PRESS RELEASE
SIMAC Tanning Tech 2024:
Innovation and Tradition meet in the 50th Edition
- From 17 to 19 September, the reference event for the sector of machinery and technology for the footwear, leather goods and tanning industries returns.
- 317 exhibitors and a programme of high level appointments to celebrate half a century of technological excellence.
- President Brustia: ‘SIMAC Tanning Tech is not just an exhibition, but a global platform where the most advanced ideas and technologies take shape and are transformed into opportunities for growth and development for the entire supply chain.
Milan, 17 September 2024
Innovative, historical, international: this is SIMAC Tanning Tech, the reference event for the sector of machinery and technology for the footwear, leather goods and tanning industries, at Fiera Milano Rho from 17 to 19 September 2024. This 50th edition, organised by ASSOMAC - the Confindustria association representing Italian manufacturers in the category - is preparing to open its doors with considerable numbers: 317 companies will be present, 26% of which from abroad, for a total of almost 15,000 square metres of exhibition space.
Thanks to the support of Italian Trade Agency, the presence of foreign delegates is back to pre-pandemic levels: an excellent prerequisite for the recovery of international trade. And as last year's figures show (6,500 visitors, 40% of whom were international), the credit goes to a trade fair that over the years has been able to grow, innovate, and evolve, reaching the coveted half-century milestone with a programme full of important appointments. “The result we are celebrating this year is the fruit of the collective commitment of all the players in our sector: companies, institutions and research centres. SIMAC Tanning Tech is not just an exhibition, but a global platform where the most advanced ideas and technologies take shape and turn into opportunities for growth and development for the entire supply chain” comments ASSOMAC President Maria Vittoria Brustia.
“Our industry today is called upon to respond to increasingly complex challenges, such as the ecological transition, digitalisation and optimisation of production processes. Assomac, together with its members, is determined to lead this transformation, supporting innovation and promoting solutions that can contribute to a more sustainable and competitive future” adds ASSOMAC Director General Agostino Apolito. “I therefore wish all participants a successful edition, full of fruitful meetings and exchanges, convinced that new collaborations and ideas that will mark the future of our industry will emerge from this important anniversary.”
The fair: spaces and programme
The 50th edition of SIMAC Tanning Tech will officially kick off on Tuesday 17 September, in Hall 18, with the joint opening ceremony with LineaPelle. This will also be the starting point for the full programme of high-level seminars and workshops that will animate the event. Innovation and technological trends will be discussed with The European House Ambrosetti, digital transformation with SPS and EP-Summit, artificial intelligence with UITIC, but also sustainability, tradition... So many appointments that will make it possible to take stock of the global challenges that the sector is facing - and will have to face -, helping to trace the path towards the future. On this occasion, the 22nd UITIC International Congress of Footwear Technicians entitled ‘Competitiveness and Sustainability in the Era of Artificial Intelligence’ will be presented, to be held next September 2025 in Shanghai, China.
These will be complemented by special displays created for the occasion. In a multifunctional and multi-sensorial space, designed to highlight leather and its production chain, visitors will be able to see some of the machinery and experience augmented reality with those not on display, build relationships in the meeting rooms, and visit the photographic exhibition dedicated to SIMAC Tanning Tech's 50 years.
50 editions of SIMAC
SIMAC Tanning Tech has spanned half a century of history, evolving from a national trade fair to a global platform for the footwear and leather processing industry. The first edition was held in 1973 in Milan, marking a significant change: for the first time, the machines and technologies of the sector became the absolute protagonists. The event came after decades in which Italian mechanical industries had exhibited at generic or finished product-related events, such as the Milan Trade Fair and other national and international exhibitions.
The industrial growth of the 1960s, especially in the shoe and leather goods machinery sector, was decisive for the birth of SIMAC, which soon established itself as an alternative to the ‘Internationale Messe für Shuhfabrikation’ in Pirmasens, Germany. Over the years, SIMAC evolved, coming under the management of Assomac in the 1980s and establishing its headquarters in Bologna since 1988, in conjunction with Lineapelle. Today, after 50 editions, SIMAC Tanning Tech continues to represent a point of reference for technological innovation in the industry worldwide.