By IANS,
Chennai : Eighteen representatives of India’s footwear industry participated in a training programme held in Italy on footwear manufacturing techniques recently, a UN official said here.
The interaction with the Italian footwear cluster industrial model would foster the expansion of the shoe component and accessory industry which was essential to sustain the growth of Indian footwear exports, said Bruno Valanzuolo, chief technical adviser of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
Of the eighteen representatives, four are from training institutes Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI).
The training in Italy is expected to encourage the Indian footwear units to shift to integrated manufacturing from subcontracting works and also improve plant layout, materials movement and an overall change in mindset, the US official added.
Meanwhile, around 23 small and medium sized footwear units located in Chennai, Ranipet and Ambur and officials from three training institutes have been trained by Italian experts on best practices in footwear manufacturing under the Consolidated Project for SME (small and medium enterprises) Development in India, a UNIDO programme.
The Indian Shoe Federation (ISF) and UNIONCAMERE Marche of Italy had signed a cooperation agreement in Octorber 2007 for different capacity building activities of footwear units in Tamil Nadu.