The UITIC Executive Committee, APICCAPS and CTCP announced the complete programme of the 20th edition of the UITIC Congress, taking place in Porto, from the 16th to the 18th May and focused on the theme From Fashion to factory: A New Technological Age.

COMPLETE PROGRAMME AVAILABLE HERE

Several sessions, framed by the theme From Fashion to factory: A New Technological Age, were announced: Exploring Emerging Design & Development Technologies with Global Footwear Brands (discussion panel); New Products, New Services; Intelligent Development and Manufacturing; Sustainability, Regulatory Trends Impacting on Factories and New Way of Training and Knowledge Management.

Luís Onofre, APICCAPS President commented: “The programme of the 20th UITIC Congress now announced sets high expectations for the event. As technology and the digital invaded our daily existence, we will all benefit from stopping for a while and have a reflection about all these topics. If you think about how technology is impacting production you will easily conclude that we live in a new paradigm dominated by intelligent and high-performance materials, flexible manufacturing processes, increasing automation and robotization of production and new concepts of customisation. Also, in terms of human and social interaction, technology is playing a key part there as well. For example, social networks are no longer just a hobby in our personal life, and brands and companies are trying to learn how to take advantage of such a huge opportunity to communicate with the entire world with an easy and very accessible tool as the internet. However, this asks for a deep reflection about the positioning of each brand and its communication strategy. The way brands will interact with their customers in the future will be completely different from now, and we need to anticipate that”.

When questioned about the elements of uniqueness of the event, Leandro de Melo, General Manager of the CTCP, commented: "Some topics will be addressed for the first time in a footwear conference of this kind, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, the production of footwear without stitching operations or the production of comfortable footwear without assembly operations. Robotics and intelligent automation will also be the subject of several technical presentations. But the uniqueness of the 20th UITIC Congress won’t rely on the in-room sessions and presentations. An extensive programme of visits to footwear factories will take place during the Congress. The Portuguese industry is made up of small and medium-sized companies, very flexible and completely focused on making the best possible use of the available technologies. The various scheduled visits will allow Congress attendees to observe the good practices and the appliances of the technologies in use at one of the most advanced footwear industry in the world".

APICCAPS invites the worldwide footwear industry to gather in Porto

Luis Onofre concludes inviting the worldwide footwear industry to come to Porto in May: "The 20^th UITIC Congress will be a unique opportunity for importers, distributors and retailers to get to know Portuguese brands, to visit some of the most relevant factories and to network with some important Portuguese players, who position their brands in niche markets and very specialised segments. Those looking for differentiated products with a twist will be impressed by the Portuguese footwear brands". Register now and guarantee you are part of this important community gathering in Porto for almost a week: www.porto2018.uitic.org

APICCAPS, the Portuguese Footwear Association and CTCP, the Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre, are the co-organisers of the 20^th edition of the UITIC Congress.