The executive committee of the IULTCS has announced that the 2009 winner of the prestigious IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry is Professor Tony Covington (GRIC, PhD, CSci, CChem, EurChem, FRSC, FSLTC), (retired) Emeritus Professor of Leather Science at the British School of Leather Technology (BSLT), at the University of Northampton, UK.
‘Through his more than thirty years of dedicated research, teaching, visiting lectures and numerous presentations at various leather industry events and publication in leading journals, Professor Covington has had a lasting impact on our basic understanding of the leather making process. He is especially well known and respected by leading leather scientists around the world for his insights and contributions towards a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of tannage.
‘Professor Covington has also given of his time to various professional leather organisations and served as president of the IULTCS in 1995-7. He has also made valuable contributions to the SLTC and has served on other leather industry committees and commissions’, the executive committee commented.
The IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry will be awarded to Professor Covington at the 30th IULTCS Congress in Beijing, to be held from October 11-14, 2009. Covington follows Dr Robert Sykes, who was the first winner of this biannual award. The award was established in 2004 and is the highest recognition of excellence made by the IULTCS. The IULTCS secretary, Dr Campbell Page, commented that four exceptional nominees were put forward for consideration in 2009 and it is unfortunate that the Executive Committee can only select one. He said further that he hopes to see the names of some of this year’s candidates who did not win the award put forward by their associations once again.











Professor Tony Covington

Derek Dickins, APLF director, was presented with a special award during the APLF 25th anniversary celebrations at this year’s show in Hong Kong. Dickins is credited as the founder of the show, which was originally called the Hong Kong Leather Fair when it was first established in 1984. It later became known as the APLF. Dickins, who was then managing director of the Hong Kong Trade Fair Group, credited the late Bill Carey with his initial support for the event when receiving his award from fellow APLF director, Michael Duck (left). See page 13.

Jesus Brasileiro has been announced as the winner of the Buckman Laboratories’ Edward Weiss Memorial Award. The merit is given annually by Buckman in recognition of individual excellence in the fields of research, application, technology, marketing, technical support and sales.
Brasileiro has been an employee for Buckman for more than twenty years and is well known in the Brazilian leather industry for his expertise in the beamhouse and wet-end process areas. He travels widely for the business providing technical support for large tanneries and has earned the respect of his peers in the industry.

Under the motto ‘Always one shoe step ahead’ – Clariant’s Leather Business have continued to advance their international approach to footwear leathers by holding three global development workshops in the major footwear centres in Chennai, India, Guangzhou, China, and Novo Hamburgo, Brazil. In line with the launch of their Global Shoe Concept, the company continue to address the shoe upper market with a strong focus on trends, innovation, performance and ecology. The objective of these local workshops is to generate innovative and fashionable ideas to cater for customers’ needs in the respective regions and countries.

The latest version of the Suprema splitting machine from Alpe allows the tanner to split limed, wet-blue and dry leathers by just making a few simple adjustments. A stainless steel extractor device is fitted for lime splitting. The new machine features a new grinding device and transmission motors for the ring and gauge rollers. Suprema has also been fitted with a new control panel and bandknife safety mechanism. It is available with working widths:
1550 / 1950 / 2350 / 3150 and 3250 mm.

Alpe have launched a new shaving machine called Matrix.
It can be manufactured with the following working widths: 1800 / 2500 / 3000 and 3200 mm. On request it can be installed in-line with an automated stacker, Trinity.
Trinity is positioned at the back of the machine and allows a 30% increase in productivity by automatically stacking hides directly onto either a pallet or flat on a table.

Mosconi have been producing tannery machinery, particularly splitting machines, with a high degree of engineering quality and design since 1946.
Their two latest models bring a high degree of accuracy and productivity to the splitting and shaving operations.

French company, Dollfus & Muller are a leader in endless tannery felts, particularly for sammying machines. They also make felts for ironing, embossing and setting-out machines.
Established in 1811, this manufacturer developed new high performance sammying felts for leather processing. The new design has been created in order to obtain the best performances from the sammying machine in terms of water absorption and the longest possible life from the felt.
Felts are available in black in order to have a good contrast with the skins and for automatic skin surface measurements.
To get more information: www.dollfus–muller.com

By Amanda Michel of Leather Wise

Even with the current slump in hide and skin prices, the cost of raw materials for leather production is significant. So, the preservation of stock is still fundamental to good quality control and making a living for tanners. Yet biocides by their very nature are environmentally unfriendly. However, help may be at hand, with research into new ecofriendly brands of bacterial control.
Dr Graham Lampard reports

Dear editor,
My office phone has not stopped ringing, my mailbox is full ever since the ban on dimethyl fumarate (DMF) came into effect. Anxious customers have been requesting me to mail or fax the test report and the custom declaration certificate that silica gel is free from DMF as their shipments have been stuck at various ports all across Europe.

Despite current market conditions there was cause to celebrate at this year’s APLF show, which was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, March 31 – April 2. The show, which consists of three shows within a show, MM&T (Materials, Manufacturing & Technology), Fashion Access and Prime Source, celebrated its 25th birthday this year.

By BLC - Leather Technology Centre

Ron Sauer and the organisers of the Hong Kong show (APLF Ltd) hosted an open seminar at the recent APLF at which tanners and hide traders from around the world were invited to give their views on the state of the market today. The seminar, Hide Market Crash and its Influence on Trade, took place on April 1. Below are extracts from Sauer’s speech in which he urged the new world players to bring the industry together

Around 70 delegates, mainly representing leather end-users, attended the half-day Effective Leather Sourcing conference on March 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre prior to the APLF. The conference was organised by BLC Leather Technology Centre and aimed to bring the buyers up to speed with the latest products, testing methods and legislation to assist them achieve good leather sourcing practice in the future.

There is much inaccurate information in circulation regarding the use of chromium salts and their associated safety for the tanning of leather.

From a total headcount reduction of 545 in Germany originally announced last February, Leather International can confirm that only nine posts have been lost from the company’s leather division based in Geretsried. DyStar acquired the company formerly known as Dr Boehme who were located in Geretsried and merged it into their leather chemicals division in August 2006. In a general statement from the company they said the following:

Overall leather production in Japan was looking as if it was going to be similar to 2007 levels but tailed off by a third in some sectors from October last year, according to the Tanners’ Council of Japan. Total production of finished leather in 2008 was almost the same as 2007 due to a high demand for automotive leather. However, the overall domestic consumption in non-upholstery had been decreasing throughout the year and tailed off steeply in October as demand for automotive and furniture leather fell.

According to a report issued by the German Leather Federation given at the International Council of Tanners (ICT) meeting in Hong Kong on March 30, tannery output dropped 14.7% (by turnover) in 2008. The figure was €409 million compared with €480 million in 2007.

The Chinese Leather Industry Association reports that leather garment exports in the first two months of the year came to 1.7 million pieces worth US$88 million. These figures represent a 44.6% drop in volume and 26% in value on the results of last year during the same period. Handbag and travel good exports showed a decline of 7.3% during the period.

Figures released by the German Leather Federation underline the difficult situation facing the automotive upholstery leather business at the moment. The knock-on effect of reduced car production is really hitting upholstery tanners the hardest.

Federally Inspected Slaughter in the four week period ended April 17, 2009, amounted to  an average kill of 603,000 (614,000) and was down 5.7% on the previous year  (642,500).

Hong Kong was fascinating this year as for the first time in the writer’s experience the bulk of the volume of business from Ireland has shifted from Europe to China. One Scandanavian seller stated that although he had felt that for many years his business would gravitate to China, this was the first year that it had actually happened. Indeed, he said that in previous years his business had been 80/20 Europe/China, this year it had switched to 80/20 China/Europe.

Prices maintained the stabilisation that began at the time of our last report but efforts to work them higher were unsuccessful. Perhaps as important, producers managed to build some forward sold positions for the first time this year. Additionally, a good share (if not nearly all) of the hides that processors and packers had been stored in outside warehouses were finally able to ship, thus erasing a detrimental overhang to the market.

Many believe that raw prices will not drop further but nobody has any argument other than stating that they are low enough as they are. Is that argument enough? Fact is we see no big price drops anywhere, either for hides or skins. Still, all are convinced there are large numbers of unsold hides and skins around, part of which will sooner or later be sold in very secretive deals at very low prices.
There are a few more or less convincing signs in the global economy that some improvement seems possible. It makes a number of people in the leather trade say they believe the winter production of 2009 will not be as bad as for 2008. They could be right and let us hope so.

The Brazilian leather industry is one of the engines of the local economy and its importance may be evaluated by the amount of foreign currency entering the country from leather exports (US$1.8 billion in 2008), a contribution of more than 7% to the Brazilian trade balance as well as 50,000 jobs.

One thing I can say about a recession is that it generates lots of editorial copy and brings to the surface new and often radical opinions. There seems to be so much going on at the moment from plant closures, job losses, credit issues, dimethyl fumarate and a crisis among hide and skin suppliers following a collapse in prices. All this and more is covered in this month’s edition of the magazine.
Firstly, however, I would like to welcome Luiz Bittencourt, president, Center for the Brazilian tanning industry (CICB), as our first official guest columnist. From now on we will be inviting leading tanners, buyers and brands, major industry association and organisations, academic institutions and tannery suppliers to add their personal opinion on a particular hot topic of the moment. We hope that this will stimulate discussion and debate within the industry, which in turn may lead to change and benefit for all.

By now everybody will know that we have a worldwide economical and financial crisis and the leather industry is no better off than any other industry, or maybe even worse. The APLF fair in Hong Kong seems to have given indications that the worst may be over. However, depressed raw material prices continue, despite this many suppliers are not lowering their prices while buyers seem to be standing on the sidelines ready to commit themselves as soon as they see orders materialising.
The competitive edge at this moment is not only price, as consumers are not buying leather articles because they are cheap. Nor have they been waiting just to pick-up cheap leather products in a downturn.

The upcoming 30th IULTCS global congress will be held in Beijing, China, from October 11-14, 2009, at Beijing International Hotel. The China Leather Leather Industry Association, sponsors of the Beijing Congress, invite colleagues from all over the world to take part and contribute to the event. At present,  preparations are going smoothly.

USDA's monthly Cattle on Feed report showed fewer cattle on feed on May 1 than a year ago, and those placed on feed were lighter, which could mean fewer cattle ready for market by August. USDA reported 10.8 million cattle on feed on May 1 in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head. That was 2.8% fewer cattle on feed than a year ago and marked the 13th consecutive month in which feedlot inventories were lower than a year ago.

The Leather & Hide Trades' Benevolent Institution (LHTBI) recently held its annual lunch following the Annual General Meeting at the Leathersellers' Hall in London on May 21.

The official launch of a new website celebrating the current and historic heritage of the leather and footwear industries in the English county of Northamptonshire took place at Satra Technology Centre, Kettering on May 26.

The first female president of the UK Leather & Hide Trades' Benevolent Institution has been elected since it was first founded in 1860. Jill Williams, finance director, Pittards was officially elected at the L&HTBI's AGM and annual lunch held at the Leathersellers' Compamy in London, May 21.

The new Footwear Materials, Manufacturing & Technology (fMM&T) fair, India's only international trade event for footwear manufacturing, leather and materials professionals took place at the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida, New Delhi, May 8-10.

Nike Inc, the world's largest maker of athletic shoes and apparel, will slash 5% of its 35,000 global workforce, or 1,750 jobs, in the largest headcount reduction in the company's history.

Luxury goods group Burberry is planning for trading to remain tough but expects cost-cutting to underpin earnings this year,

BLC  - Leather Technology Centre has teamed up with The British School of Leather Technology (BSLT) in the UK to offer a leather making training course from June 22 to July 3, 2009. The ten-day course will be split into practical leather making and the commercial aspects of leather in the global marketplace.

Brazilan beef company Independencia SA are restarting slaughter activities at their Rolim de Moura unit in the state of Rondonia. The unit will begin with a slaughter volume of 500 head per day, with the workforce already present in this plant, the company said in a news release. 

Coming soon!!!

Okke Koo, a member of the Clariant executive committee and responsible for the Pigments & Additives Division, will leave the company on June 1, to return to his native Netherlands and pursue other career opportunities.

According to Meatingplace.com, JBS SA have reported that their first-quarter loss widened largely on debt servicing costs and losses in their Argentine beef business. The world's largest beef producer said losses in the first quarter of 2009 widened to 322.7 million reais ($155.4 million) from a loss of 6.6 million reais ($3.2 million) in the same period a year earlier.

Italian based furniture group, Natuzzi, have confirmed that they banned the use of dimethyl fumarate prior to the official EU wide ban came into effect on May 1.

Following the European Union prohibition for the use of the biocide DMF (dimethyl fumarate), Natuzzi Group reaffirms that they have never used this element confirming its total commitment to respecting the environment and consumers' health.

The recent directive issued by the European Union (2009/251/EC) restricting the import of products that contain dimethyl fumarate is causing confusion among retailers and importers of consumer goods.

The next edition of Le Cuir A Paris will present all the latest in leather trends for the autumn winter 2010-2011 season. Over 300 exhibitors are expected attend between September 15-18 in hall 4 at the Parc des Expositions in Paris Nord Villepinte.

An appeals court has upheld a verdict against Crown Equipment Corp, a US forklift manufacturer, in the forklift-related death of operator Thomas Brown on August 1, 2003 at Prime Tanning Co Inc in Berwick, Maine.

Presentations of £1600 (US$2370) have been made to four BSc Materials Technology (leather) students from The University of Northampton (British School of Leather Technology) to enable them to visit the Asia Pacific Leather Fair in Hong Kong.

Following the seminar organised by Ron Sauer of theSauerReport and APLF Ltd at the recent APLF show in Hong Kong addressing ‘the hide market crash and its consequences for the leather trade'. A full report in published in Leather International (May 2009 page 30).

Clariant, the worldwide specialty chemical producer announced on May 6 that sales reached CHF 1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in the first quarter compared to CHF 2.1 billion ($2.4 billion) in the same period a year earlier, a decline of 19% in local currencies and 24% in Swiss francs.

Satra have organised a series of technology roadshows in the US and China for June 2009 to provide information on current industry issues for consumer products and to discuss innovative ideas that they intend to explore.

Statistics Serbia reports that Serbia exported leather and leather products worth E39.8 million in the first quarter of this year, compared with E44.0 million in the same period in 2008.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that Hungary exported leather and leather products worth E12.8 million in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 46.9%.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Macedonia in March was 20.7% lower than in February and 25.4% lower than in March 2008.

The Philippines National Statistics Office reports that the value of leathergoods production in the Philippines in February was 32.6% lower than in January and 55% lower than in February 2008.

Statistics Georgia reports that Georgia exported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth US$297,300 in the first quarter of this year.

Poland's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of cattle and calves for slaughter in Poland in the first quarter of this year totalled 46,800 tons, a year-on-year increase of 17.4%.

Montenegro's National Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Montenegro in the first quarter of this year was more than double that in the first quarter of 2008.

Ireland's Central Statistical Office reports that there were 6.72 million head of cattle in Ireland in June 2008, compared with 6.70 million in June 2007 and 6.92 million in June 2006.

The Bosnian Serb Republic's Institute of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Republic in March was 3.9% higher than in February and 3.3% higher than in March 2008.

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in the first quarter of this year was 34.3% lower than in the same period in 2008.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Statistics Office reports that livestock worth US$243,011 was bought and sold in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first two months of this year, a decrease of 39.5% compared with the same period in 2008.

Romania's National Statistics Institute reports that Romania exported raw hides and skins, and leather and leather products, worth E4.3 million in January, a year-on-year decrease of 31.8%.

Officials from Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement in Tashkent in mid-April for bilateral co-operation in the leather industry, according to UzReport.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that Ukraine imported raw leather, leather and leather products worth US$17.8 million in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 44.3%.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Statistics Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Bosnia and Herzegovina in March was 16.4% lower than in February and 21% lower than in March 2008.

The International Council of Tanners (ICT), at their annual meeting in Hong Kong on March 30, formally ratified a new Code of Practice on the appropriate designation of leather used in upholstery and automotive applications.

The global economic downturn has affected the jobs of more than 1,200 workers in three major and numerous home-based tanneries in Indonesia since the end of 2008.

Residents of the Missouri towns of Cameron and Gallatin filed a lawsuit against Prime Tanning Corp claiming that they introduced cancer-causing agents to rural farms. Prime Tanning Corp's site in St Joseph was acquired by Kansas City based National Beef last month and renamed National Beef Leathers.