Who we are

Learn about the history of UITIC

The International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians (UITIC) is an organization, funded in 1972, which aims at developing technical knowledge in the footwear industry, in particular by organizing international conferences on a regular basis and by fostering information exchanges between its members, exclusively in the field of technology applied to footwear design and manufacturing processes. Members are from all over the world, and they include footwear association, technology centers, universities, private companies as well as individual experts in shoe technology.

70s

1972

EVIAN (France)

New materials, new processes

1975

ALICANTE (Spain)

Development and technical prospects in the footwear industry.

1977

MAYENCE (Germany)

Future prospects and development trends in the footwear industry in the European area. The use of computers in the footwear industry. Automation and flexibility.

1979

BRISTOL (Great Britain)

Successful footwear manufacturing in developed countries.

80s

1981

BELGRADE (Yugoslavia)

Footwear production in the microelectronics age

1983

MILAN (Italy)

Automation of processes that enhance productivity and avoid handling times

1985

BUDAPEST (Hungary)

Advances in CAD/CAM systems

1987

ALICANTE (Spain)

The footwear industry of the future

1989

NANTES (France)

"Just-in-time" or how to meet market needs reducing lead times

90s

1991

MUNICH (Germany)

Successful footwear companies of tomorrow

1993

ATHENS (Greece)

Industrial organisation, new materials, quality management, training and automatisms

1996

PORTO (Portugal)

Materials with better performance, new production and commercialisation tools, quality assurance systems and environmental management

1999

FERMO (Italy)

Evolution of the shoe technology in the last 3 years and prospects for the near future

00s

2002

BUDAPEST (Hungary)

Transnational production of footwear and its components as a result of the growing globalisation of the economy

2005

TUNIS (Tunisia)

Changes driven by footwear production globalisation and delocalisation

2008

ELCHE (Spain)

The advantages of technology for footwear trading and production processes

10s

2010

LEON (Guanajuato, Mexico)

Powerful ideas in the footwear market

2013

GUANGZHOU (Dongguan, China)

Social Responsibility: a challenge for the Footwear Industry

2016

CHENNAI (India)

The Future Footwear Factory

2018

PORTO (Portugal)

From Fashion to Factory : A New Technological Age

20s

2023

MILAN (Italy)

Moving towards sustainability through innovation