoat, Barnini and Mr Diego Marcolin had committed no wrongdoing against Gemata, a Vicenza-based company that is a leading manufacturer of coating machines. A court case that, in a nutshell, began in October 2019 when Gemata employee Diego Marcolin moved to Rotacoat and was subsequently accused of stealing company data and documents from Gemata.
The order of the Court of Venice follows that of 29 February 2024 when also the Judge for Preliminary Investigations of the Court of Pisa, accepting the Public Prosecutor’s request for archiving, had ordered the archiving of the criminal proceedings initiated by Gemata against Mr Diego Marcolin, as no unlawful conduct attributable to him had emerged as a result of the extensive preliminary investigations.
“These are two decisions (the one in the civil court and the one in the criminal court) that we have been waiting for for a long time and that confirm what we have been clamouring for since the beginning of this affair. We are therefore very happy that clarity has finally been shed, bringing light and truth to the matter. The trial on the merits has also been started recently, with which we are certain, on the basis of the positive outcomes of the precautionary, appeal and criminal proceedings, to obtain further confirmation of the measures already issued by the Court of Venice, as well as compensation for the damages suffered to date”.
TODESCO launches Corporate Video 2024
A wonderful story of people putting all their experience, tenacity and passion into making well-made, solid and functional machines. Todesco, a leading Italian company producing cutting-edge finishing lines used by the best tanneries around the world, has released its Corporate Video 2024 entitled “Never give up”.
I-TECH Srl appoints Andrea Carandini as General Manager
Building on its recent commercial successes and the development of new innovative products, I-TECH S.r.l. continues its market expansion on different sectors. At the heart of the strategy is the recent appointment of Andrea Carandini as General Manager.
“This appointment,” explain the Modenese company specialised among other things in offering systems and technologies for the efficiency of leather finishing departments” will allow Bruno Bettelli, founder, president and managing director, to prepare the future of I-TECH S.r.l. through the strategy department, for which he is responsible.
With over 20 years of experience in the capital goods industry, Andrea Carandini is a true expert in Market development and structuring, after had succesfully completed in the executive General Management program at LIUC Business School / Luiss Business School in 2023 , he is now applying his expertise to the benefit of I-TECH S.r.l. to firmly establish the SME as a leading player in solutions for preparation and transferring of liquids colorants products in different fields.
Andrea Carandini receives the best wishes of the entire I-TECH staff.
Sneakers made from food industry waste and recycled materials: ID.EIGHT
The project was born from the meeting between Dong Seon Lee and Giuliana Borzillo, both of whom come from the world of footwear: Dong is a Creative Designer Director and Giuliana a Brand Manager. Together they created a collection of sneakers with a refined design and at the same time sustainable and ethical.
From a beautiful love story, a footwear brand was born. The line is officially launched in February 2020 through a crowdfunding campaign, and 320 supporters immediately believe in ID.EIGHT.
Here is how they explain the sustainable aspect of their project: “We mainly use 4 types of bio-based materials for the upper, derived from by-products of agricultural or industrial activities:
– BioVeg: made in Italy with recycled PES and biopolyols, from non-food corn crops.
– Uppeal: made in Italy from apple peels and cores.
– Vegea: made in Italy from grape skins, seeds and stems.
– Piñatex: made in Spain from pineapple leaves from the Philippines.
Recycled synthetic materials (polyester, mesh, Lycra, rubber) and recycled cotton made in Portugal, Spain and Italy complete the other parts of the shoe”.
One day less for MICAM and MIPEL in September 2024
The important international trade fairs dedicated to the footwear and leather goods world and Spring Summer 2025 collections will be held from September 15 to 17 at Fieramilano (Rho).
MICAM Milan, MIPEL, TheOne and Milano Fashion & Jewels will reduce the duration of the events by 1 day.
Utility Diadora presents Evolution: the new workwear collection
Utility Diadora presents its latest innovation in the world of workwear: the Evolution line. Designed with cutting-edge fabrics, this collection represents a turning point in workwear, combining practicality, high performance and sophisticated design.
The Evolution line is the result of an important process of technological research, a concentration of skills and innovation that have enabled the creation of high-performance and functional garments. Each item has been designed down to the smallest detail, selecting specific and resistant fabrics to create total looks that are ergonomic and pleasant to wear.
The special multi-material construction of the new collection, combined with the study of refined weaves, guarantees the worker freedom of movement and at the same time favours better performance during professional performance. In addition, thanks to the sporty design, the worker can feel comfortable and at ease even during non-work periods of the day.
The entire collection is currently available in the best shops and on the website: https://www.diadorautility.com/it/it/
SIMAC TANNING TECH number 50: registration now open
Registration for Simac Tanning Tech will open on Monday 18 March. The fair will be held in Milan from 17 to 19 September 2024 with more than 300 exhibitors presenting the latest technology for the footwear, leather goods and tanning industries.
On the occasion of the opening of applications for Simac Tanning Tech, the world’s leading exhibition dedicated to technologies for the footwear, leather goods and tanning industries, the new official logo was presented to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event.
A modern, eye-catching design
The modern, eye-catching design retains the iconic elements of the original logo. The number ’50’ stands out in the foreground, highlighting the importance of this historic milestone for the fair.
A special edition full of innovations
The new edition of Simac Tanning Tech is set to celebrate 50 years with a special edition of the world’s leading trade fair for technology and machinery for the footwear, tanning and leather goods industries.
This special occasion will contain a number of important innovations
– Enhancement of the technological innovations presented at the fair.
– Enhanced networking initiatives and celebration of SIMAC TANNING TECH’s 50th anniversary.
– Setting up of a technology exhibition that will retrace the history of the sector: a fascinating journey through the evolution of the industry and its future.
– New opportunities for stand customisation.
For more information: www.simactanningtech.it
Discover the new Virtual showroom: the physical experience also becomes virtual
You can access the Virtual Showroom via computer or mobile phone. Through the Virtual Showroom section in the top menu of the website, or by clicking here, it is, in fact, possible to access and visit all the spaces of the Studio Auriga headquarters, and in particular, to virtually walk around the showroom, set up with Tajima single-head and multi-head embroidery machines, GMI systems for laser cutting and engraving, the prestigious Makò Aurifil cotton threads. By approaching each of them, you can see the details and access other information materials, such as videos, images and technical data sheets.
AurigaAcademy, for training on industrial embroidery, and the Tajima Software departments are also virtually accessible.
For Studio Auriga, always being one step ahead is an existential mission. Technical excellence, contained in our payoff, is not built only by presenting the best-performing machinery on the market but also by providing cutting-edge services aligned with the needs of our time. We are proud to be able to benefit from the most inclusive technologies, such as virtual reality, to make the world of embroidery as accessible as possible.
The Virtual Showroom certainly does not replace the physical experience consolidated over many years of work. To use all the instruments live and carry out tests and prototypes in total confidentiality and supported by a dedicated team, physical access to the showroom located in Solaro (Milan) is always possible upon reservation.
More and more finishing in the future of DERMACOLOR
Inaugurated a couple of years ago, the new Dermacolor headquarters in Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa) is a perfect combination of aesthetics and functionality. The approximately five thousand covered square metres that were added to the pre-existing plant were used to offer new elegant reception areas, expand the production departments, enlarge the warehouse and extend all the in-house research laboratories. This was not just an extension, but a complete reorganisation of the spaces, which were revised with a view to an all-round relaunch of the business.
If in the part open to visitors, the large showroom housing the latest leather collection for S/S 25 stands out, located next to the ultra-modern meeting room with its huge windows, in the internal departments what strikes the eye is the large area dedicated to the application and analysis laboratories, which represent the real heart of the company.
“We have considerably enlarged the space allocated to the laboratories,” explain Valentina and Viola Palagini with Andrea and Marco Meucci, the four young managers who now run the company founded in 1981 on the initiative of their respective parents. In particular, the analysis laboratory has been enlarged and even tripled the space for the laboratory dedicated to finishing products. The latter is also the symbol of the company’s new direction, which aims to offer customers the complete chemical service package, from the wet phase to finishing. “In the last few years, we have dedicated a great deal of effort to finishing, investing in a dedicated production plant and creating a good working team, made up of technicians and researchers, who collaborate daily with the group that deals with the wet phase in the development of ever new articles,” explain the company managers.
Development and research, after all, have always been the company’s fuels: Dermacolor has become a fundamental point of reference in the Tuscan tanning district and beyond. In recent years, in spite of the situation of uncertainty that dominates the sector and the increase in the cost of raw materials and transport that is reducing margins and causing great concern, the Tuscan company has managed to grow, even abroad, reaping the benefits of an activity always carried out with the utmost commitment and great professionalism.
What does research at Dermacolor focus on today?
“Our R&D departments are always working to find innovative solutions that can meet market demands, starting with lowering the bisphenol content in all our synthetic tannins. In general, both at the barrel and finishing product level, we are focusing a lot on the development of green products with a high percentage of bio-based components that can offer excellent technical performance, particularly with regard to lightfastness and PVC. And then we always try to anticipate problems, eliminating all those substances that are not banned today but could be in the future, studying and experimenting with safer alternatives”.
Regarding the wet phase of leather processing, what are your latest successes?
“Without going into the merits of individual products, we can mention the new glutaraldehyde-free white tans that offer very interesting results. Also very important is the enzymatic liming with hair recovery that considerably reduces the pollution load of the leather depilation process. This is a real innovation that is beginning to take hold in the sector, even if it involves a change in processing procedures and therefore takes time to be accepted and implemented by tanneries”.
What are the latest challenges in the area of finishing?
“In this area, the key word is always leather upgrading, a crucial factor for the market grappling with a raw material that does not always meet demand. Here the research is continuous and today we have absolutely transparent defect masking systems that leave the leather extremely soft”.
Let’s talk about certifications. Where do you stand?
“At Dermacolor, we care about using products that are as safe as possible and we have always endeavoured to prove this by first complying with the 9001 and 14001 Certifications, then the Reach Regulation and finally the requirements of ZDHC. Today we have around 300 products certified to ZDHC level 3 (the highest) with more to follow soon”.
There has been talk of the LCA of chemical products, another demand that will soon reach chemical producers from tanneries. What do you think about it?
“It is a complex issue. Obviously sustainability needs scientific data to prove its concreteness and avoid accusations of greenwashing. From this point of view, the Life Cycle Assessment of Chemicals (LCA) is one of the tools needed to calculate the environmental impact of leather. This is why with UNPAC we are participating in a project to develop a system for calculating the LCA of chemical products together with experts from Spin 360. The idea is to develop a tool that will allow us to provide this calculation without spending a fortune, because all these requests end up representing increasingly onerous additional costs for our industry”.
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Distribution agreement with ICAP Leatherchem
Dermacolor has just signed a distribution agreement with ICAP Leatherchem, a company based in Lainate (Milan) that produces a complete range of quality products such as acrylic and polyurethane resins, urethane-acrylic copolymers, lacquers, etc. “This is an advantageous agreement for both companies because we know the local market and they allow us to expand our offer with products that we do not have, such as acrylic and polyurethane resins,” explain Dermacolor.
AS Green Technology, cutting-edge and tailor-made solutions
Despite a difficult market context, this early 2024 sees the Tuscan company AS Green Technology working at full speed. Specialising in the production of a wide range of leather drying and conditioning systems, as well as overhead conveyors, automatic loaders and more, the company based in Montopoli in Val d’Arno (Pisa) is reaping the benefits of an activity that officially began only four years ago, but strengthened by experience that comes from much further afield. In August 2020, forced by events, the young entrepreneur Filippo Sani decided to set up a new company where he was able to transfer – and then increase – the know-how he had acquired by working for several years alongside his father, who had died prematurely, bringing with him a small group of highly experienced former colleagues who believed in him. In just a few years, this young entrepreneur has earned the trust of the market through determination and foresight.
In just a few years, AS Green Technology has carved out an important share of the market. Can we make a small assessment?
“We are very satisfied with the road travelled so far. We have worked hard and today we can safely say that our customers include several prestigious tanneries working in both the fashion and automotive sectors. Italian and foreign companies that have evidently found in us a suitable technological partner. In addition, we also have customers from outside the industry with our automatic handling and transport lines”.
What do customers appreciate most?
“The market seems to appreciate competence and flexibility, which in short means being able to listen to requests, analyse them and develop proposals in line with the tannery’s needs. And then the quality of the technological offer, cutting-edge from all points of view and always tailor-made for the specific reality for which it is intended. We are like tailors: the level of customisation of the systems is our distinguishing feature. Another of our trump cards is the fact that we work in synergy with a number of specialised suppliers; we have built a network that allows us to make the production process more efficient by relying on other manufacturers for certain parts of the systems, thus saving time and costs”.
How do your technologies differ?
“The adjective ‘green’ in our company name communicates a fundamental concept, namely that our plants are designed to work with environmentally friendly cycles by reducing energy consumption, processing times and emissions, while maintaining high quality levels. Our plants can be completely independent of any classical supply lines, such as steam, gas, hot water. Where possible, we use renewable electricity produced by photovoltaic plants and, thanks to conversion systems, we are able to guarantee process temperatures appropriate to the type of articulation”.
You were among the first to propose virtual reality. How is it going?
“It is a very popular tool. Virtual reality offers an extraordinary immersive experience, allowing you to experience the entire machining process in 360°. We use it both in the commercial phase, because it helps customers better understand the technologies, and for after-sales assistance where it has proved very useful, especially abroad, to help diagnose faults and malfunctions”.
What does 2024 look like?
“The tanning sector is suffering at the moment and so there is some uncertainty. As far as we are concerned, looking at the orders already in house, I tend to be confident that the company can match and even surpass the results of a very positive 2023”.
Plans for the future?
“We are the leader of an important research project on the drying and conditioning of leather, which involves various players but of which it is still too early to give details. We will talk about this later”.