The Portuguese footwear industry concludes this year the largest ever investment cycle, with a total of 100 million euros applied in sustainability, digitization, artificial intelligence and new technologies. The investment, described by the Portuguese Footwear Manufacturers Association (APICCAPS) as an unprecedented effort, aims to prepare the sector for a new international competitive reality and reinforce confidence in the future of the industry.
The investments were mobilized through two main projects: BioShoes4All and FAIST – Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological Factory. BioShoes4All, which took place over four years and involved 69 Portuguese entities, focused on the transition to the bioeconomy, developing 46 new footwear and leather goods products, many with a smaller ecological and carbon footprint. The project also created new biomaterials from resources such as pine bark, olive leaves, coffee grounds and olive pits, and achieved 20% reductions in water consumption in certain processes.
FAIST, with an investment of around 50 million euros and more than 40 companies involved, bet on the technological transformation of the sector, developing automated production lines, new equipment and software solutions. Artificial intelligence has also begun arriving on the factory floor, with pilot projects pointing to gains in planning, waste reduction and error reduction.
The results of these projects are being presented through Thursday in Milan, at the international Lineapelle and Simac fairs. The president of APICCAPS, Luís Onofre, considers that Portuguese companies "did not wait" and that the volume of investment represents proof of confidence in the future, combining the talent and quality traditionally associated with Portuguese footwear with a new generation of technologies to build a competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate.
