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WF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
7
MARCH/APRIL 2012 | www.footwearbiz.com
INCUSA DEVOTES 25% OF
PRODUCTION TO TITANIUM-
TANNED LEATHER
A tannery near Valencia that
launched a project last year to use
titanium instead of chromium to tan
footwear leather has now said it is
devoting 25% of its production capacity
to the new product.
The company, Industrias del Curtido
SA (Incusa), worked with Inescop,
Spain’s technology institute for footwear
and related industries, and footwear
brand Fluchos on the initial project
testing the suitability of the leather
produced in footwear applications.
Managing director, Silvino Navarro,
said in a recent interview that market
reaction had been very positive, not
only from footwear manufacturers, and
that Incusa was now devoting 25% of its
production to the product, which it has
called Sanotan.
This name is indicative of the
comparative lack of health risk that
Incusa says some of its client
companies perceive the leather to have.
Mr Navarro said: “There are many
advantages of the titanium-based
process; it’s more sustainable as there
are larger natural reserves of titanium.
It’s also healthier, since titanium is
hypoallergenic. There are people who
are sensitive to chromium-tanned
leather, which can cause various kinds
of allergies.”
AID TO HELP FORMER SHOE
WORKERS IN VALENCIA
COME BACK
Valencia's regional government has
announced a support package to help
former workers from the footwear
industry find jobs in the sector
again.The plan, which has the backing
of the European Commission, is worth
€
2.5 million.
Regional minister for employment,
María José Catalá, announced the plan
in Elda in the province of Alicante, a hub
of footwear production. She said 350
footwear sector workers would receive
the support they needed to find new jobs
in footwear companies in the area.
A 40-strong delegation repersenting
footwear manufacturers in the area met
the minister and drew a statement of
commitment from her towards the
footwear industry. She said the regional
government was determined to help the
local shoe industry recover from the
economic downturn and that, starting in
June, the funding would become available
to help create new jobs in the footwear
industry for 350 people who have had to
leave the sector in recent times.
SATRA RESEARCH BEHIND
NEW SLIP TEST IN THE US
ASTM International (formerly known
as the American Society for Testing and
Materials) has published a new
standard test method, F2913-11, for
evaluating the slip performance of
footwear. It is derived from SATRA Test
Method TM144.
Commenting on the news, SATRA
said it was likely to prove a significant
development in supply chains
throughout the world. It said that,
because the US is the world’s largest
consumer of footwear, manufacturers
and suppliers will have a strong
incentive to prove their products meet
the new requirements.
SATRA’s chief executive, Austin
Simmons, said: “SATRA recognised the
importance of reducing the risk of
footwear slip early on, and over the last
40 years we have been developing both
test methods and equipment for
evaluating this critical safety aspect.
SATRA TM144 and its corresponding
test machine STM 603 are the result of a
comprehensive research programme
based on many years of evaluating the
biomechanics of walking.”