The eleventh annual technical conference of the Veneto division of Italy’s AICC took place in Chiampo on November 15. AICC is Italy’s national association of leather chemists.
In a packed early-evening programme, there were presentations from leather chemicals and tanning machinery manufacturers on technological innovations for the leather industry. Speakers came from the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, as well as Italy. Sponsors of the event were TFL, Corichem, Codyeco, Bergi, Silvateam, Cartigliano, Stahl, GSC Group and Gemata.
There were 260 delegates in the room, including a group of students from ITS Galileo Galilei in Arzignano, a specialist technical education institution for the leather industry. AICC president, Roberto Mecenero, said at the start of the event that it was important for these young delegates in particular to note the increasingly international nature of the conference. He said this would show them that it’s important not just to think about their own companies, their own district or their own country. “We have to have an international outlook,” he said. He read out a message from the incoming president of the International Union of Leather Technologisits and Chemists Societies (IULTCS), Luis Zugno, that stressed the importance of having industry bodies work together to counteract false information about leather and create “a positive future” for the material.
Representing IULTCS at the event was incoming IULTCS vice-president, Jean-Pierre Gualino. “We are facing a difficult time,” Mr Gualino said. “There is so much fake news around. We need to help defend leather, but not just that; we need to be more aggressive on social media about this. We transform waste into a luxury product. Who else can do that?”
From leatherbiz.com