BASF unveil new type of leather

As in previous years, BASF will be present as usual in Hall 3, stand 3 J 2, at the postponed Asia Pacific Leather Fair in June - demonstrating their company philosophy of 'Brilliant Solutions with Leather Technology from BASF'. A versatile range of high-quality products for use at all stages of the leathermaking process will be on show, along with products for the fur industry. In focus will be a new, innovative type of leather which will be presented in Asia for the first time. Furthermore, BASF's trend colours for the leather and fur industries will be highlighted. The Colour Trends by BASF for the seasons autumn/winter 2003/2004 and spring/summer 2004 will transform the stand into an attractive eye-catcher. Drum dyes and pigment preparations BASF have a long tradition of manufacturing dyes and pigments, and the company have built up a high level of expertise in the development and production of pioneering, high-quality products. The colorants in the BASF range provide customers with significant advantages: their fastness is high, they are economical to use and they are environmentally friendly. Luganil Black AS Liquid is the latest innovative dye to be developed by BASF. During APLF this anionic dye will be given priority. On one wall of the stand different types of leather will be displayed, all dyed with Luganil Black AS Liquid. The product is a particularly appropriate choice for leather that has to fulfil high standards of fastness, such as when used for automotive leather and upper leather for sports footwear. It is distinguished by its excellent resistance to migration and its high lightfastness, perspiration resistance and washfastness. Furthermore it is environmentally friendly. BASF offer a wide range of innovative drum dyes and pigment preparations. These are marketed under the Luganil, Lurazol, Eukesolar and Lepton trademarks. ELISA ELISA is a very elegant leather with a natural appearance. It provides tanners, consumers and the environment with a range of benefits. These can be summarized as follows. E - elegant, natural L - logistics and processing are simplified I - improved properties S - superior fastness A - advantages from the environmental and economic point of view This new, very lightweight leather is distinguished by its softness and its high fastness. Articles made from ELISA leather have very good serviceability: the leather has a high tensile strength and is hard-wearing, it can be dyed to brilliant, very fast shades and it is free of formaldehyde. ELISA leather meets the highest standards of comfort when it is made into shoe uppers or upholstery. Benefits for tanners Tanners also benefit from the simplified processing and logistics involved in the manufacture of ELISA leather. Fewer individual products need to be applied and the processing time has been reduced to less than eight hours. ELISA leather has a very even grain after milling, and the area yield is correspondingly higher. This also allows the shaved thickness of the leather to be controlled more effectively. Environmental benefits Another decisive advantage of ELISA leather is that it is environmentally friendly. The exhaustion of the manufacturing process is very high, with the result that the levels of organic substances in the wastewater and the chemical oxygen demand are very low. The process consumes less water and less effluent is generated. These two factors together help to reduce the effluent treatment costs. Less time is required for processing and less energy is consumed.