Innovation projects

The Mobilizing Project PRODUTECH4S&C represents a response from the Production Tecnhologies Sector (FTP) aimed at building a circular and sustainable manufacturing industry.

CEI, LDA is currently undertaking a Qualification project within the framework of Portugal 2020, the Incentive System for the Qualification of PME, with the aim of improving the company's competitiveness in key areas of success in accessing foreign markets.

Project Designation | RARISS - Raças Autóctones, Rastreabilidade, Inovação e Soluções Sustentáveis (Native Breeds, Traceability, Innovation and Sustainable Solutions)

Project Code | Project No. 69810 (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-069810)

Main Objective | Development of innovative, sustainable, and traceable solutions for leather and footwear

Intervention Region | North (54.5%); Center (46%)

Beneficiary Entities |

• Couro Azul – Indústria e Comércio de couros S.A.

• CEI – Companhia de Equipamentos Industriais, Lda.

• CTCP - Centro Tecnológico do Calçado de Portugal

• C.T.I.C – Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias do Couro

• Instituto Politécnico de Bragança

Approval Date | 2021-05-12

Start Date | 2021-01-01

Completion Date | 2023-06-30

Total Eligible Cost | €1,058,388.93

Public Financial Support | €706,664.52 (from European Structural and Investment Funds - FEEI)

The RARISS Project aims to create a new business model for the traceability of hides and leathers from native bovine breeds, which is strategic for the leather and footwear industry. It addresses a growing consumer demand to understand the origin of materials and products purchased in the market, as well as their impact on human health, animal welfare, and the environment.

The project invests in the new TraceLeather business model, which integrates innovative solutions including:

• The development of a reference standard for animal health and welfare

• A web platform

• An agile marking system

• A traceability code reading system

• New eco-processes

• Leathers and footwear products with higher added value and lower environmental impact

All of these are supported by scientific knowledge.

The Mobilizing Project FAMEST - Footwear, Advanced Materials, Equipments and Software Technologies (Calçado e tecnologias avançadas de materiais e software) aims to promote applied research, technical and technological development, and high value-added innovation within the Footwear and Fashion Cluster.

The Footwear and Fashion Cluster has evolved from activities led by manufacturing and labor to market-led and knowledge.based activities, leveraging design and fashion  while preservering production capacity in Portugal. to remain competitive, the Cluster must invest in creativity, master the entire production process and product life cycle, add value at every stage, and embrace social, market, technological challenges, trends and opportunities - inckuding Industry 4.0 and the circular economy.

The Mobilizing Project INOVMINERAL 4.0 – Advanced Technologies and Software for Mineral Resources involves a consortium of 20 entities led by CEI – Companhia de Equipamentos Industriais. The consortium consists of 8 Natural Stone companies, 5 Technological companies, 5 entities from the Scientific and Technological System, and 2 Cluster Management entities.

The Mobilizing Project INOVSTONE 4.0 – Advanced Technologies and Software for Natural Stone involves a consortium of 24 entities led by CEI – Companhia de Equipamentos Industriais, consisting of 11 Natural Stone companies, 7 Technological companies, and 6 entities from the Scientific and Technological System.

The GreenShoes 4.0 project stems from the ambitious vision of the Footwear and Fashion Cluster, which aims to establish Portugal as a major global reference for consumers and industries in these sectors through differentiation, creativity, content, and value — driving Portuguese exports based on a strong, sustainable, and globally competitive national production base founded on knowledge.

The ambition of GreenShoes 4.0 is to prepare the Cluster for the Future by promoting the intersection of “the biological, the physical, and the digital,” fostering innovation to support the emergence of new products and services, and driving the sustainable transformation and development of the cluster and the country. It involves studying and developing new materials, final products, and advanced technologies, synergistically embedding (i) “the challenges of globalization and sustainable development,” (ii) the concepts of “ethical ecodesign,” global life cycle analysis, digitalization, “zero defects,” and the circular economy, (iii) applying chemical, physical, and environmental sciences, materials engineering, product and process engineering, automation, artificial vision, artificial intelligence, simulation, and “big data” — including “KET” (Key Enabling Technologies) — resulting in disruptive innovations at national and global scales. These contribute to the competitiveness of the cluster and the country, as well as to the ongoing “R”Evolution of Humanity.

The CEI, LDA. is currently implementing an Internationalization project under Portugal 2020, within the Incentive System for the Internationalization of SMEs. The objective is to diversify target international markets and boost sales volume (VN) and exports.

The project includes the following actions:

• Participation in international trade fairs

• Development of prospecting actions for new markets/clients

• Marketing consultancy

• Digital promotional materials

• Advertising in specialized magazines

Through the implementation of the planned actions, CEI/Zipor aims to position itself among the top companies/brands in its segment, strengthening its presence in international markets.

"Smart, SME Friendly, open, Zero Defects Manufacturing Reference Platform, Apps, SDK, and Marketplace for Product and Process Quality in any factory for achieving excellence in European and Global Manufacturing"

ZDMP combines state-of-the-art technological approaches based on commercial-grade standards and solid open-source software from previous projects, with an innovative integration concept based on proven and integrated technologies. It provides Process and Product Quality support on top of a platform layer. All of these can utilize ZDMP core services, which can also be used to build ZD Apps that are placed on the ZD Marketplace.

To remain competitive and maintain its leading manufacturing position, European industry must produce high-quality products at low cost in the most efficient way. Today, the manufacturing industry is undergoing a substantial transformation due to the proliferation of new digital and ICT solutions applied along the production process chain, helping to make production more efficient—as in the case of smart factories.

The goal of the ZDMP Project is to develop and establish a digital platform for connected smart factories to achieve excellence in manufacturing through zero-defect processes and products, thanks to the use of zero-defect core services for developing Apps. Just as the phone evolved into the smartphone, ZDMP will propel the factory into the Smart Factory and ultimately the Smart Zero-Defect Factory.

To achieve this, the Zero-defects Digital Manufacturing Platform (ZDMP) is designed and developed according to the following principles: Ubiquity, Elasticity, Extensibility, Interoperability, and Openness.

ZDMP's pan-European consortium includes ICT Technology SMEs, Manufacturing/ZD Technology SMEs, Technology Corporates, 4 Sector and Cross-Domain Use Cases, and specialists. ZDMP is also supported by the Coordinating partners of FOF projects CREMA, vf-OS, and C2NET.

The ADIMAQ project combines additive and subtractive technologies in a single system for the production of molds and tools. In this way, it aims to contribute to more sustainable production, efficient use of raw materials and resources, reduction of waste rates, and the adoption by client industrial sectors of more efficient and competitive processes.