PROSSIMAPELLE, 10th edition in the splendid Villa Cerini, Castelfranco di Sotto (PI)

An innovative concept for this meeting organized by Unpac, at its 10th edition: the first edition 2023 was hosted in the splendid setting of Villa Cerini in Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa); 14 companies got involved for an immersive experience. Next appointment in Arzignano on November 30th.

An innovative concept for this meeting organized by Unpac, at its 10th edition: the first edition 2023 was hosted in the splendid setting of Villa Cerini in Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa); 14 companies got involved for an immersive experience.
ProssimaPelle, the exhibition organized by Unpac (National Union of Italian Tanning Auxiliary Manufacturers), usually organizes two editions every year: one, in summer, in the leather district of Santa Croce sull’Arno (Tuscany) and one at the end ed of the year, around November, in Arzignano (Veneto). The first event of the year, marking the prestigious milestone of the 10th anniversary, was held on June 22nd at Villa Cerini in Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa), in the Montefalcone area. An innovative concept, designed to involve tanners and tannery technicians in an immersive experience, was conceived, combining a commercial part to present the season’s trends with technical meetings involving professionals of the supply chain, followed by pleasant moments in the back yard of the villa. First, welcome drinks were offered to participants, then a dinner “under the stars” gave the possibility of further discussions between insiders in a friendly and relaxed environment. A new positive formula, given the considerable number of participants, which could also be proposed again for the coming events. Fashionable leathers processed with brand new chemicals according to 2024-2025 trends were displayed at Villa Cerini. These items were developed by 14 companies, members of Unpac, most of all based in Tuscany: Alanchim Srl, Alpa Spa, Chime Spa, Chimica Italiana Srl, Chimica Vemar Srl, Codyeco Spa, Fgl International Spa, Gsc Group Spa, Klf Tecnokimica Srl, Re.Al. Color Spa, Re.Pi.Co. Spa, Tecnochimica Spa, Vitalchimica Italiana Srl e Zaitex Spa. Each of them, represented in Castelfranco di Sotto by the owners, technicians and consultants, presented 12 fashion items which were placed on wooden tables arranged in a serpentine pattern, under the open-space marquees, in the garden at the entrance to the villa. It was an innovative strategy chose by the organizers to give new fervor to the event, to face the market demand in a constructive and propulsive way and to guarantee an emotional presentation of the leathers. In the mid-afternoon, the unmissable discussion took place – the organizers have always organized trade conferences during ProssimaPelle, since the very first edition. This edition, the topic was about a technical comparison of the supply chain, managed and promoted by the Tuscan section of AICC, the Italian Association of Leather Chemists. The title, “Mettetevi nella nostra pelle … – Gli attori della filiera pelle si confrontano “ (“Wear our leather. The leather sector players come to a dialogue) was emblematic and constructive, and followed by the round table on the theme “Convivial perspectives” with the delegates from ZDHC and UNIC and of brands that take advantage of Italian leathers in their collections: a broad discussion was risen, the attendees got involved; the discussion also focused on current regulations and future ones. In the afternoon, grand finale in the yard of the villa, where sofas for each company were placed so to provide owners and technicians all the necessary space to give information to those asking for it. The second edition 2023 of ProssimaPelle is scheduled for the end of autumn, presumably in the second half of November, in Arzignano (Vicenza); the format is yet to be established. This will be the fourth edition to be held in the capital of the Veneto leather district after the very crowded and successful past edition of 2019, 2021 and 2022 – the 2020 edition was not held due to the Covid alarm.

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The next edition of Prossimapelle will take place on November 30th in Arzignano

Maurizio Maggioni, director of the event: “the choice of the new format was shared by all”

The decision to change the format of ProssimaPelle, compared to the traditional show with the booths for exhibitors, was a choice shared by all, as confirmed by Maurizio Maggioni, Unpac secretary and director of the event: “For the first event of this year – he specifies –, in mid-spring a working group within the board of directors was set up to evaluate an alternative to the usual format. More than someone immediately said “Why don’t we totally change everything? “, but at that stage there was very little time left, given that our intention was to set the event for the second half of May, a period that we will eventually take into consideration for the 2024 edition. In the end it was decided for the change and we chose to set the event in the historic Villa Cerini, on the hills of Castelfranco, which we set up to the best, also taking advantage of the outdoor garden. We’ve actually been quite lucky considering that June was marked by several rainy days.”
“In particular, we chose to postpone the date by about three weeks to create a more convivial event, enhancing the leathers not in the usual way, but focusing on new trends through a presentation in which we created, under the marquees, a sort of continuity of the brands on display. We believe that in the end an overall vision was good news. Furthermore, our goal is to always guarantee growth in the sector: that’s why we preferred focusing on some technical articles, the ‘flagships’ on which chemical companies bet and which they unceasingly work on to develop technologies whose purpose is the elimination of products deemed undesirable.”
The first edition of ProssimaPelle was held in Santa Croce in 2016, in the “heart” of the Tuscan leather district, which hosted the event the following years, except in 2021, when, due to organizational difficulties related to the pandemic, the show was cancelled. The first five editions were hosted at the Leather Museum, while the 2022 show was held at the Santa Croce sports hall. This year, a completely different choice was made, Maggioni explains why: “We chose a new location to try to re-attract the attention of the tanners who were probably tired of the usual exhibition. Ultimately, with this strategy we involved the tanner in something more emotional: I’ll let you admire the new trends, I’ll let you participate in the technical discussion organized by AICC and hosted by Unpac, I’ll offer you an aperitif and then dinner, all in a friendly and collaborative environment, also due to the fact that we’ve all known each other for a long time. Given the warm season and the late setting sun, there was the possibility for entrepreneurs and technicians to reach the villa once the working day was over or slightly anticipating the exit from the tannery.”
The attention of ProssimaPelle is now turned to the autumn edition in Veneto. “The edition in Arzignano – concludes Maggioni – is certainly confirmed, let’s see whether to keep the old format, which was very successful, or to conceive a different one. We will get to work already in summer, first of all to understand if the former Marly’s headquarters will be available; we do not know if, in the meantime, the renovation works that the Municipality announced will have already started. In the Vicenza area the alternative, perhaps only for a year, could be a Palladian villa or a post-industrial location, but we want to deal not only with the authorities, but also with the chemical entrepreneurs who operate in the area.”
Nel contesto di Prossimapelle è stato ospitato l’evento tecnico realizzato da AICC “Mettetevi nella nostra Pelle”, al termine del quale il Segretario UNPAC, Maurizio Maggioni, ha consegnato targhe di riconoscimento per il lavoro svolto ad alcuni delegati italiani presenti ai tavoli di normazione del settore pelle. Nello specifico, le motivazioni alla base dei ringraziamenti che UNPAC ha voluto esprimere alle persone, hanno riguardato il fattivo impegno professionale dedicato allo sviluppo delle attività in ambito normativo, contribuendo alla creazione, in ambito italiano ed europeo, dei Gruppi Lavoro per lo sviluppo dei metodi di analisi per gli ausiliari chimico-conciari.
The technical event organized by AICC “Mettetevi nella nostra Pelle” (a word pun that in English stands for “in your shoes”) was hosted during Prossimapelle. At the end of it, the UNPAC Secretary, Maurizio Maggioni, awarded some Italian delegates with a plate for the work done in the leather sector. Specifically, UNPAC gave this recognition to those who demonstrated a true professional commitment to the development of activities in the regulatory field, contributing to the creation, in Italy and in Europe, of the Working Groups for the development of analysis methods for chemical-tanning auxiliaries.

The technical event organized by AICC “Mettetevi nella nostra Pelle” (a word pun that in English stands for “in your shoes”) was hosted during Prossimapelle. At the end of it, the UNPAC Secretary, Maurizio Maggioni, awarded some Italian delegates with a plate for the work done in the leather sector. Specifically, UNPAC gave this recognition to those who demonstrated a true professional commitment to the development of activities in the regulatory field, contributing to the creation, in Italy and in Europe, of the Working Groups for the development of analysis methods for chemical-tanning auxiliaries.

www.prossimapelle.it

Marco Frediani, Unpac President: “it would be nice to rely on a prestigious venue for conventions in tuscany as well.”

Marco Frediani, president of Unpac, the association that organizes ProssimaPelle, stated that “a change of strategy was in the air, as there was the risk of a flat formula. When we held the first edition at the Leather Museum of Santa Croce, we registered considerable interest which, however, decreased after a few years, also due to the fact that this event became a commonplace to be renovated. It must be considered that, in the post – pandemic period, a one-of-a-kind location such as the Leather Museum of Santa Croce sull’Arno was missing; it was not easy to find a new one with the same appeal in terms of history of the According to Frediani and his collaborators, the commitment for the next few months is precisely linked to identifying a fixed location that can enhance ProssimaPelle in Tuscany. “We strongly believe we will find the right location returning sooner or later to the Leather Museum, which is for sure a prestigious venue: in recent years, the possibility of expanding it was taken into consideration, given that there is a building area surrounding it. Therefore, it is worth to urge the administrators of Santa Croce to evaluate the possibility of a relaunch. In Arzignano, the Municipality has purchased the former Marly’s building (the announcement was officially made on the opening of the 2022 edition, held last December, 2nd,, ed.), a historic company based in the center of the city and symbol for local entrepreneurship, to transform it into a location that can host events of any kind throughout the year. We convey the same invitation, beyond Santa Croce, to the administrators of neighboring municipalities such as San Miniato, Fucecchio and Castelfranco: the whole leather district lives out of this economy, for this reason I would be happy if the municipal authorities of the district will give a positive response making a prestigious environment available for ProssimaPelle but also for the other events of this sector, that guarantees great prosperity to the territory.”
A winning bet so far is the Veneto-based edition, scheduled again this year at the end of autumn. “As a matter of fact. Arzignano was the right location, a crucial area for our members; therefore, when deciding to make another edition throughout the year, we didn’t expect to record such great success in terms of exhibitors and visitors since the first edition. Being our association an institution at national level, it is important to be physically there. The actual two locations are excellent: we can guarantee a “seasonality” every 5/6 months with a preview of the upcoming fashion trends, which are going to be showcased at the Milan Fair afterwards, in the leading February and September fashion exhibitions. At this point, only the Campania region leather district is out of schedule: actually, 3 events/ year are very difficult, if not impossible, to set up, but we are wondering of proposing some initiatives in the Campania district as well.” Beyond the future changes of venues and formats, what is essential for ProssimaPelle is to be a periodic meeting for a technical in-depth analysis. “This year, the conference – concludes Frediani – was organized by the AICC on the main topics concerning the tanning chemistry: these are always good occasions to let professionals and trade operators meet together. In the last decades, the pertinence of the products has always improved, research and development are in progress, but basically is the same chemistry to be always produced. On the other hand, it must be said that unfortunately, due to these increasingly stringent requests, sometimes not even in line with European regulations, we are forced to review the production lines from zero. In our opinion, a century of chemistry cannot be changed in a year, nor in two.”

www.prossimapelle.it