Machines designed, at least in part, to replace people. The generational turnover problem can be addressed in two ways: by making fashion manufacturing more attractive to young people and investing in training, but also by using automation to eliminate the most physically demanding tasks, where replacing retiring workers is much harder. But does more technology on the factory floor necessarily make the sector more attractive? At the latest edition of Simac Tanning Tech, several companies presented next-generation machinery integrated with artificial intelligence and designed, inevitably, to replace manual work.
More technology for factory work
Do robots and artificial intelligence raise concerns because they take jobs away from people? Maybe, but in some cases they respond to a concrete business need by replacing people in tasks that, as footwear and leather goods entrepreneurs say, “no one wants to do anymore”. One example comes from the Astorflex shoe factory, which bought a milling robot a couple of years ago. “It’s an investment that protects us from the extreme difficulty of finding a successor to someone who mills manually”, Giulio Travenzoli told us.
Then there’s leather goods’ company Alta Moda Belt, which had already purchased new robotic electric sewing machines in 2021. Finally, there’s Santoni, which is testing a robotic system for polishing. The robot performs the first repetitive stages, after which the craftsperson steps in with their know-how. “Where there’s low artisanal skill, there are machines; in the most valuable stages and processes, there are the hands of craftspeople”, Giuseppe Santoni explained.
Addressing generational turnover
The topic was highly relevant during the latest edition of Simac Tanning Tech, where companies exhibited innovative machines integrated with artificial intelligence and increasingly capable of performing tasks previously entrusted to people. Machines do more than increase and improve productivity: they also help address the chronic challenge of generational turnover. “Know-how is at risk of being lost”, noted Cesare Dal Monte and Laura Beschin of Ger Elettronica while presenting their latest models of machinery for tanneries.
But there’s another side to the coin: cutting-edge Italian machines are often too advanced (and too expensive) for the production needs of developing countries, including in Africa. “What’s needed here are intuitive, easy-to-use machines that can cope with rapid staff turnover”, says Cristiano Paccagnella of Omac. In these countries, used machinery can also be effective. It’s also a matter of cost: technology is welcomed where labor costs are high; where they are low, it’s less necessary.
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