B
razilian industrial group Sazi believes it can make
an impression on the global footwear industry by
offering a stepping stone between the highest-price
and highest-quality machines in the market (which mostly
come from Europe) and the most affordable options open to
manufacturers at the moment (which mostly come from
Asia). Sazi, founded by Antônio Zini in 1984, is based a bit
off the beaten track, in the industrial town of Farroupilha in
the high ground of the Serra Gaúcha in southern Brazil.
Such was the influence of Italian communities in setting up
the towns around here that the area is known as Pequena
Itália or Little Italy. At a height of almost 800 metres,
Farroupilha is cool and comfortable enough to have been
picked as an official training centre for the 2014 FIFA World
Cup, a source of substantial pride for the town.
It is proud of its industrial heritage, too, and Sazi plays an
important role in that. A part of the state of Rio Grande do
Sul’s considerable footwear production used to be here in
Farroupilha and was a huge contributor to the local
economy until around 30 years, although only a few
factories remain. It was this that encouraged Mr Zini to start
producing footwear machinery in the 1980s, starting out by
helping Farroupilha’s shoemakers maintain their machines
from a rented spot in a factory run by one of his brothers.
By 1987, the business was going well enough for him to set
up the first separate Sazi site and start making the first Sazi
machine, starting with simple items such as soling
machines.
Over the next five years, the operation expanded to a
range of ten footwear production machines and the
company began to export its products, with clients in
Argentina and Mexico among the first international
recipients. It now has user organisations all over Latin
America; Mexico has the most, followed, perhaps
surprisingly, by Ecuador where recent growth has been
strong, then Argentina, then Colombia and Peru. Exports to
El Salvador have also grown after an important investment
in Sazi technology by Empresas ADOC.
IDEAS FROM OVERSEAS
The internationalisation of the firm continued in the years
leading up to the new century when Mr Zini started
Brazilian footwear machinery manufacturer Sazi
has launched a new version of its Intelligent line
of machines, offering savings in energy
consumption that it believes can quickly make an
impact on a footwear manufacturer’s bottom line.
SAZI PUTS
ITS ENERGY
INTO NEW
INTELLIGENT
LINE
The 214s sole press machine is part of the company’s 2011
New Intelligent line, offering an up-to-date response to the
ongoing need for efficient and economical machines in
footwear factories.
CREDIT: WTP
SAZI PUTS
ITS ENERGY
INTO NEW
INTELLIGENT
LINE
MANUFACTURING & MATERIALS INNOVATION
WF
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