FGL Academy back to Galileo Galilei Technological Institute in Arzignano, 16-17 March 2023
FGL Academy is back to ITT Galilei institute in Arzignano to train tomorrow's chemists. 16-17 March 2023
The chemical company's project is back for the second year to train tomorrow's chemists. On March 16 and 17, a team of professionals "lectured" at ITT Galilei in Arzignano.
Professional expertise available to young people. After last year's excellent experience, FGL Academy is back for the second edition of the project through which the Tuscan chemical company FGL international invests in the training of younger generation.On March 16 and 17, 2023, a team of the company's in-house professionals met with students from two fifth-grade classes of the Galileo Galei Technological Institute in Arzignano, for a course focused on leather finishing with a focus on the use of low environmental impact products and methodologies.
This is to bring the students closer to what are the demands that the market imposes today and the possible technical solutions that the chemical world has achieved after years of research.
The training course was organized in two days divided into a theoretical and an application part, both supervised by the tanning technician specialized in the finishing process Alessandro Tamburini. The notions explained were then supported by analytical feedback (led by Serena Matteoli, Head of FGL Laboratory) with a chemical-physical analysis in the laboratory. In this way, students were able to witness the finishing process from A to Z, experiencing a very realistic experience of what industry professionals experience every day in their work.
The purpose of the FGL Academy project is precisely this: to provide a sharing of one's knowledge in the field of tanning chemistry, spreading the knowledge gained through many years of experience with those who are taking their first steps in this world, going to bring within the schools an example of enterprise and real application of products.
The meetings focused on "The finishing of metal free crust" with the selection of products (dyes and pigments) for the finishing of metal free leathers; "The finishing of leathers with fluorocarbon-free products," making use of products from the "Finidry" (finishing product selection) line, water-repellent products formulated in both water and solvent, free of fluorocarbon resins and all fluorinated compounds such as PFOA and PFOS; "The finishing of leathers with eco-friendly products," making use of the "Finibio" (finishing product selection) product line. A product line with a range of polyurethanes with various technical characteristics, with good percentages of renewable raw material, which, with the addition of some compatible products, also with a good BIOBASED content, manages to meet the most varied demands for articles, without going down in quality and technical content.
In addition to the experience on March 16 and 17, students will also have a meeting on the relationship between standardization and market demands, scheduled for March 31, held by Franca Nuti, R&S Regulatory Aspects of FGL, Coordinator of the UNI CT013/GL01 Commission as well as president of AICC (Italian Leather Chemists Association) entitled "The UNI, CEN, ISO technical standards of leather. Chemical products standardization: ongoing UNI and CEN activities. Mandatory requirements, standardization and specifications: impacts on the tanning industry."
The goal of FGL Academy is to give an all-around information to those studying tanning chemistry, to make the students participate in real experiences in this industry, to prepare them with a critical eye for the work they will face later on. It is important to be able to match the information to be put into the field to design a leather with the sales requirements and thus the market needs, as well as the evolution of regulations related to the sector.
"This year FGL Academy is back and growing. The team of professionals who make their skills available to the students has been enriched by Alessandro Tamburini, a specialist in leather finishing, thanks to the integration that FGL International made in January 2023 with the company Finikem, which specializes precisely in the finishing phase," they explained from FGL International. In this way, the training we bring to schools becomes more and more complete and our experience in the field, more and more useful to the chemists of tomorrow."
