The Municipality

The Municipality of Franca is located 400 kilometers from the Sao Paulo State Capital, the City of São Paulo, and stands out as Brazil's major manufacturing center for men's footwear. The factories installed in this town produce high quality shoes, which supply both domestic and foreign markets. Among the ones that export, totaling around 100, at least 80% of their production is sent to the USA every year. The rest is commercialized among countries in Europe and Asia, as well as those that make up the Mercosul (Economic Association of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay). Besides men's shoes, this town has gained more and more space within the footwear market producing models for women and children, as well as accessories such as bags, belts, wallets, cellular phone cases, among others items. All of this industrial activity revolves around the basic raw material, leather, used by this ever-increasing local cluster of industries, which is also responsible for the diversity of trading and manufacturing in the leather-shoe production chain including items and services like thread, boxes, embroidery, decorative components, and so on.

Leather production plays a part in this town's history from the 19th century when the first saddle and shoemaking workshops were established in Franca. The first tannery dates back to 1885, and was set up by the priest, Alonso Ferreira de Carvalho.