CPD Düsseldorf was held from 24-26 July and attracted almost 44,000 specialist fashion retailers, one third of which came from abroad. Exhibitor numbers remained at the same level as the previous CPD, a positive result given the current economic climate.

Vietnam's Trade Ministry says that the European Commission has decided to launch an investigation into what is claimed to be the dumping by Vietnam and China of leather shoes on the EU market, according to the Vietnamese News Agency. A Ministry official said that as the Commission does not consider Vietnam and China to be market economies, it chose the prices of shoes made in Brazil as the basis for assessing the cost of leather shoes made in Vietnam and China.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that Ukraine exported raw leather worth US$38.9 million in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%, according to the Interfax news agency. Raw leather imports were 13.7% higher year-on-year at US$12.5 million.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that there were 7.51 million cattle on farms in Ukraine as of July 1 this year, as compared with 7.56 million on April 1.

Slovakia's State Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Slovak Republic in the first five months of this year was 4.3% higher than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, overall industrial output in Slovakia in the January to May period was 1.7% higher year-on-year.

In addition to their biennial international meetings, IULTCS also organise meetings and events on a local scale, thereby carrying the developments in the leather world to the international platform. One of these local events, the Second Eurocongress, will take place in Istanbul from May 24-27, 2006, and will be organised by our DETEK with Dr Volkan Candar as president. While the leather industry is being relocated on a global scale, Istanbul's unique position as a metropolis between East and West and its history of uniting both worlds adds significance to this congress.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Ireland in May was 61.7% lower than in the same month last year. The combined turnover of leather industry companies in May was 45.5% lower year-on-year.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first five months of this year was 13% lower than in the same period in 2004. Hungarian leather industry companies saw their sales fall by 14.2% year-on-year in the January to May period, including a fall in sales of 19.1% on the domestic Hungarian market and 12.4% lower sales on export markets.

GST AutoLeather will end production at their plant near Williamsport, USA, by the end of September, retaining only a small fraction of the workforce. According to Unite Here, the union representing the employees, the development ends months of speculation among the plant's 400 manufacturing workers. GST shut down their cutting plant last year and announced in January the retanning operation would close by the end of July. In addition to around 50 administrative jobs, about half of the 400 workers are involved with the plant's retanning department. The rest work in the finishing department.

According to various reports, the Costil tannery at Pont Audemer in northern France has closed, along with an additional plant in Strasbourg. The tannery has experienced a number of financial problems in recent years and in recent times has been operating under two new owners with Colomer of Spain taking part of the Pont Audemer complex along with the Strasbourg unit. The remainder was purchased by Tanneries Roux but the continuing poor conditions besetting the European tanning industry have proved too great for continued existence under the current circumstances.

Elevated cancer rates have allegedly been found in and around a DuPont plant where PFOA is used to create Teflon pans but DuPont are disputing the recent study that claims exposure to the perfluorooctanoic acid used to manufacture Teflon and other fluoropolymers at one of their chemical plants in West Virginia causes an increased risk of cancer. The study claims that plant workers and neighbours whose drinking water contains the perfluorinated compound have cancer rates several times higher than those of the general population.

Shafi Reso-Chem Pakistan have participated for the first time in the 7th Tabriz International Leather Fair (LEATHEX 2005) held from 13-16 July 2005 in Tabriz, Iran's famous industrial city. The ceo Abrar Ahmed, national sales manager Mohammad Faiz and territory sales technician Saeed Akhter Malik represented RESO at the fair. Visitor turnover was reported to be quite high at the exhibition that included tanners from Iran, Türkiye, Ukraine and other central Asian countries.

Stahl have released their colour forecast for autumn/winter 2006/2007. The new season's colours are said to revisit the past and revitalise the present.

Two days before the start of the ACLE, TRUMPLER Worms will officially celebrate the opening of their new subsidiary company TRUMPLER Chemicals and Dyes (Jiaxing) Ltd Co in which a selected range of TRUMPLER products are manufactured specifically for the Chinese leather market.

The Africa Federation of Leather and Allied Industries is to hold a leather exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya in December. The four-day event will be sponsored by Nairobi-based Eastern and Southern Africa Leather Industries Association (ESALIA).

A Rs290 crore (US$66.7 million) leather industry modernisation fund has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

CTC Groupe, France, has formed a global collaboration with US-based BioMechanica, a consulting firm specialising in athletic footwear research and development. 'This agreement brings together two major providers of technical services, both dedicated to the shoe business but with different kinds of expertise', said CTC Groupe CEO Marc Folachier. 'Both companies' clients will benefit from access to leading specialists in the United States and Europe.'

The Leather Business Unit of LANXESS Deutschland GmbH is using a web-based colourimetrics and colour formulation system to integrate all its expertise in colour standardisation and formulation relating to leather finishing pigments. As well as intensive technical support in developing optimal colour formulations, the Leather BU also offers its customers a regularly-updated range of standard compositions for fashion colours for the next couple of seasons.

Joseph Clayton & Sons in Chesterfield are one of the last remaining pit-tanners in the UK, established in 1860, industrial leathers and equestrian products have been the mainstay of the business. After over 40 years of service to the company Barrie Birkin retires at the end of June. Along with his brother Roger who retired last September, the Birkins have brought the company from their father's day to be the bespoke and speciality tanners of heavy leather seen today.

Follow a gap of three years the Seoul International Leather & Fur Fair will be held again this year at COEX, Samsung-dong, Seoul, Korea, from October 6-8, where 110 companies from ten countries are expected to participate. The fair will be co-sponsored by Korea Tanners' Association and Korea Fur Industry Cooperative and organised by Joong Ang Exhibition Co Ltd. On display will be items related to leather and fur such as hides and skins, leather and fur garments, shoes, bags, handbags, accessories and chemicals etc. Together with these items, leather and fur processors, import and export companies, promotional companies and the Korea Association of Fur Auctions etc, will participate to show various items, technology and services etc.

The 10th edition of the China leather fair will be held from September 13-15 offering a wide range of leathers, synthetics, machinery and chemical products. It will take place in the China International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wenzhou.

Massimo Donda, President of Federcalzature (the Italian Shoe Trade Confederation) and President of CEDDEC (European Confederation of the Shoe Trade Associations), recently visited the Shoe China fair held in Beijing from 1-6 July 2005. Among the Federcalzature delegation were Franco Ballin VicePresident of ANCI and Andrea Colzani President of the Federcalzature Young Group.

Atlas Refinery, USA, supplier of fatliquors to the leather Industry and LANXESS have formed a strategic alliance primarily in the field of leather chemicals with effect from July 2005. LANXESS will distribute Atlas' products to the leather industry and provide technical service. Atlas will be responsible for the manufacturing of fatliquors and the innovation process in this field. The two companies have agreed to jointly develop new products.

Assomac servizi have announced that the 2006 edition of SIMAC will take place one week earlier than usual. The footwear machinery fair will be held at Bologna fairground from April 19-22.

Assomac's AGM held in Vigevano on June 30 was a sombre affair, reflecting the current crisis in the national industry. The meeting gave members an opportunity to discuss the crisis and their problems.

The Singapore fashion week will be held from 17-23 October 2005. As part of the event, a three-day seminar on 18-20 October will include various aspects of business, fashion and technology and has been designed for manufacturers, designers, buyers, industry players and visitors in the textile and fashion industries.

Madrid International Leather Week will be held from September 29- October 1, 2005 at Feria de Madrid. The event has been changed from its previous Friday-Sunday slot to Thursday-Saturday to better meet the needs of visitors. Organisers hope the timing close to Micam will enable buyers from further afield to combine the two shows in one visit. This rescheduling is therefore expected to increase the number of foreign buyers able to attend the show.

The dates for the 2006 editions of GDS at the Messe Düsseldorf are 5-7 March and 10-12 September. For the first time, the fairs will be held from Sunday to Tuesday.

CPD Düsselorf will be held from July 24-26 at the Düsseldorf Messeplatz. The fair will feature fur and leather in Hall 9 and welcomes 1,500 exhibitors from 46 countries. It will be open from 09.00-18.00.

China target of new anti-dumping charges?

The Board of Scottish Tanning Industries Ltd has announced that with effect from July 1, 2005, the company will be named Scottish Leather Group Ltd.

The annual student design competition organised by Lineapelle in conjunction with Tokyo Leather Fair received entries from students of Japan's top fashion institutes. Judges appreciated the high quality of the designs which focussed on the research and use of new materials featuring abstract geometrical detailing.

Stephen Etheridge, group chief executive of Church and Co, has joined SATRA Technology Centre's board of directors. He was formally elected at the centre's annual meeting.

Massimo Donda, president of Federcalzature and CEDDEC, the European confederation of shoe retail trade associations is to visit China from July 1-5. He will be accompanied by Andrea Colzani, president of the Federcalzature young group. Donda will visit Shoe China and attend meetings with politicians such as Bo Xilai, Minister of Economy.

Philipp Urban was elected President of HDS, the German footwear federation at their AGM held in Munich on April 20. Urban, who has been managing director of the federation for over 30 years, will replace Dieter Rührschneck.

Footwear UK will be held from 7-9 August at the NEC in Birmingham. Organisers are upbeat about the forthcoming fair, which will welcome the largest number of mainstream footwear brands. David Wilkins, event director stated 'the show has continued to build on its reputation as the best place to showcase the new season's ranges and the prevailing mood is vibrant.'

A footwear technology conference was held on June 14 in Tehran. The conference saw the participation of approximately 150 representatives from as many Iranian companies. The initiative was organised by ICE and ASSOMAC in collaboration with the Iranian Ministry of Industry and Mines and ASSOMES, the local footwear association.

Yue Yuen saw net income fall by 3.8% in the first half of their financial year the despite the strong performance of their core business manufacturing shoes for companies such as Nike and Adidas. Sales rose 17% to $132.3 million. The company produced 90.4 million pair of shoes in the first six months, up 11.4% from last year. Of these, 17% of sales were to North America and 42% to Europe.

Vietnam exported footwear worth US$5.8 million to South Africa in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of no less than 175%, according to the Vietnamese News Agency. Vietnamese trade sources in Cape Town said that the big increase in exports was due to the competitive prices of Vietnamese footwear, which are 10-15% lower than those of competitors.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that the production of leather and leather products in Ukraine in the first five months of this year was 11.6% lower than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, overall industrial output in Ukraine in the January to May period was 6.2% higher year-on-year.

Turkey's State Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Turkey in the first quarter of this year was 29.4% lower than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, overall manufacturing sector output in Turkey in the January to March period was 5.6% higher year-on-year.

According to David Muwanga, investors have urged the government to increase taxes on exports of raw hides to encourage investment in the leather tanning and processing sector. Export of raw hides and skins has compromised their quality, earning the government only sh15.7b annually, a report released by the Presidential Investors Round Table (PIRT) has said. PIRT is a body, which was created by President Yoweri Museveni, to identify obstacles and propose solutions to investment promotion.

Slovakia's State Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Slovak Republic in the first four months of this year was 1.9% higher than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, overall industrial output in Slovakia in the January to April period was 1.6% higher year-on-year.

The Slovak Statistical Office reports that Slovakia exported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth US$28.9 million in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year fall of 11.1%. Slovakia's imports of the same types of commodities were 7.7% higher year-on-year at US$64.5 million.

SATRA is working jointly on research with universities in the UK through collaborative Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) projects, the latest being to investigate ways to minimise waste when cutting leather for footwear. Physicist Tom Bayes has co-written a technical paper with Leeds Metropolitan University which focuses on SATRA's research into automatically nesting shoe patterns effectively into hides. 'This is a complex waste minimisation problem and to achieve even a small percentage improvements requires significant increases in computing time', says Bayes. 'This particular project was aimed at investigating the potential for methods based on genetic algorithms to minimise waste.'

Russian trade officials in China say that China has substantially increased its leather exports to Russia this year, according to the Interfax news agency. Total Chinese exports to Russia in the first five months of this year were worth US$3.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35%.

Statistics Norway reports that Norway exported raw hides and skins worth US$36.4 million in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year fall of 12.3%.

Statistics New Zealand reports that New Zealand exported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth US$355 million in the twelve months to the end of April this year. This figure was 5.2% lower than in the previous 12-month period.

Lithuanian footwear manufacturers are calling on the European Union to take stronger action against exports of Chinese-made footwear to the EU, according to Baltic Business News. The output of Lithuanian shoe manufacturers in the January to April period this year was 21% lower year-on-year. Lithuanian manufacturers are forced to reduce their prices in order to stay competitive. One Lithuanian shoe manufacturer said that quotas, and strict technical and hygiene standards, could serve as effective barriers to Chinese footwear on the EU market.

Latvia's Central Statistical Bureau reports that Latvia exported raw hides and skins, leather and leather products, worth US$1.44 million in April, with 70.6% of exports going to the European Union. Imports of the same types of commodities in April were worth US$2.07 million, with 72.5% of imports coming from the EU.

Kyrgyzstan's National Statistics Committee reports that Kyrgyzstan produced 2.73 million square decimetres of chrome-tanned leather products in the first four months of this year, compared with 2.21 million square decimetres in the same period in 2004. Overall production in Kyrgyzstan's leather industry in the January to April period fell by 29.7% year-on-year, with the production of leather produced from goat, sheep and pig skins 20.3% lower.

A Polish delegation recently visited Russia's Tomsk region in order to discuss with local officials the establishment of a joint livestock breeding enterprise there, according to BISNIS, part of the US Department of Commerce, Washington DC. The enterprise will be established on the basis of three livestock farms in Tomsk.

Ireland's Central Statistical Office reports that Ireland exported raw hides and skins worth 14.2 million euros in the first quarter of this year, as against 20.7 million euros in the same period last year. Irish imports of the same types of commodities in the January to March period were worth 300,000 euros, as compared with 500,000 euros in the corresponding period in 2004.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first four months of this year was 18.8% lower than in the same period in 2004. Hungarian leather industry companies saw their sales fall by 19.2% year-on-year in the January to April period, including a fall in sales of 19.9% on the domestic Hungarian market and 18.9% lower sales on export markets.

The Czech Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Czech Republic in April was 3.5% lower than in the same month last year. In comparison, the annual increase in overall industrial output in the Czech Republic in April was 5.7%.

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in May was 23.4% lower than in the same month last year. In comparison, industrial output in Croatia in May was 8.2% higher year-on-year.

Brazil's National Statistics Institute reports that the weight of cattle and pigs slaughtered in Brazil in the first four months of this year was 10.3% higher than in the same period in 2004.

Azerbaijan's State Statistics Committee reports that Azerbaijan imported raw hides and skins, and leather and leather products, worth US$1.93 million in 2004, accounting for 0.1% of total Azeri imports during the year. Azeri exports of the same types of commodities last year were worth US$2.58 million, or 0.1% of total exports.

Albania's National Statistics Institute reports that Albania imported leather and leather products worth US$23.0 million in the first four months of this year, compared with US$22 million in the same period in 2004. Albanian exports of the same types of commodities were worth US$7.25 million, as against US$5.26 million in the January to April period last year.

In order to meet increased production requirements, Wollsdorf Leder have acquired a new facility in Wilhelmsburg, Austria. The company invested €1 million in modernisation of the tannery's machinery park in late 2004, and the plant has been operational since January 2005.

Blame the market, the government, intense competition, or even bad luck. Whatever the reason, the fact is Leather Merchants & Wholesalers companies do fail! A new report by financial analysts Plimsoll Publishing gives a unique insight into some of the real reasons why one in five UK Leather Merchants & Wholesalers companies are failing, while one in two prosper.

US $30 million in damages were awarded to Seton leather on May 25, against Lear in a case held in the eastern district of Michigan. The suit was originally filed on January 29, 2002 by Seton company who alleged that Lear had breached a purported agreement to purchase leather from Seton for seats for the life of the General Motors GMT 800 programme. Seton had sought up to $97 million in damages.

SATRA Technology Centre have announced a record annual income of £7.68 million. This was 6% above 2003 and maintains SATRA's remarkable record of continually increasing income year on year for 35 consecutive years and not once running at a deficit on revenue.

LANXESS expect to further improve earnings in the second quarter of 2005 based on preliminary figures. 'The current trend in the second quarter shows that we are on the right track overall. Our ongoing restructuring efforts, strict cost management and our shift toward a 'price before volume' strategy are having a positive effect', said LANXESS management board chairman Axel C Heitmann at the company's annual stockholders' meeting in Düsseldorf. He also said that LANXESS would improve their most important key internal indicator, EBITDA - operating result before taxes, depreciation and amortization - pre exceptionals compared to the same period of last year, according to currently available information. Heitmann said the company's business has benefited from the favorable chemical economy.

Italian furniture producers Nicoletti now own their facility in China and Italian compatriots Natuzzi plan to open their first tannery in South America next year. Nicoletti had 50% ownership of the factory with a Chinese furniture company when it opened last July, but Nicoletti bought the 80,000 square foot facility outright from their Asian partner in February. Nicoletti have turned to China to mine new areas of growth and to reap competitive advantages. Concentrating on leather and leather hides finished in Italy, 95% of Nicoletti's Chinese production is dedicated to their US accounts. Nicoletti plan to open a network of 40 brand-name stores in China.

In 2003 total sales in German footwear retailing stood at approximately €8.7 billion, making Germany one of the top export destinations. A study by HDS, the Confederation of German Shoe Manufacturers, showed that imports from China as well as Brazil, Romania, India and Macau, rose significantly in the first six months of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003. The UK managed to nearly triple its exports (14,412,000 pairs) to Germany.

Introduction

Introduction

Whatever the size of the operation, there are three universal truths which apply to the whole industry:

Tanneries Nouvelles Pechdo are constantly looking at ways to develop new technical standards for their leathers. Their latest development was to provide bellies, called Oleofuge, with a greater resistance to oil, chemical products and soiling while keeping their genuine softness, mechanical resistance and touch.

High levels of activity at the Fimec fair in April 2005 led many spectators to describe Brazil as the world's only growing market. Industry performance over the last few years has been very strong and, according to CICB (the Brazilian Tanners' Association) president Amadeu Fernandes, the leather production chain has a turnover of R$50 billion per year (US$20.4 billion), employs more than 500,000 people and exported US$4 billion in 2004. The footwear sector accounted for 45% of exports, leather for 35% and footwear components 20%. However, the continued decline of the dollar against the real has meant that in early 2005, few tanners are working at full capacity.

History

The global problem of increased competition from China, combined with domestic issues of smuggling, serious cashflow difficulties and the impact of recent environmental legislation have not helped Mexican tanneries. Production levels are currently running at just 40% of the 90,000 skins per day installed capacity.

Trading conditions in the hide market remained tough throughout April and into May. Despite lower kills prices continued to fall as demand from Italy was muted. Some sellers were reluctant to sell due to the dubious practices of some buyers.

Strange as it may sound and in spite of the continuous complaints from Italy, it does seem to be the most active market in the world today. Not that things are wild there. Far from it. But the rest of the world seems even less active. This feeling is reinforced by the absence of many Asians from the market because of their May holidays.

A number of factors that might have had an impact on American hide prices since our last report actually had little effect on prices. Heavy Texas steers today are just about where they were 30 days ago, as are branded and native steers. Cows are also steady with last month as are small packers, bulls and low grades.

Direct foreign investment in Türkiye has stubbornly remained off-target (see box). Any investment is good news and the leather sector in Izmir is cock-a-hoop with West Yorkshire Fellmongers' (WYF) decision to open a euro-hub in the Menemen Free Trade Zone. The Kastro brothers, Beno and Avram, are partners in the venture, along with Ali and Adnan Alak of Alkan Deri. Whilst £1 million won''t revive Menemen's fortunes, the psychological boost is enormous. Menemen has ten or eleven working tanneries; so a strategic decision was taken to attract industries other than leather processing to the zone. Ceramic, auto spares, and electronic firms now form part of the new industrial mix with environmental certification at the core. Investment seems to be following.

Vandoni SpA have been working in the tannery chemicals sector for more than 70 years, always developing innovative products and articles. Research and development is focused on finishing products for upholstery, garment, shoe upper and leathergoods leathers according to fashion and customer requirements and is aimed at always improving quality and novel effects.

Italian machinery company Teseo have unveiled their latest automatic leather cutting system after a continuous process of research and development over the last seven years. The FC4 400 has a working width of 4,000 x 1,200mm and has a speed of 120cm/second. Other features include a sectorised vacuum surface with embedded vacuum pump. The five tool micro-processor head incorporates a pen, two punchers, a blade, and a marker for cutting, writing, marking and punching, enabling the user to obtain maximum leather yield.

Spanish chemicals company LFT have recently launched a new organo-chrome syntan, Forestan RH1. This greenish powder is anionic, has a pH of 3+/- 0.5 and contains 12% chrome oxide. Forestan RH1 is specially designed to give soft leathers, with a fine and even grain, without affecting the character of the leather. It is recommended for use in the retanning of leathers for shoe uppers, softy for aniline, nubuck, gloving leather, garment, suede splits and in the pretannage of vegetable tanned leathers. It does not affect the dye intensity, and improves evenness. It is recommended for application in the pickle or tanning bath, as a 2-3% application, running for 60 minutes before the addition of the tanning agent. When applied as a retannnage, 4-6% of the product is recommended according to desired properties.

The demand for hydrophobic leathers has substantially risen in the last few years, since the chemical industry manufactures products that despite simple application lead to the desired results.

Animal byproduct regulations and rising disposal costs have led Scottish tannery W J & W Langs to install a Mono Muncher at their plant in Paisley to reduce bulk waste and improve the efficiency of composting as an alternative to landfill. Each month the tannery produces approximately 500 tonnes of fleshings, a bulky waste product stripped from the hides prior to tanning. More stringent restrictions on disposal led the tannery management to look for a better way of dealing with the waste, and so they turned to Mono's Scottish distributor, Clyde Associated Engineers, who had previously helped them to improve their waste handling on site.

Italian specialists in equipment for tanneries, Equitan, launched their Condutex 4 Wet belts for staking machines at APLF. This antistatic solution has been specially developed for wet stretching and softening. The new patented Condutex 4 Wet belt is washable, longer lasting and highly resistant. The joints are reinforced for additional durability. The belt is antistatic as it contains carbon fibres. Prior to its launch, Condutex 4 wet had been extensively tested in Italy. It is supplied with a polyurethanic rope and ready to install in the staking machine.

German automated dosing and mixing system manufacturers, Linz, have introduced their Inline Flow Control 2-6 equipment into the leather industry. The product has been specifically designed to minimise the use of paint and the system is able to record the overall use of materials.

BASF Performance Chemicals for leather have introduced the first in a new series of new auxiliary products for use in leather upgrading. As customers all know, there are often imperfections on the surface of rawhides. In order to produce the flawless quality leather required by the consumer, these imperfections must be filled and covered, which can require considerable effort and, of course, extra expense.

The leather chemical company Donyon, of Shanghai, China, have teamed up with the medical research company Biosk, specialists in skin structure and functions, to develop new leathermaking products. The idea is to apply medical principles to leather manufacturing processes.

At the same time as the APLF, Cromogenia-Units SA held a technical meeting in Hong Kong with a view to showing their novelties in the leather manufacturing field. The meeting was attended by most of their agents and distributors in Asia, in particular a large team of technicians and dealers from continental China, together with Cromogenia's Chinese staff from Shanghai.

DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise (DCSE) have launched a Teflon leather protector which, in addition to providing the leather with enhanced resistance to rain and other outdoor elements, is also washable for those occasions when you spill something which would otherwise discolour the garment. New Advanced Teflon leather protector has a most effective dual-action repel and release system.

Over the last 15-20 years, there have been significant changes in hide quality, preservation and customer requirements. Cattle are being raised faster and, as the animals reach maturity at an earlier age, the collagen structure is left with fewer crosslinks and is, therefore, more sensitive. Tanners are facing problems with looser grain and emptier flanks. However, as tanners work under high cost pressures, they need to expand the usable area of each hide.

At the last Corium Club Reunion, which took place during the APLF in Hong Kong, the toast was proposed by John Basford as the longest serving member present. He reminisced about his first job working at British Chrome Tanning where dog dung was still used in the bating department. They were one of the last tanneries to still carry out the practice. The Corium Club has been in existence since 1920 and brings together past and present students from around the world who attend(ed) the British School of Leather Technologists, formerly known as Leathersellers. The event was sponsored by Stahl Asia, Union Specialties and Clariant.

A recent three-day training seminar provided by Stahl's Colours and Tanning Products Division provided an opportunity for eighteen international students at the British School of Leather Technology to receive detailed information backed by practical training in the use of retanning, fatliquoring and dyeing products. Majoring on the Stahl brand name, the seminar was run by Jacques Daamen, senior C&TP sales technologist from Stahl Europe and Laurence Irwin, LPP Manager C&TP from Stahl International.

Irv Mindel has died after a long illness. He was 86. Mindel was president of A Mindel & Sons, USA, the firm founded by his father in 1913. He sold A Mindel to Seton Co in 1982, where he remained president until 1987 when he became a consultant for the company. He fully retired in 1997.

Smit & Zoon have announced the appointment of Pim Wilgenburg as their new product manager. Wilgenburg has been working for Smit & Zoon since 1999 where he started in their syntan factory in production control. Since then, he has trained to become a leather technician, through a course in Reutlingen, several practical trainings abroad and in theSmit & Zoon headquarters in the Netherlands. In recent years, he has been responsible for a number of countries.

Richard Bryant and Ali Hakimi have gone into partnership with Denzil Spolander of African Gameskin Trading to form a new leather supplier, Fusion Leather in Cape Town, South Africa, which will concentrate on footwear upper leather.

There are no plans to change the direction of Mossop-Western Leathers, following the departure of managing director André Pelser, and the tannery's financial performance to date was 'quite acceptable', according to Paul Schouten, CEO of the KAP International group of companies, of which Mossop-Western is a part through subsidiary Feltex.

During the Anpic fair in February, the event's executive committee presented lifetime achievement awards to four employees who have shown dedication to the sector.

Wolfgang Schwaiger, head of the leather finishing department in the Leather Business Unit at LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, retired on March 17, 2005. He is succeeded by the 43-year-old leather technologist Michael Franken.

As we went to press, Irving Tanning announced that they had signed a letter of intent to sell the business to Meriturn Partners. Meriturn, with offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and San Francisco, specialise in restructuring companies which need turning around.

GST AutoLeather and Cueros Industrializados del Bajio SA de CV (Cuinba) have announced that they have signed a letter of intent to enter into a long-term strategic technology and supply alliance under which Cuinba will provide GST with re-tanning and other services, and cooperate in developing best in class technology.

The title of this Limeblast is the mathematical formula for a CFC funded project and, in plain English, it means: Raw Hides & Skins Grading & Pricing Systems equals Zero or US$3,186,000 which is the impact versus the cost ratio.

According to the organisers, this edition of Sipiel confirmed its place among Europe's top three footwear and leathergoods shows in terms of the quality and variety of styles on show.

Stahl Europe bv have successfully developed and started up a new reactor train, based on in-line reaction technology, for the production of specialised polyurethane dispersions. These are used in downstream formulations for Stahl's leather finish and permuthane product lines. The official opening of the new facilities at Waalwijk, the Netherlands, took place on April 22 to coincide with festivities celebrating fifty years of Stahl in Europe.

The European Union has suspended 14% retaliatory duties on American raw hides, skins and finished leather exports, as well as finished leathergoods after Congress abolished foreign sales corporations giving illegal tax breaks to US exporters. The EU Council of Ministers has suspended these duties until next January, while a WTO disputes panel examines whether successor legislation, the American Jobs Creation Act, complies with global trade rules.

Münzing Chemie, Heilbronn, Germany, are celebrating 175 years in the market. The sixth generation of the family is now involved in the company, headed by Dr Michael Münzing, they are now forming themselves worldwide as the Münzing Group, for example with the acquisition of Ultra Additives in the United States.

Howe Leather, Melbourne, Australia, have set up a head office for Europe and a production unit in Kosice, East Slovakia.

The Balkan region has had a long history in manufacturing footwear but a famous Italian company is now putting an emphasis on it as a market. Filanto Albania, part of the worldwide Gruppo Filanto have established a commercial office at their Tirana, Albania, manufacturing operation which will market their products in Albania and the newly emerging countries which made up the former Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia and the Kosovo region).

Slovenia's Industrija usnja Vrhnika (IUV) are based in a heritage tannery zone in Vrhnika, close to the capital Ljubljana. A high quality pigskin tannery, they aim to tan leathers as naturally and benignly as possible. The firm have gained the coveted ISO-16949 automotive industry standard for leather, certified to BVQI standard. As pigskin has a tensile strength equal to that of bovines, automakers have a cost trimming option.

In what must be one of the more curious legal conundrums at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), judges have rejected an attempt by Italian leather manufacturer Sergio Rossi to scrap the EU-wide registration of a trademark that it actually owns. What makes the case odder still is that Rossi had already secured this registration in an appeal against an earlier rejection of their SISSI ROSSI mark for leather, imitation leather and leathergoods.

Eagle Ottawa of the United States is reportedly building a new factory for the production of leather car seats in Szolnok in central Hungary, according to the Interfax news agency. The factory will be completed by the end of this year and will employ 250 people.

On May 2, Norsk Kjøtt B&I (Norway Meat) changed their name. The new name is: Norilia BA. The address, telephone and fax will all be the same, but the internet site will shortly be found at [http://www.norilia.no]

The management of the Siauliu Stumbras leather producer in Lithuania is reported to have initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the company but the company intend to continue production, according to Baltic Business News.

Speaking at the 3rd Upholstery Leather Conference in Hong Kong, organised by Leather International, theSauerReport and Rizzi Pellami, Swirski said that: 'Some of the issues I will be touching on will repeat what I said during the 1st Conference in Barcelona, because they are still valid. Nevertheless, a lot has changed in Brazil and in our company in these two years so I hope that for the participants of the first conference I will not sound too repetitive.

As I let my mind range over the happenings of the past couple of months or so, my overall impression is of a great deal of movement. Certainly, for some time we have all been aware of the shift of manufacturing from Europe and the US to China and south east Asia. Now we are seeing a positive reaction from those companies and organisations who do not wish to be left behind.

Michael Mulligan, president of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, spoke of a progressive year for the industry in his annual report. The last twelve months had seen a shift of focus from issues relating to skins to events relating to the US market, to a focus on meat for human consumption and to a lesser degree for pet food.

Fish skin leather can achieve the same strength as kangaroo while shark leather is claimed to be six times stronger. 'You can take three strips of tanned salmon skin, braid it together and it has enough strength to pull a car', says one report.

The entire Darkan wet-blue tannery in Western Australia, which ceased production a year ago, was about to be auctioned (May 25) as Leather International went to press. The plant went under the hammer with Perth-based auctioneers W Gregsons on instructions from the receivers.

The latest acquisition of TFL Ledertechnik GmbH (Germany) made on April 1, 2005, will be renamed TFL Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, thus becoming a legal unit of the TFL Group. The new TFL subsidiary in Sri Lanka organises support in beamhouse, wet-end and finishing for the countries in South Asia (mainly Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

T&J Global Resources Ltd will this year invest US$15 million to build a canned fruit factory in Ben Tre Province, a seafood factory and a shoe factory in Quang Nam Province, said Nguyen Thanh Ha, the company chairman. He made the announcement at the opening of the American-owned company's HCM City office recently.

Chairman, Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), Khawaja M Yousuf hailed the government's decision for allowing duty free imports of live animals from India and neighbouring countries, aimed particularly at meeting the requirements of meat at cheaper prices in the country for which quarantine houses are being established, according to a PTA press release. He further stated that with the import of livestock not only would the price of meat be cut but also the country would have a sufficient quantity of raw hides and skins as required by the leather sector industry.

In the first four months of this year, Vietnam increased its footwear exports to the US by 30%, grossing US$111.9 million, the highest turnover among the country's key footwear markets. This is set to rise in coming months, as the US is implementing a policy to limit footwear imports from China. Brazil, a strong rival of Vietnamese footwear, is facing difficulties in exporting to the US because of a strong Brazilian real. In addition, Vietnam's footwear exports to Italy and Spain have also shown signs of recovery after a long period of decline. Earnings from footwear exports to Italy increased 13% to $36.51 million and to Spain 19% to $19.39 million for the same period.

In our survey on Tanzania in our April edition, pages 28-32, we incorrectly referred to Lake Trading Co Ltd and Kibaha Tannery as being members of another group when, in fact, Lake Trading are a 100% privately owned company and they in turn wholly own Kibaha Tannery.

Tomas Lipop of Salisbury College scooped first prize in the British Glove Association's national celebrity design competition 2005 with his glove design for boxer Chris Eubank. Salisbury College has also claimed the Silver Salver, awarded to the college judged to have contributed the best series of designs from the 50 highest scores.

Unfavourable currency conditions and persistent price pressure affecting the US market in particular continued to affect demand for Natuzzi's products, with net sales down 13.1% on first quarter 2004.

County governor Göte Bernhardsson inaugurated Elmo Leather's new treatment plant at Svenljunga, Sweden on June 1. The treatment process is based on innovative technology that reduces nitrogen emissions in wastewater by 80%. This is a major advance as the previous plant reduced nitrogen by 30%.

The Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists invite applications for bursaries to attend their annual conference. The bursaries will cover entry to the SLTC conference 2005, entry to the annual dinner dance, and accommodation.

USdA are sponsoring a high-level round table meeting on June 9 to present the case for reopening the border between the USA and Canada for imports of live cattle. The closure of the Canadian border has led to a number of packers laying off workers at their slaughtering plants.

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