Reunited in Bologna, Italy, on April 17-20, the footwear and leather machinery shows SIMAC and Tanning Tech managed to recapture some of the lustre of their heyday, following several years of recession.

According to the shows’ organisers, Assomac, apart from slight difficulties in the injection sector, footwear machinery and leather goods machinery attracted a great deal of attention at the event, which generated firm sales in many cases.

Other events organised at the shows also proved popular including a ‘Making Machinery’ talk, hosted by Assomac, which set forth proposals to establish a standard for the description and transfer of geometric and technological data between design and production phases. The initiative addresses the problems encountered by technology suppliers and their clients and aims to simplify data exchange processes between operators in the footwear system.

A pavilion was also set up to present The International Polytechnic for Industrial and Economic Development’s "A Leather Bridge with Africa" project also organised by Assomac in collaboration with the Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), Regione Emilia Romagna, Bologna Fiere and Lineapelle.