LUGINA SCHUHFABRIK GMBH

As a traditional company, we are the second generation with the aim of being a leading manufacturer in the field of comfortable footwear. Three thousand members of staff across Europe, including 95 at our headquarters in Schwanheim, are working to ensure that our customers across the world can experience WALDLÄUFER comfort. Around 15,000 pairs of WALDLÄUFER shoes are produced each day – that is approximately 3 million pairs a year – using traditional craftsmanship and the latest, environmentally-friendly technology. The ever-increasing appreciation of high-quality materials, a flexible fit and clever design lies behind the company’s success. “Bound to tradition” is not an empty phrase for us; rather it is lived every day in our company. Valuable expertise is passed from generation to generation and from master to apprentice – this results in a unique handcrafted skill, which can be seen and felt on the end product. We allow the well-grounded knowledge that we have acquired from decades of working in the trade to flow into the latest technological applications. When it comes to the production of our shoes, we use high-quality leather and leave the materials as natural as possible. The materials used are predominantly sourced from suppliers in Germany, Italy and Spain. The leather is inspected individually by staff specially trained for this purpose. It is only then that the materials are sent to our headquarters in Schwanheim near the Alsace border. Further processing is then done manually at our premises in Rhineland-Palatinate and in small to medium factories in our neighbouring European countries of Hungary, Romania and Croatia. The production of each shoe requires the utmost in precision and care. Each WALDLÄUFER shoe begins with the draft of a 3D model. The precision design work then takes place on a computer. Based on this draft, gradations are then produced for all sizes and widths. The handmade WALDLÄUFER shoe is then created with a great deal of technical expertise and dexterity. Shoemaking using hand sewing is the oldest technique used to join leathers. A number of our WALDLÄUFER models are manufactured using this traditional method. Our tailors sew the materials together using a single thread in this hard and time-intensive work. The classical hand-sewn method results in items that are significantly more durable than conventional machine sewing. The quality of the final product increases with every single step from the draft to the CAD prototype to the finishing touches applied by hand – and a unique product is created.