Artecola develops technology to reduce costs and environmental impact
The Artecola Group, of Campo Bom/RS,
According to Eduardo Kunst, director of the Artecola Group, “The first version of this product, Rhenoflex 3100, was seen as a real revolution by the footwear sector as it strongly contributed to an increase in productivity. Now with added features such as cost and environmental impact reduction, Rhenoflex 5100 also offers new possibilities in terms of competitiveness," he added.
Jairo Koerndoerfer, Artecola's marketing manager, explains that the clicking and skiving operations of counter and toecaps in general means an average loss of 28% of the materials used. As the Brazilian market for these components is currently estimated in US$35 million, Rhenoflex 5100 would mean savings of $ 9 million to the local shoe industry.
In environmental terms, Mr. Koerndoerfer says that factories use just over 28m2 of counter and toecap laminates in the production of 1,000 pairs of shoes. Therefore, it is estimated that in one year Rhenoflex 5100 would prevent wasting over 1,900 m2 of laminates for every 1,000 pairs of shoes produced, considerably reducing the environmental impact that would otherwise be caused by the huge volume of such waste that would be dumped per year.
