Press release
May 2015
New TFL Application Laboratory in Elche, Spain
From 12th -14th May 2015, TFL will celebrate the opening of its new TFL Application
Laboratory in Elche Parque Empresarial, Alicante, Spain, with several activities including
the exclusive customer event "Fashion & Trends: Latest innovations and eco-friendly
technologies meet Fashion".
In the past few years, economic changes and recent Euro devaluation generated a
significant increase in the leather sector activities and relocation of many international brands
in Spain, resulting into an historical double-digit annual growth for export of the Spanish and
Portuguese footwear.
The Iberian Peninsula, with 111 tanneries in Spain and about 60 in Portugal, producing more
than 50 million square meters of high value and quality leather per year, is the second
European Area in production of leather footwear, leather goods and leather accessories,
exporting more than 600 million €. Spain is among the top ten world producers of leather
footwear, the seventh in exports.
Elche, located in the southeast of Spain, along the Mediterranean Sea, with an international
airport, good rail and road connections, between two tanning clusters, is one of the most
important shoemaking areas in the world, where important groups have established
their design and manufacturing centers. Alicante is the European connecting door to Africa
and because of the cultural and linguistic proximity, the natural bridge with Latin America.
We are supporting emerging regions where we believe that the leather sector has
considerable potential of growth. With this new hub, TFL further invests in this region and
wants to give an excellent technological service to all its business partners.