Olcina Group are to launch Cangilones Next, the second generation of Cangilones drums featuring patented technology, at Tanning Tech.

Officially established in 1911 as a mechanical workshop, Fratelli Carlessi began specialising in tanning machines in 1953. Carlessi's aim has always been meeting customers' requirements and constant research into new and more efficient technical solutions.

Soraco, Italian manufacturers of accessories and machinery for the leather industry, will be participating in this year's Tanning Tech fair in Bologna.

Infragas Nova Impianti will be showing their Target Dryer and Quadra at Tanning Tech 2008.

This year at Tanning Tech, Alpe will present their brand new shaving machine ‘Alpe Mod. Matrix' complete with automatic stacker for stacking hides on pallets or a horse.

Introduction

Formaldehyde is a chemical compound (also known as methanal) that is widely used in many industries. It is the simplest aldehyde chemically with the formula H2CO. Formaldehyde is a gas at room temperature but it is also readily soluble in water (and is often sold as an aqueous solution).

This is the first in a series of articles that will explain the principle components that are found in hides and skin, what their functions are in life and what their implications are for the tanner.

The appearance of a product has a great deal of influence on the consumer's decision to purchase. A consumer or professional buyer will expect the article and its different components to be homogeneous in their overall appearance. Colour management is a delicate process and requires reliable tools and constants in order to meet the quality levels demanded. In a strong position due to their expertise in vision technology, CTC studied the best performing colorimetric measurement systems for leather and have developed a mechanism/device to automate the batching of pieces of leather for leathergoods.

Drums, cannons and fireworks signalled the grand opening of ECCO’s Xiamen tannery in the Tong’an Chengnan Industrial Zone on Saturday, September 6. Local dignitaries from the municipal government and district authorities attended along with top representatives of the ECCO group and a great many overseas guests.

The Second World Leather Industry Co-operation and Development Forum was held in Shanghai on September 1-2, 2008, to coincide with the All China Leather Exhibition later in the week. The event was organised and hosted by China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) and as well as being a major technical conference, CLIA were also celebrating 20 years of operation and support for the large and dynamic China leather sector.

There was absolute mahem on the first day the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai as exhibitors struggled to gain entry before the visitors arrived. Increased airport style security led to huge queues from well before 9am (the opening ceremony was scheduled for 9.30am while many were still on the outside trying to get in).

Poland’s Central Statistical Office reports that Poland exported raw hides and skins worth €21.1 million in 2007. Italy accounted for €10.6 million of these exports. Poland also exported tanned leather worth €121 million last year, including exports worth €57.4 million to Germany, €21.1 million to Ukraine and €8.07 million to Slovakia.
The production of ‘leather of bovine animals or of equine animals, without hair’ in Poland in 2007 totalled 11,253 tons, compared with 12,382 tons in 2006 and 16,148 tonnes in 2005.
The production of cattle and calves for slaughter in Poland in 2007 totalled 227,500 tons, compared with 222,300 tonnes in 2006 and 185,600 in 2005.
Poland exported live bovine animals worth €141 million in 2007. Italy accounted for €60.6 million of these exports, followed by Spain with exports worth €27.8 million, and the Netherlands with exports worth €15.2 million.

The Union cabinet has approved the Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) for the XI Plan period, envisaging an outlay of Rs913 crore, more than double the outlay of Rs400 crore allocated in the X Plan.
The ILDP consists of various schemes such as infrastructure development of the leather sector, a leather complex at Nellore, establishment of subcentres of the footwear design and development institute, the footwear complex at Chennai, saddlery development activities, support for rural artisans, human resource development activities, establishment of institutional facilities, creation or improvement of environmental protection systems, foreign and domestic investment promotion and consultancy services.
Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided by the government to the tanners and manufacturers of leather products such as footwear, garments, leathergoods (bags, wallets, gloves etc) for technological upgrading and modernisation of production units and development of human resources.

According to the Waterloo Iowa Courier, Eagle Ottawa are considering moving their automotive leather from Waterloo to Mexico and are looking at non automotive work to prevent the closure of the Waterloo tannery.
‘We are contemplating the decision whether or not to exit the automotive hide processing business in Iowa and whether or not to source that work out of Mexico to a supplier in Mexico’, said Scott Landis, Eagle Ottawa vice president of human resources in North America.
‘We haven’t made a final decision. At the same time, we are not talking about a plant closing at this time. We’re thinking about exploring whether we can do other non automotive work at the Iowa facility. Those options have yet to be defined.’
The Waterloo plant currently employs 108 people and is the only Eagle Ottawa tannery remaining in the US. An older facility in Grand Haven, Michigan, closed in 2006.

In our August 2008 issue, page 40, a very silly typographical error in the Chrome VI story meant that we referred to a shrinkage
temperature of greater than 1000C. Obviously it should have
read 100°C.

Prime have announced that their Berwick, Maine, leather finishing plant is to close and all leather finishing operations transferred to their Hartland, Maine, facility. The bulk of production should be in place by October.

Billed as the first International Leather Engineering Symposium, Leather Industry-Environment and Progressive Technologies is scheduled to take place from April 29 - May 1 2009 in Izmir, Turkey.

First an East African update. In early August Burundi introduced an overnight export ban on raw hides and skins with the provision that anyone who builds a tannery will get an export license. The Burundi Ministry of Industry guaranteed only one year ago that it would not repeat the same Rwandan mistake! So much for promises and verbal guarantees but East African countries are notorious for that and recognised as less than reliable up to the inner circles of the EU in Brussels. So in Burundi we now have the same situation as in Rwanda, for exactly the same reasons. The tannery in Burundi was formerly owned by a European company and could theoretically transform all domestic raw hides and skins. It was forced to close in the 1990s due to lack of raw materials. Hence this export ban could secure supplies for the tannery if able to process the available supply. However, like in Rwanda, the local tannery is (as yet) not capable of transforming the available quantity of raw hides and skins. Hence smugglers will have a great time. The sector strategy of these countries makes one wonder where they get their advice from and how much money changes hands in order to get these strategies approved? 

The ACLE in Shanghai took place soon after the conclusion of the Olympic Games but shortly before the Paralympics so was still subjected to the heightened security insisted on by the Chinese authorities. Things should settle down now but attendance at the fair was dampened by visa problems and the fact that Ramadan began immediately prior to the show.

Clariant will be showing at the Istanbul Leather Fair at the Tuyap Fair Convention and Congress Center from December 4-6, 2008. You are invited to visit them at stand 335, Hall 3, where you can find the perfect combination of wet end and finishing.

The Statistical Office of the Bosnian Serb Republic reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Republic in the first eight months of this year was 9% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that the production of leather and leather products in Ukraine in the first nine months of this year was 12.5% higher than in the same period in 2007.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first eight months of this year was 12.2% higher than in the same period in 2007.

The People's Committee in Ho Chi Minh City has reported that the production of leather products in the city in the first nine months of this year was 21.9% higher than in the same period in 2007, according to the Vietnamese News Agency.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that there were 5.8 million head of cattle in Ukraine on October 1 this year, a decrease of 8.7% compared with the number on the same date in 2007.

The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) says that around 40,000 workers have lost their jobs since anti-dumping duties were introduced on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes by the European Union in 2006, according to the Vietnamese News Agency.

News that the Department of Justice will allow Smithfield Beef Group's sale to JBS-Swift & Co sent Smithfield's stock soaring on Monday, October 20, as the promise of a $565 million cash infusion perked up investors worried about the company's debt load. According to meatingplace.com, Smithfield are also expected to receive an additional $200 million in proceeds from the deal in the next six months, putting them in prime position to cover $300 million in debt.

JBS SA led declines last week on the Brazilian stock exchange, which was headed for the worst week this decade on fears the credit crisis will stunt economic expansion and a global recession would dull demand for raw materials, Bloomberg reported.

Serbia's Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Serbia in the first eight months of this year was 5.2% lower than in the same period in 2007. In comparison, Serbian industrial output in the January to August period this year was 3.1% higher year-on-year.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that leather and leather products' sales in Ukraine were worth US$243 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with US$175 million in the same period in 2007. 

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that Croatia exported leather and leather products worth US$239 million in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%.

Israel's Central Statistics Bureau reports that Israel imported leather and leather products worth US$98.1 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with US$87.2 million in the same period in 2007.

Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that Turkey exported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth US$85.5 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with US$79.9 million in the same period in 2007.

Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses reports that Argentina exported leather and leather products worth US$546 million in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%.

Albania's National Statistics Institute reports that Albania imported leather and leather products worth US$54 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with imports worth US$58 million in the same period in 2007.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that Hungary imported leather and leather products worth E159 million in the first seven-months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%t.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that the number of cattle slaughtered in Ireland in the first eight months of this year was 6.5% lower than in the same period in 2007. The number of sheep slaughtered was 12% lower year-on-year.

Spain's National Statistics Institute reports that the production of leather and leather products in Spain in August was 17% lower than in the same month last year. Industrial output in Spain in August was 11.2% lower year-on-year.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office has reported that the production of leather and leather products in Macedonia in the first eight months of this year was 8.9% lower than in the same period in 2007. In comparison, manufacturing output in Macedonia in the January to August period was 10.9% higher year-on-year.

The Czech Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Czech Republic in the first eight months of this year was 3.7% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Statistics South Africa reports that Georgia imported raw hides and skins worth US$384,534 in the first eight months of this year Leather and leather products worth US$637,349 were manufactured in Georgia in the first half of this year, compared with US$920,615 in the same period in 2007.

Statistics South Africa reports that sales by leather and leather products' manufacturers in South Africa in the first eight months of this year were 6.4% higher than in the same period in 2007. In comparison, sales of all manufactured products in South Africa rose by 21.4% year-on-year.

Poland's Central Statistical Office reports that the average price of leather and leather products sold by manufacturers in Poland in the first seven months of this year was 2.8% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Slovakia's Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Slovakia in the first eight months of this year was 20.9% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Montenegro's Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Montenegro in the first eight months of this year was 63.8% higher than in the same period in 2007.

The British television programme Watchdog has revisited the subject of the toxic sofas made in China and containing sachets of the fungicide dimethyl fumarate.

The annual conference organised by the Footwear and Leather Industries Committee takes place on Thursday November 6 at the Satra premises in Wyndham Way, Telford Way, Kettering, NN16 8SD,UK, commencing at 9.45 for 10.15.

In difficult trading times, sourcing with reduced risk and selling with maximum confidence are of paramount importance. The BLC will be holding a Leather in Retail seminar and dinner in London on  November 19, 2008 (commencing at 13.30 and concluding at 17.30) aimed at building confidence in leather.

According to meatingplace.com, The US International Trade Commission released a report estimating that trade restrictions resulting from bovine spongiform encephalopathy cost the US cattle industry $11 billion from 2004-2007.

Up to 25 local and foreign companies plan to invest a total of US$171.6 million in the Indonesian footwear industry this year, by building new plants and expanding existing ones, says the industry ministry. 

BASF were awarded the European Responsible Care Award by the European chemical industry association CEFIC for their Carbon Balance on October 4, 2008.

A dinner was held at Leathersellers Hall in London at the beginning of October to celebrate the centenary of the UKLF. Records show that in 1908 there were 37 members of the first national leather trade association while today, sadly, there are only twenty.

The European Commission has decided to launch a review of the EU anti-dumping duties on leather shoes from China and Vietnam, extending their operation while this study is undertaken.