A further step in the collaboration between the Ubrique leather goods cluster and Leather Cluster Barcelona

A delegation from the city of Igualada, headed by its mayor Marc Castells and the councillors for economic development and institutional relations, Jordi Marcè and Pere Camps, was invited to Ubrique by the town council of the Cádiz municipality.

The institutional representation of Igualada Town Council made the visit accompanied by the La Gaspar municipal school of art and design in Igualada and by Leather Cluster Barcelona. La Gaspar was represented in Ubrique by Raquel Camacho and Ester Comenge, director and deputy director, and Leather Cluster Barcelona by its vice-president Xavier Badia and by Jordi Vidal and Mònica Santamans, executive director and project manager of the leather cluster. Also part of the Igualada party was Ricard Vila, one of the promoters of Rec Stores and director of the cluster member company Calot Works.

The visit was timed to coincide with the Bajo la Piel event, the 1st Ubrique Leather Fair devoted to the leather goods industry in craftsmanship and leather fashion.

During the stay in Ubrique, the Andalusian town council, headed by its mayor José Mario Casillas, gave the Igualada delegation an official reception at the town hall, where the mayor Marc Castells signed the town’s book of honour.

In addition to the institutional side, these days in Ubrique had a marked business dimension with visits to the Movex leather innovation centre and to important leather goods companies.

A number of round tables were also organised, one of them with a prominent role for Leather Cluster Barcelona. Under the title The leather industry. Sustainability and other challenges for the future., the round table opened with an address by Jordi Vidal, executive director of Leather Cluster Barcelona, and featured the participation of Xavier Badia, vice-president of the cluster, Josep Sont, vice-president of the Asociación Nacional de Empresarios Fabricantes de Artículos de Marroquinería (ASEFMA) and Carmen Romero, secretary general of the Confederación de Empresarios de Cádiz (CEC).

This trip forms part of the process of cooperation between the Ubrique leather goods cluster and Leather Cluster Barcelona. In recent years, sessions have been held in Ubrique and in Igualada and meetings have taken place to share knowledge between the two clusters and to deepen collaboration in fields ranging from research and innovation to sustainability, the circular economy, training and communication with the end consumer.

Ubrique has a leather craftsmanship that combines tradition and new techniques to perfection, enjoying recognised international prestige and working for leading fashion and luxury houses. The leather industry is the main source of economic wealth in the town, an activity that has expanded and evolved to make Ubrique the European cradle of leather goods thanks to the work of generations of artisans and the quality of its articles, which are exported all over the world.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector. The cluster is an accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters programme and is supported by Acció.