ABOUT US
- COMPANY
- Company
Since 1958, always at the forefront of the footwear industry
It was 1958 when Cosimo Vitobello, at just 18 years of age, began his long adventure in the footwear industry – in a small workshop – using only leather soles, nails, needles, laces and his skilled hands. The shoes were entirely hand-made.
In 1964, Cosimo began to nurture the idea of extending production, by starting to produce shoes assembled using a number of machines and with the help of some employees.
In 1977, thanks to the experience acquired, the small workshop became a real industry, and that was the year that the “Calzaturificio Odeon Shoes” was set up. Over the years, 150 people found jobs in this new factory split into two production areas: injected pvc (the backbone of production) and assembled, with a production output already in the high figures bracket – about 1,500,000 pairs of footwear a year, and a production process that wound its way through various wholesalers and large-scale organized distribution centres in Italy and abroad. In that same year (1977) in London, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, Cosimo Vitobello was presented with the “GOLDEN SHOE AWARD” in recognition of his sales integrity and the spirit of hard work and commitment with which he had distinguished himself until then at national and international level.
In 1990, given the changed conditions of the footwear market, Cosimo Vitobello felt the need to expand and refine his assembled footwear product range by creating “Over Teak”, with the collaboration of his sons Matteo, Francesco and Giuseppe.
However, the adventure of Cosimo Vitobello does not end here; in 1996 he decided to launch out into the safety footwear production segment, under the new UNIWORK logo. The task is difficult given the impact of new robotized and computerized equipment that could – apparently – be science fiction in the eyes of those who had “given there” with only manual operations. Once again, however Cosimo shows great skills and determination by relying on his intuition, enormous experience, with the collaboration of his sons, still present today who steer some of the company’s strategic areas, and one of valued staff – as part of a structured well organized – manage to achieve great results from the new production line.
To date, the company employs 90 workers divided between the two production departments, with an annual production nearing one million pairs of both safety and civilian footwear.
The commitment of the entire staff is to continue the constant search for innovative materials and solutions, making the most of their know-how and the experience gained over more than 65 years of activity.
