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The districts of the Treviso Province
MONTEBELLUNA district
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Montebelluna footwear and Sportsystem district |
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Montebelluna footwear and Sportsystem district
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With its 428 firms, 8,600 employees and 70% of exported production, the Montebelluna Sportsystem district, in the Treviso province,
is world leader in the production of technical sports footwear, from ski boots to trekking boots, from
motorbike boots to cycling shoes.
The district has always been oriented to internationalization and the area is characterized by the presence of several
multinationals, which have set up during the 90s through acquisitions, a large number of medium-sized,
family-run businesses and a small-medium-sized-business texture, which all make up a rich network of subcontractors consisting of
doubling, assembling and lasting firms, design studios, die-stamping and shoe lace makers, machinery manufacturers, toolmakers and
moulding firms, insole and upper makers and trimmers.
The first historical documents proving the existence of footwear craftsmen in Montebelluna date back to the beginning of the 19th
century, although this craft is rooted in the Venetian tradition of the 'calegheri' and 'zavatteri' cobblers. Through the whole XIX century mainly 'gallozze' were produced, sturdy leather and wood footwear for the farmers of the Montello wood. After the first World War the passion for excursions in the mountains started to spread in Italy: Montebelluna seized the opportunity and, building onto the competence it had acquired, started producing rock-climbing boots.
The successive evolutions of this district can be summed up by a series of productive diversifications: in the 30s local firms
started manufacturing ski boots; at the end of the 60s the introduction of plastic in ski boot production forced many firms who lacked
the capital to acquire the new technology to switch to alternative footwear: football, motorbike, cycling, tennis, after ski boots etc.
Sports clothing, in-line roller-skates and snowboards started being produced in the 80s and 90s, whereas an increasing number of firms
have recently followed the trend of the boom of the comfortable town shoe, revaluating the old know-how of the original cobblers.
The Sportsystem district is nowadays one of the most significant in the Italian North East, an area which
researchers and analysts from all over the world have examined to better understand the origins of the so-called
"Veneto's Miracle".
The continual productive diversification, a trademark characteristic of the context of the Montebelluna
district, has deeply influenced the town's physiognomy, which features winning qualities such as openness
and flexibility. Openness to a wide range of products offered by firms; to the diverse types of businesses;
to the many foreign companies who have acquired local brands; to the trend in delocalizing production phases to developing countries
taking advantage of the low labour costs.
In this global-oriented district, however, the creative and organizational minds remain firmly located in Montebelluna.
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