The world in a sole: a journey into the heart of Vibram We were in the Vibram factory, where the soles of millions of sneakers are born

Albizzate is a typical Lombard town between Gallarate and Lake Varese, in the distance you can see the profile of the Alpine arc while driving through the villas and buildings of the center, few could imagine that in via Colombo there is the beating heart of one of the world's leading companies in the footwear industry. With a turnover of over 200 million euros and production plants in China and the USA, Vibram is one of the hidden excellences of Made in Italy: specialized in the production of rubber soles, the importance of Vibram is not only in the numbers (it is estimated that over 50 million soles are produced every year), but above all in the attitude to innovation and research, both technical and aesthetic. The Albizzate plant embodies this company philosophy by keeping together the entire creative and production process of a single sole in the same place: from the drawing tables of the creatives, to the cooking ovens of the soles and passing through the test room of the product.

nss magazine spent a day in the Albizzate plant browsing through machinery, compounds and 3D printers to understand how the best soles in the world are produced.

The work of the lines has a strong manual component - in the finishing of the waste for example - and is moving towards the goal of sustainability. As Paolo Manuzzi said in an interview on nss: "Vibram has always believed in sustainability. Ours is an outdoor company, linked to nature and the mountains. It is in our DNA, our company philosophy is based on not damaging nature, on the community of those who love the mountains and the outdoors: if we destroy it, we destroy our future first and then our business." The sustainability that today is often bandied about inappropriately by industries that still have a lot to work on, is a concept that is addressed in a complex and realistic way by Vibram, which continues to invest in sounding and maintenance services in a circular perspective. Just logically following this philosophy, leaving the industrial area you find yourself again in the entrance hall of the center of Albizzate, where memorabilia and historical objects of the brand are exhibited: a material dimension of a history and an industry that perhaps shows too little behind the scenes compared to a virtual and sparkling reality.