Rohde is investing EUR 1.5 million in a new automated packaging system. For Renato Lo Presti, CEO of the German footwear manufacturer based in Schwalmstadt, the objective is to reduce time to market, because speed delivers a major competitive advantage. The sizeable investment demonstrates not only the company’s positive performance and financial strength, but also its outlook and confidence in the future of the footwear sector. Rohde, which employs 70 people, is a footwear manufacturer controlled by the Italian group Condor Trade of Verolanuova (Brescia), better known for the Inblu brand.
Rohde invests EUR 1.5 million in automation
Lo Presti is already thinking about the next step: an anthropomorphic robot capable of carrying out the operations currently performed by staff working on the new automated packaging system. These tasks involve placing and arranging boxes onto sheets of cardboard moving along the machine’s conveyor, which then creates shipping cartons ready for dispatch. The system selects from three different carton sizes according to the length of the shoe box, determined by footwear size. “We are moving from handling 5,800 — with a maximum of 7,200 — shoe boxes to almost double that amount. This way, we are reducing time to market”, comments Renato Lo Presti.
At the German headquarters, the company receives footwear produced in Ukraine, where Condor Trade has its manufacturing facility, as well as from Poland, Serbia and Spain, before shipping products to customers around the world. The company also operates an automated warehouse with capacity for 700,000 pairs and continues to invest. “Artificial intelligence? We are considering it as a support tool for office staff, within the creative process and in administration, helping people carry out tasks more easily, more quickly and with greater accuracy”, Lo Presti explains.
A direction to follow
Rohde produces around 1.5 million pairs of shoes per year — using Italian leather in 90% of cases — and closed 2025 with revenues of EUR 25.2 million, up 7% on 2024. The company is forecasting a further 4% increase for 2026. These results have been achieved despite the company having to absorb the impact of the Trump tariffs, which caused sales to the United States to decline by around 20%. “The future of footwear? I believe in it — the important thing is to find a direction to follow”, concludes Lo Presti.
Photo: Rohde
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