FAIST Project and 50 years of APICCAPS
Interview with President Luís Onofre
On 18th and 19th November, an important convention was held at the Palácio da Bolsa in Porto, attracting stakeholders and press from the international footwear world. The event, organised by APICCAPS on the basis of several discussion sessions, was an opportunity to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Association, but above all to present the results of the FAIST project, including group visits to the production sites of participating companies in order to experience the results achieved first-hand. We spoke about all of this with President Luís Onofre.
President, tell us about FAIST, what is it all about?
The Portuguese footwear industry is taking decisive steps towards becoming the most modern in the world. Leading this transformation is FAIST – Factory Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological, a major mobilisation project under Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). FAIST is part of the new Strategic Plan of the Portuguese Footwear Cluster, which aspires to transform the sector into an international benchmark for innovation and sustainability. The project also promotes local industrial development, increases exports and strengthens Portugal’s role in the global supply chain. By investing in automation, robotics and domestic production of advanced technologies and sustainable materials, the Portuguese footwear cluster is strengthening its global leadership in design, innovation and digital transformation.
Do you think Brussels is doing enough to support the efforts of European entrepreneurs?
No, I don’t think so. We have always been underestimated over the years, and as César Araújo, president of Anivec, said very well, I think that only now, when the main European industries are suffering fierce competition, does Brussels realise the mistake they made in the past, i.e. not to have limited the information given to Asian manufacturers. Asia now holds that information and its businesses are booming, whereas all that we can do is try to be more and more creative and consolidate the leadership of global brands that are aiming to design something of value with quality manual labour.
This year APICCAPS celebrates 50 years since its foundation, how do you sum up these five decades of activity?
I think the Association has come a long way in these 50 years and I hope we will make further progress to help our industries through these difficult times. We have always worked in the knowledge that there were many difficulties to be faced but we have also been clear about what we wanted to achieve and I think it will be the same in the future. We have to be prepared for tough times ahead, there will be many and on a global scale. These challenges, including automation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and handmade, must be faced in the hope that the European Community will be able to support and promote these processes.
So do you predict a rosy future for the next 50 years?
Actually, my worries are about our short-term survival, because the post-pandemic period has been a very tough time for the footwear industry, which is a decapitalising sector. And we have to be able to count on a big increase in consumption, which is now at a complete standstill in part because of wars, so that we can make investments in automation. Because of all these economic headwinds we are living in a kind of perfect storm, but booms and busts never last forever, so I am confident, I believe that Europe will win, or at least the European footwear industry will win if we manage to achieve a very well-crafted mix of all the elements mentioned above. We have no other choice. And in particular, I think that the future of fashion and footwear – and studies back this up – strongly involves the craft component. Of course, it will not be easy to find young people who love and want to continue this profession, but at the same time we must evolve by integrating automation into the production process. In any event, our main objective does not change, we strive to ensure that the Portuguese footwear industry remains constantly at the forefront and is consolidated as the most modern in the world.