Mr. Pankaj Kumar Sinha, Managing Director (MD) – FDDI, along with Mr. Shailendra Saxena - Head Physical Lab - International Testing Centre (ITC) Noida visited Pruf- und Forschungsinstitute Pirmasens e.V (PFI), Germany on 30th October 2023.
PFI, Germany is one of the leading and most recognized testing lab in Europe and authorized to issue “Conformité Européenne" (CE) certificate based on the issue test report.
The Indian footwear industry has been repeatedly requesting FDDI to get PFI approval to overcome the CE Certification problem. There is a dire need for testing of safety shoes for CE marking in India so that the manufacturers can export their footwear to Europe which shall enhance the export and business of Indian footwear industry.
Against this background, the visit was made to understand the procedures and working of PFI Lab and find out the areas where both Institute can work together in future.
The MD FDDI had a long discussion with Kerstin Schulte - Director PFI, Germany to explore the opportunities for further collaboration in the area of research and testing.
The MD FDDI was briefed about the testing equipment’s by Mr. Kai Tinschert - Head Physical Lab and Mr. Ines Anerie - Head Chemical Lab. Mr. Peter Schulte briefed about the machine manufacturing department in which display of new technology and instrument were shown to FDDI officials.
To help in increasing production of quality footwear and establishing Indian brands in the global markets, the Government of India has issued Quality Control Order (QCOs) for the Leather and Footwear Sectors. This has paved way for FDDI ITCs enhancing its scope of testing.
