Today, more than 1,700 ABB robots are integrated into the production lines of Desma customers worldwide. One example of successful implementation is the CI Factory in Strauss, Germany. Hundreds of thousands of children’s shoes and safety shoes are produced there every year on 6,000 square meters. At the heart of production are Desma systems with ABB robots, which perform tasks such as roughening, spraying release agents, laying steel soles, and roughening with high precision.
“The combination of the Desma system with the ABB robots enables us to produce top-quality safety shoes right here in Germany. The system is flexible, efficient, and sustainable—exactly what modern manufacturing needs today,” explains Thomas Schwieder, production manager at Strauss.
The advantages are obvious: high manufacturing precision, reduced material waste, less stress for employees, and round-the-clock production. This also enables economically viable manufacturing in high-wage countries.
Christian Decker, Managing Director of Desma Schuhmaschinen GmbH, sees robotics as the key to the future: “Robotics is the key to profitable production in high-wage countries such as Germany. It enables our customers to save material, costs, and time while responding flexibly to dynamic customer requirements.”
Another goal of the development was to make the robots easy to operate. Thanks to a jointly developed control system, even employees without technical expertise can now operate the systems—even in fully automated night shift operation.
The partnership between Desma and ABB Robotics is considered groundbreaking. It shows how long-term cooperation and innovative strength can take shoe production to a new level. Both companies intend to expand their cooperation in the future—with a view to even more sustainable manufacturing, new control technologies, and automated processes that are specifically tailored to the requirements of the footwear industry.
