The International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians is an organisation aiming at developing technical knowledge in the footwear industry, in particular by delivering international conferences on a regular basis and by taking the initiative in setting up information exchanges between its members, exclusively in the field of technology.

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UITIC's most visible activity is the Congress, an International Technical Conference which covers the latest technical issues impacting the industry and covering topics such as: automatic sewing, computerised management, new materials, quality, training and design.
 
The Congress of the UITIC will return to Portugal in May 2018, after Porto has hosted the event in 1996. The event, taking place from the 16th to the 18th of May, will be organized jointly by APICCAPS, the Portuguese Association of Manufacturers of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Related Articles, and by CTCP, the Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre. Besides the conferences and discussions taking place at the Sheraton Hotel in Porto, the official program will include a day with visits to the most relevant companies of the Portuguese Footwear industry.

Leandro Melo, General Manager of the Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre commented: “CTCP accepted this challenging of bringing back the UITIC Congress to Europe with great pleasure. It will be an honour for Portugal to host another edition of the Congress and we will try our best to deliver the best possible Congress”.

With 1 473 companies and more than 38 600 employees at its service, Portugal is one of the key players of the worldwide footwear industry. 2016 was the seventh consecutive year with footwear exports growth, and since 2010 sales abroad have already increased by 50%. As a result, Portuguese footwear is already exported to more than 150 markets located in the 5 continents.

In recent years, the Portuguese footwear industry specialized in quick response and small series, taking these features as key elements of its strategic development. The work done in partnership with the Portuguese Footwear Technological Centre (CTCP) and with a network of more than 50 partners, including universities, companies and organizations from the scientific and technological system, promoted the development of more than 100 new equipment "made in Portugal”, making the country an exporter of high technology for the worldwide footwear industry. With an aim to strengthen this position and consolidate its status as a developer of new technical solutions, technology and new materials, the Portuguese footwear industry constantly invests in innovation and modernisation programmes.