“APLF has combined two things that show a good ladder made with good technology.”
As Magazine Leather Team, we are at the 2024 Hong Kong APLF Fair and we are with the ASSOMAC Association President, Maria Vittoria Brustia, and ASSOMAC General Manager, Agostino Apolito.
First of all, can you tell us what the Assomak Association does and what it basically aims to achieve?
Maria Vittoria Brustia : ASSOMAC Association is an association that brings together manufacturers of Shoe Machinery, Leather Machinery and leather cutting machines. It includes slightly less than 150 companies and in a broader sense we can say that it is the excellence of leather-related technology. The aim of ASSOMAC is to promote Italian leather technology all over the world, helping them to deal with digitalization, sustainability, green transformation and so on. The ASSOMAC Association has been in existence for over 40 years. In 2024 we will organize its 50th edition.
What are your efforts for leather and industrial sustainability?
Agostino Apolito : We support the sustainability of the supply chain, because the organization of data or the organization of data is very important in terms of technology support. Why is it important, because sustainability is more than the label of the certificate is a label for companies, we have studies within the scope of machine technology in terms of LCA, that is, Life Cycle assessment of this label, and we support it as an association and try to fill it in. Emissions, Energy consumption is a standard that recommends for the brand in the supply chain.
How many Italian companies participated in APLF Hong Kong?
Maria Vittoria Brustia : The Italian companies that participated in the APLF fair were mainly companies that produce machinery for tanneries and we had a total of 39 companies participating. So they proved that they show the best technology for a leather tannery and that they cover the whole leather production starting from raw leather, that is, they really offer the customer with a complete technology to get the best leather from raw leather.
They are very happy with the APLF exhibition, we can say that it was a very good exhibition, especially since the exhibition came back to Hong Kong, the center of the Far East.
There will be SMAG TANNING TECH fair in September, what would you like to say about it?
Agostino Apolito : Yes, in September the ASSOMAC association is very committed to this event, because this is the 50th Anniversary. On the occasion of the anniversary, we are now preparing for the fair. There are opportunities for participation. In the context of this event, our exhibition organization will start with a gala dinner and will celebrate the icons of technology, leather products and brands of the supply chain.
As the second important activity, the main objective of the fair is to introduce the technology, which is the key point of the supply chain and very, very important for the investment of the manufacturers in this market. And of course for the footwear industry, for the tanning industry, they see that this platform is the international platform, this international organization is an opportunity to see the machines and to follow the new technologies in the production process.
How has the APLF fair been for you so far? I mean, has it been beneficial not only for Italian companies but for the leather industry in general?
Maria Vittoria Brustia : I think it was a very exciting fair. We saw a lot of our customers from all over the world exhibiting their leathers. As I said before, we and everybody is very happy with APLF and it’s very exciting that it’s coming back home to Hong Kong and bringing it to the Asian market.
I would say that we used to say that you need high quality technology to make a good quality production, I think APLF has combined the two things which shows a good ladder made with good technology.
We were together with Mr. Maria Vittoria Brustia, President of ASSOMAC Association and Mr. Agostino Apolito, General Manager of ASSOMAC, who participated with 39 Italian companies at APLF. We would like to thank them for our Magazine Leather Interview. See you at SIMAC TANNING TECH fair.
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