‘Over the past year or so we’ve seen a bit of life coming back into the footwear industry’, said managing director Warren Phipps. ‘We’ve all heard about higher prices and quality problems from China, and how busy the existing footwear tanneries are.’
Perhaps coincidentally, Sutherlands’ sister company, Crafcor Hart Hides, have been experiencing a downturn in demand and prices for their wet-blue splits, until now mostly exported to China. Local demand for splits, conversely, remains high.
Splits will be the core of Sutherlands’ business and Phipps predicts output will grow to around 1,000/day by the end of 2008. They do not intend, however, to finish them, preferring to add some value before selling them on to finishing plants such as Gringo Leather.
On the grain leather side, he said Sutherlands had been buying small quantities of non-automotive grade wet-blue hides from Crafcor Hart for about a year, finishing them for one customer.
Phipps, who joined Sutherlands from Bader SA in November 2006, began his tanning career at Sutherlands, working with current shareholders Wynand Hart and Craig Munro. ‘We chose the Sutherlands name out of nostalgia’, he said. ‘To ensure a smooth return. We’re not looking to grow it too quickly. We’d prefer to produce quality leather.’
