In Logroño held the closing event on 26 October for the Erasmus+project 3aDitional on introducing additive manufacturing to the footwear industry. The event was organised by the Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de La Rioja and the Centro Tecnológico del Calzado de La Rioja, which now operates under the brand NOVEX . According to the organisers, participants came from businesses, education and public administration. The focus was on training in 3D printing, aimed at both employees and trainees.
The 3aDitional project aims to establish additive manufacturing processes in traditional industries. Alongside shoemaking, the project documents also mention sectors such as toys and jewellery. For La Rioja NOVEX acts as the regional implementation partner. The plan is to provide modular training covering 3D-printing prototyping, material-efficient design and adjustments to production processes. According to NOVEX, pilot applications have been tested with businesses in the region and teaching materials for vocational training have been developed.
The organisers highlight two immediate benefits of additive manufacturing for businesses in the region: development cycles can be shortened by quickly producing functional prototypes, and material use can be managed more precisely in both design and pre-production. In the medium term, the project partners see opportunities for more personalised products and the use of alternative materials. In this context, NOVEX points to related initiatives to develop sustainable and antibacterial material blends for footwear components.
At the same time, participants place the initiative within an industrial policy framework: La Rioja has a specialised institution, the Centro Tecnológico del Calzado de La Rioja, which organises knowledge transfer to small and medium-sized businesses. The EU’s Erasmus+ programme provides funding for transnational cooperation, the exchange of teaching materials and the adaptation of training curricula. In Logroño, organisers explained how this content is to be transferred to businesses and vocational schools in the region.
Statements about economic effects remain provisional. Specific impacts on employment, turnover or export performance have not yet been demonstrated. The benefits presented today are based on the project’s objectives and the participating institutions’ own accounts. Independent evaluations of costs, scalability and quality requirements in series production are still pending. The closing event therefore marks an intermediate step: it completes the development of the teaching and pilot modules and prepares for their practical application in the regional footwear industry.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).