The Hindu Business Line : Brazil co to set up shoe last unit near Chennai

Future plans
Kunz is also considering establishing a second unit in the North, another hub of footwear exports.
The facility will cater to the requirements here and export a third of its production to markets in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Africa, and even China.

Chennai , May 1

Kunz Shoe Last Development (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Formas Kunz, Brazil, is setting up a shoe last manufacturing unit near Chennai for the domestic and export markets.

According to Ms Roseli Gewehr, Director, Kunz Shoe Last Development, Kunz plans to start producing shoe lasts, the shoe-shaped mould around which a shoe is built, in six-eight months at a factory coming up in the footwear park at Irrungattukottai, about 40 km west of Chennai.

Initially, it will invest about $1 million (Rs 4.5 crore) in the unit, which will produce about 500 pairs of lasts a day. Discussions are on with footwear manufacturers before the capacity is finalised. In Brazil, each of Kunz's units produce about 3,000-5,000 pairs a day. India is Kunz's first facility outside Brazil. The capacity will be stepped up according to requirement, she said.

Kunz is also considering establishing a second unit in the North, another hub of footwear exports, according to Ms Gewehr.

Kunz's facility will cater to the requirements here and export a third of its production to markets in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Africa, and even China, she said.

Footwear manufacturers in India now depend on shoe lasts imported from China and Italy or the less than handful of manufacturers in the north. They have to wait for up to two weeks to get a shoe last sample and they need to order up to 500 pairs of lasts for each model of shoe they make.

But, according to Ms Gewehr, with Kunz in Chennai, the manufacturers can get the first sample in a day. This is essential at a time when export markets and delivery schedules are crucial for growth.

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