Companies

FAIST Voices: meet Abílio P. Carneiro & Filhos S.A

Sep 11, 2026 Portugal

With nearly a century of manufacturing expertise, Abílio P. Carneiro & Filhos S.A is using the FAIST project to further integrate robotics into the traditional footwear assembly process, thereby improving quality and competitiveness

The FAIST (Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological Factory) project brings together over 40 Portuguese partners across footwear and leather goods, technology providers and research centres. Running from June 2022 to June 2026, the programme channels about 50 million euros of investment into projects that modernise the industry and sharpen its international competitiveness.

The Company

Founded in 1927 in northern Portugal, Abílio P. Carneiro & Filhos S.A. is a family-owned footwear manufacturer currently managed by the fourth generation of the Carneiro family. The company has maintained its activity throughout successive phases of growth and restructuring within the footwear industry.

Since the 1980s, it has developed a strong export focus, broadening its customer base beyond traditional European markets. It operates primarily on a private-label business model, providing services from product development to logistics.

The company specialises in technical outdoor footwear, particularly waterproof products. Its activities focus on meeting specific technical requirements through specialised materials, manufacturing processes and product development capabilities.

Under FAIST

As part of the FAIST project, Abílio P. Carneiro & Filhos S.A has continued its nine-year collaboration with the software company Tropimática to develop an automated footwear production line comprising four robots, a dryer, and a conveyor belt.

The system will automate four key stages of the traditional footwear assembly process: roughing the sides of the uppers, roughing the underside of the uppers, applying the primer and applying the adhesive, to prepare for the outsoles gluing process.

“The development of these solutions involved overcoming several technical challenges, particularly those relating to adapting robotics to the ‘industrial problem’ of small batch sizes and the variety of products and materials used in the footwear industry”, highlighted Alexandre Carneiro, CEO of the company.

FAIST Outcomes

The gradual rollout of these technologies across the company’s operations forms part of a broader industrial adaptation strategy centred on robotics which began nearly a decade ago. Nevertheless, the company claims that implementing this production line has already significantly improved precision, quality and process consistency.

Carneiro also emphasised that “automating repetitive operations frees up operators to perform higher-value tasks and improves workplace ergonomics”, laying the foundations for productivity gains as the technology moves into a phase of industrialisation.

Overall, “the aim is to provide robust and flexible solutions that can easily be integrated into our technical footwear production line”. This will help to accelerate the company’s digital transformation and boost its competitiveness.

Visit the Abílio P. Carneiro & Filhos S.A website for more information.

Explore more about the FAIST project here.

Image Credits: apcarneiro.pt