What happened this week: Bologna is over and we assume that most visitors were pleasantly surprised going on the reports that most of the exhibitors have given. There was an explosive array of beautiful articles, fashion, and the latest advances in finishing technology and it is clear that many European - or better said Italian tanners - have taken up the challenge and have prepared themselves to face the competition from around the globe. Whereas at shows in the past,  concerns about the shift of production to low cost countries has been the frequent focus of discussions, this time we saw a lot of optimism and confidence and only a few comments about the ‘threat’. This positive impression applied mainly to tanners producing shoe leathers or fashion leather for the leathergoods sector and confirmed the feeling that one has had for quite some time.

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