During the APLF show, Pittards signed a partnership and licensed manufacturing agreement with the Taiwan-based leather group Tehchang Leather Products Co Ltd. This is part of the Pittards restructuring programme which will see the closure of the Leeds tannery with production of bovine leather switching to Yeovil and also to Taiwan. A similar move was undertaken a year earlier with some of the Yeovil production of hairsheep reverting to Ethiopia.

A joint statement for the elimination of export taxes and export restrictions on raw hides and skins and wet-blue and harmonisation of import duties for leather on a global basis has been issued by Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (Cotance), Leather Industries of America, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America and the American Apparel and Footwear Association:

Introduction

This forward thinking and innovative approach also involves using the latest technology and offering progressive working conditions and adhering to health and safety standards and training.

China is now the second most important client for Mexican leather. Footwear made with Mexican leather is also being exported to Japan (thanks to a trade agreement with that country which came into force in recent years).

The company have recently invested in a new manufacturing line of tpu, purchasing four new machines to make pellets/granules of the product. They have also reinforced production capacity for acrylic and urethane binders.

Procesos Humedos is a contract tannery dedicated to processing leather to the wet-blue stage. The company's client base is largely Mexican and the wet-blue produced has a range of uses including both automotive and furniture upholstery, footwear and leathergoods. Installed capacity is for 3,000 full substance hides per day.

Among the range of services available to tanners and footwear manufacturers, technicians can produce specially designed skins according to their requirements. Facilities include a prototype laboratory and a chemical analysis lab as well as a tannery pilot plant.

federally inspected slaughter figures for the four-week period ended April 15 showed an average weekly kill of 609,250 head, against 576,000 a year earlier, running 2.2% ahead of the same period last year.

Several sources report a clear increase in the export of better and best quality hides to China. The country is upgrading the quality of its leather and moving deeper into an area which some thought would always remain the preserve of the European tanning industry. They forgot that technique is something you can buy.

Prices on American hides remained firm since our last issue which included several weeks before and the week following APLF. While steers were mostly steady with incremental increases seen in some cases, the cow sector advanced considerably as a round of upholstery business in China took up any surplus and then the bulk of remaining available US supplies.

Kills were running at fairly high levels during March and early April and demand continued to outstrip supply. Italian tanners were particularly active as they appeared to have been caught unawares by the big purchases made by Chinese tanners.

Buckman Laboratories received an award at the 2006 Training Top 100 ceremony held in Orlando in March. The Training Top 100 is a ranking of organisations which excel at human capital development as determined by Training magazine. Other companies who received awards include IBM, Ernst & Young, Ritz-Carlton and Lockheed Martin.

In 2001, I had an idea to set up a trade website. The matter was discussed with ITC in Geneva, who liked the idea. Although ITC and myself agreed on the basic contents, we did not agree on the technical form this website should have. It practically came down to the fact that my approach was not using the latest in web publishing techniques, whereas the responsible person at ITC demanded this. As it turns out he was right and the result is a superb website, Leatherline, that allows surfers to access a variety of services.

Dear Sam

Following our recent article on fair trade in the March issue of Leather International (pages 76-77), we received a letter from Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Cotance, who takes issue with some of the comments made at the end and points out that:

On the day before APLF opened in Hong Kong, Leather International together with BLC Leather Technology Centre held a very successful Footwear Leather Conference. It was sponsored by APLF and LANXESS and the high quality of the presentations from the global brands along with groundbreaking ideas for new footwear materials ensured an interesting day for delegates.

The Leather team have been hopping around the world lately picking up local information along their way. In Argentina the recent decision of the government to control the price of meat also affected the leather industry. Backed by a long history of high meat consumption but faced with increasing inflation the government took steps to control meat prices, leading to a reduction in exports. Slaughterhouses processed fewer cattle and thus the supply of raw hides reduced.

Astley Leathers Ltd have been bought by Lowe Corporation who bought the Colyer Watson group from Mair a few years ago. At the same time Astley were bought from Mair by managing director Nigel Dobson and his partners.

Indonesia hopes to boost their footwear exports to US$4 billion by 2008, taking advantage of the European Union's increased duty on leather footwear from China and Vietnam. Indonesia's footwear exports amounted to around $1.5 billion in 2005 and is expected to rise to between $1.7 and $1.95 billion this year.

Marc Folachier, the new president of IULTCS, attended the ICT meeting held in Hong Kong on March 27, reminding tanners of the close co-operation between the ICT and IULTCS fifty years ago when developing standards. Folaschier wanted to take the opportunity to re-establish links and invite members to the forthcoming congresses. IULTCS members are open to organising economic focused round tables during the next congresses to maximise their impact.

CTC, a leading global resource providing quality assurance solutions for the footwear and leathergoods industries, is reinforcing its presence in Asia with the opening of its fourth site in Western China.

The China Leather Industry Association has reacted to the EU anti-dumping duties of between 4-19.4% on leather shoe exports from China with the following statement:

China Leather Fair and All China Shoe-tech will take place in Wenzhou international exhibition convention center from September 26-28. The China Leather Fair covers leather, synthetics and leather chemicals suitable for shoes, luggage & bags, furniture, automobile and fashion accessories. The All China Shoe-tech encompasses shoe machinery, components and lasts, vamp finishing, shoe-making accessories and CAD/CAM systems.

The Asia Pacific Leather Fair in Hong Kong opened during weather that was typical of an English summer in that it was unusually cool for Hong Kong. And it rained a lot! By the end of the show, however, the sun was shining and the humidity high. But what about inside the exhibition and convention centre?

At the end of March an article by Kelvin Chambwa was published in The Post (Lusaka) saying that a cattle hide trader from Lukulu District has complained over the export ban on raw hides, saying the move has adversely affected rural communities. Jeff Muyauka apparently believes that the ban has only worked to the advantage of a few tanneries in Lusaka.

The regional government in Altai in Siberia and the Russian Agricultural Bank have signed an agreement to implement a programme to provide loans to regional livestock farms, according to BISNIS, part of the US Department of Commerce, Washington DC. The farms will use the loans to modernise and expand their operations.

Lineapelle and Anteprima, the preview show dedicated to top fashion brands and designers, have prepared a Studio with a pool of the colours and designs for spring and winter collections of the latest thirty years.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Ireland in the first quarter of this year was 10.3% lower than in the same period in 2005. The combined turnover of leather industry companies in the first quarter was 11.4% lower year-on-year.&rtreturn;Ireland imported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth €300,000 in the first two months of this year, as compared with €600,000 in the corresponding period in 2005. Irish exports of the same types of commodities in January and February were worth €15 million, as against €10.9 million in the same period last year.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the producer price of cattle for slaughter in Hungary in the first quarter of this year was 16.3 % higher than in the same period in 2005.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first quarter of this year was 72.1% higher than in the same period in 2005. Hungarian leather industry companies saw their sales increase by 73.3% year-on-year in the January to March period, with sales on the domestic market 5.2% higher, and on export markets 99.7% higher, than in the corresponding period last year.

John Spanner TD CC, past master of the Worshipful Company of Glovers has been elected president of the British Glove Association, after being nominated by the past president, Lt Col Roderick Morriss.

The Czech Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Czech Republic in the first quarter of this year was 11% higher than in the same period in 2005. In comparison, overall industrial output in the Czech Republic in the January to March period was 15.4% higher year-on-year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April was 31.2% lower than in March and 5.8 % lower than in April 2005. In comparison, the monthly and annual increases in industrial output in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April were 7.4% and 10.4% respectively.&rtreturn;Production of leather for shoe uppers production in the first quarter of this year totalled 77,000 sq m, compared with 28,000 square metres in the same period in 2005. &rtreturn;Statistical reports indicate that 25,015 head of cattle of a total weight of 3,812 tonnes were slaughtered in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first quarter of this year, compared with 26,201 head of a total of 4,003 tons in the same period in 2005.

Following the considerable investment made in the past two years in their subsidiaries in China and Brazil Trumpler's main priority for 2006 is the modernisation and expansion of fatliquor production facilities at their German headquarters in Worms. &rtreturn;New manufacturing vessels along with ancillary equipment have been installed in order to expand the production of modern fatliquors. Particular emphasis has been placed on improving efficiency and consistency of the products whilst allowing a great deal of flexibility in production capabilities.&rtreturn;The new production facility is expected to come on stream in June 2006.

CTC, a leading global resource providing quality assurance solutions for the footwear and leathergoods industries, have expanded their professional network. CTC-Asia is now a member of two new professional associations: HKHLTA, the Hong Kong Hide & Leather Traders' Association which brings together the tanners and leather wholesalers of Hong Kong; and HKTIC, the Hong Kong Testing, Inspection and Certification which covers quality assurance professionals involved in laboratory testing, inspections and audits.&rtreturn;Since its launch in 1996 CTC Asia, a joint venture between CTCand American partner STR, have developed partnerships with Hong Kong's professional associations, through active membership of the Association of Hong Kong Gloves Traders; the Hong Kong Leather Shoe and Shoe Material Merchants Association; and the Hong Kong Footwear Association.&rtreturn;CTC Asia provides laboratory testing for leather shoes, accessories, gloves and bags, as well as chemical analysis for textiles, plastics, and leather, finished-product inspections, and performance analyses. These services assure optimum quality and have come to be trusted worldwide.&rtreturn;With accredited laboratories and quality assurance inspections offices located strategically worldwide, CTC offer testing, inspection, audit and consultancy services meeting government, industry, and client-specified standards. With a staff of over 60 experts in Asia in four business locations, CTC are dedicated to assisting their clients in improving quality by developing cost-effective programmes and helping them reach their quality objectives.

One single fatliquor is all you need to fatliquor your shoe and bag leather. Smit & Zoon have introduced Synthol UF 737, a single fatliquor to simplify your process. Conventional fatliquoring is often based on 3 or 4 fatliquors, where Synthol UF 737 can be used alone. The stage of mixing products of different compositions and emulsifying behaviour is much less critical when only Synthol UF 737 is applied. Synthol UF 737 helps make life in the tannery easier. In the end, Synthol UF 737 will lead to fewer mistakes. Using just one product makes logistics and handling on the factory floor more simple.

BASF are raising their formic acid prices with immediate effect by 40 euros per metric ton in Europe unless existing contractual agreements state otherwise. This markup mainly reflects increases in raw material and energy costs.

Oranje-Nassau Groep (ONG), a 100% subsidiary of WENDEL Investissement and The Carlyle Group have announced that they have signed an agreement to acquire Stahl Holdings bv from affiliates of Investcorp. The transaction is subject to approval from the competition authorities.

Shareholders of UK leather producer Pittards have accepted a new restructuring plan which was proposed at an EGM held on May 10.

Chemicals company LANXESS AG got off to a good start in fiscal 2006, with year-on-year growth in earnings (EBITDA pre exceptionals) in double digits for the period from January to March, 2006. In what is traditionally the strongest quarter of the year, EBITDA pre exceptionals rose 13.3% to EUR 205 million (Q1 2005: EUR 181 million). The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals was 11.2% (10.5%). The operating result (EBIT) pre exceptionals improved by 18.2% to EUR 143 million (EUR 121 million). Sales advanced by 6.2% to EUR 1,836 million (EUR 1,729 million). All the operating segments contributed to sales growth.

Italian soling specialist Vamas has turned to Huntsman Polyurethane's smartLite technology to meet growing demand from premium footwear producers for top quality, reduced weight, dual-density soles.

In order to satisfy the needs of the market, organisers Igedo Company had numerous discussions with exhibitors, buyers and associations about the scheduling. Instead of the previously announced dates from 11 to 14 September, the autumn edition of CPM - Collection Premiere Moscow will be held from 06 to 09 September 2006 at the Krasnaya Presnaya Expocentr exhibition grounds.