False SIMAC TANNING- TECH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS OF MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR FOOTWEAR, LEATHERGOODS AND TANNING INDUSTRY Organizer: Assomac Servizi srl P. O. Box 73 - Via Matteotti, 4/ a - 27029 Vigevano - PV - Italy - tel. + 39 - 0381 78883 - fax + 39 - 0381 88602 exhibition@ assomac. it - www. simac- fair. it - www. tanning- tech. it “ technology is quality” “ quality technology” Ottobre 28- 30 October 2008 Bologna - ITALY

False 21 I t’s not a question of money– the wages on offer in tanneries and leathergoods factories are decent– but it’s becoming difficult for this industry to hire younger workers in northern parts of Italy. This is a tragedy as the craftsmanship on offer in Italy is second to none. Even non- Italian brands, including the big- name, Paris- based fashion houses, have their high-end production done in the land across the Alps. The quality of leather and the skill of the craftspeople available in Italy have largely been responsible for the rise of the global luxury leathergoods market, a real bright spot for the entire leather industry in recent years. The big brands and the whole of the leather sector cannot afford to lose the vibrancy and beauty of the products coming out of factories across this area. The issue is that many young people in the north now perceive factory work as being a bit too sweaty and tough, a poor and undesirable option compared to a comfortable position in an air- conditioned office or design studio, all prosecco- and-canapé receptions and public relations launch parties. In the face of this, one influential figure in the north– Giuseppe Baiardo, owner of footwear company Calzaturificio Iris and current president of ACRIB, the Footwear Manufacturers’ Association of Riviera del Brenta– has begun to spread a message that some of his colleagues regard as heresy. He’s urging companies to give up any thought of further expansion in traditional northern centres of production ( across Lombardy, Tuscany, Veneto and so on) and to set up new facilities in the south of Italy instead. Against the grain This is controversial because it seems to fly in the face of conventional northern thinking, that the south, the messy Mezzogiorno, is a land apart, where the people who are willing to get out of bed in the morning at all want nothing more from their working lives than a nice, easy public-sector position, with plenty of days off, a pension and no commercial pressure. Here’s why it’s a smart idea, though, according to Aldo Premoli, footwear fashion consultant for the National Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers ( ANCI). He’s been part of the Milanese glitterati for decades, but his wife is Sicilian and Mr Premoli believes the idea of taking production to the south has great potential. It would solve the problem of finding new recruits without sacrificing the special qualities that Italian workers have to offer. He explains that there is something in the soul of Italian people that makes them naturally gifted craftspeople. “ There is art everywhere you look in Italy,” he says, “ it’s in the architecture, the food, the way people dress. You grow up with an appreciation of it. This makes Italian people more suited to this kind of work than anyone else, in my opinion, and, by going south, companies will find young people with these talents who really want to do the work.” There is an important tanning cluster at Solofra in the province of Avellino, of course, and Naples has long been a centre of leather excellence, especially in the production of leather gloves, but Mr Premoli and Mr Baiardo are talking here about something new. WORLD LEATHERJUNE/ JULY 2008 Regional Commentary: Italy The song of the south Giuseppe Baiardo ( left), president of the Footwear Manufacturers’ Association of Riviera del Brenta, celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his industry association at GDS in September 2007 with Frank Hartmann of Messe Düsseldorf. Mr Baiardo is now spreading a message that some in northern Italy regard as heresy. CREDIT: MESSE DÜSSELDORF / RENE TILLMANN High- end designer Ermanno Scervino in conversation at Lineapelle in April 2008. He says it’s hard to find young people who want to work in garment production now. Most young people he knows want to be architects or actors instead.