Companies

FAIST Voices: meet Armipex

Sep 28, 2026 Portugal

The Portuguese footwear manufacturer Armipex, which is approaching its fiftieth anniversary, is leveraging the support of the FAIST project to drive the next phase of automated footwear manufacturing

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

Armipex In Focus

Armipex (formerly Tecopel) started out as a small, manual operation in 1977, but began scaling up after securing a major export order in 1980.

The company industrialised its production processes in the early 1980s and introduced assembly lines in 1985. It also became an early adopter of CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing) technology in 1988, which was followed by a strong focus on automation, with the introduction of robotics in the mid-1990s. Advanced systems, including 3D design and automated cutting later reinforced this.

Overtime, Armipex also integrated robotics across key operations and adopted water-based adhesives, while expanding digital design and prototyping. For Armindo Peixoto, the CEO of a footwear manufacturer, innovation is essential to the industry, and technology is the only way to overcome the labour shortages in the sector and remain competitive on the global stage.

Under FAIST

As part of the FAIST project, the company has partnered with two other companies: a software company called Olifel and a technology production company called

DSCI Pro.

“The role of the software partner is to ensure the continuity and improvement of production management processes by creating new, increasingly easy-to-control and responsive new tools”, Armindo Peixoto highlighted.

The company has therefore adopted Olifel’s integrated digital platform, which combines planning, prototyping, logistics and real-time tracking within a single system. In summary, it brings together AI-driven planning tools, RFID-based (Radio Frequency Identification) traceability and automated documentation, connecting all stages of the production line – from sample development to final shipment – within a unified, data-driven environment.

Armipex’s other partner is also integral to Armindo Peixoto’s guiding principle of innovation. “We are collaborating with our partner (DSCI Pro) to develop a fully automated production line for a specific product”. The result is a two-part solution comprising the PRG (Pounding, Roughing and Glueing) Robot Station and the Robot Tool Testing Solution.

The former is a six-axis robotic cell that combines pounding, roughing and gluing in a single pre-assembly station. It uses interchangeable tools and RFID or 3D vision technology to identify models and automatically generate robot trajectories. The latter is a robotic validation platform that enables automated footwear production processes to be simulated and tested in a controlled environment.

FAIST Outcomes

“FAIST has, in fact, proved to be an indispensable source of support”. “It provides a boost to those who have the courage, to those who are innovative, and to those who are bold”, Peixoto believes.

The PRG Robot Station is a flexible equipment that can be used either in the production of direct injection or cemented shoes. This has an important impact in flexibility of a company such as Armipex and the transformation of their workforce either from the capacitation of current personal and/or the hiring of qualified workers.

In parallel, the Robot Tool Testing Station facilitates the swift validation of robotic processes and calibration for new models or new types of shoes without having to stop current lines. At the same time, from a prototyping point of view it accelerates the development of automated production lines for the future which also leads to an increase in employment for highly qualified people.

The integrated digital platform complements this by enabling a data-driven manufacturing environment with improved efficiency and reduced errors, resulting in data driven decisions that are key for the current industry and in line with Industry 4.0.

Visit the Armipex website for more information.

Explore more about the FAIST project here.

Image Credits: armipex.pt