OPORTO, Portugal — The Portuguese footwear industry is on a mission to take its know-how into the digital era and future-proof its craftsmanship and business growth with 600 million euros in investments by 2030.

As part of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, or PRR, APICCAPS, the Portuguese Footwear , Components, Leather Goods Manufacturers’ Association, is driving this transformation by spearheading dedicated programs of innovation, enrolling the companies it represents.

Among them, FAIST, an acronym for Factory Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological, has seen 45 footwear enterprises invest about 50 million euros into advancing its high-tech capabilities, with robotics and automation taking center stage. The Portuguese government contributed 30 million e

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