Founded in 1946, Desma used this year’s house fair to look both back at eight decades of company history and ahead to the future of industrial footwear production. The event combined live demonstrations of established technologies with new developments in lightweight construction, sustainability, automation and mould technology.
One of the main focuses was lightweight footwear production. Desma demonstrated processes and materials designed to produce particularly lightweight soles, including Super Critical Foaming (SCF) and CO₂ dosing technologies for direct soling.
Sustainability was another key topic. Desma presented an extension of its Particle Dosing Unit (PDU) technology, which enables granulates to be reused in production. The technology has now also been transferred to boot manufacturing, with the aim of reducing the consumption of resources.
In the field of automation, the company showcased its Amir C and Amir D systems. Amir – short for automated material handling with integrated robots – is designed to enable efficient, high-quality production while reducing material consumption and labour requirements and improving working conditions.
Desma also presented new developments in mould technology. These included its Center Wedge and Deswing processes and manufacturing concepts as well as the use of artificial intelligence in the design process, combined with high-precision moulds and modern footwear designs.
Live production demonstrations formed the core of the two-day event. Visitors were able to see a broad range of footwear, from sandals to boots, being manufactured on site. The programme was complemented by the stands of 60 international partner exhibitors from the footwear industry and a series of technical presentations.
Beyond the technology, Desma once again positioned its house fair as an international networking platform for the highly automated industrial footwear manufacturing sector. Customers, suppliers and industry partners used the event to discuss current developments, maintain existing contacts and establish new ones.
The anniversary edition also looked ahead: Desma announced that the next house fair would take place in 2028, when the company plans to present the next stages of its technological developments and emerging industry trends.
