Crest leather Brazilian jv

On November 5, 2005, UK-based upholstery leather manufacturers Crest Leathers and Brazilian tanning group Vanzella Couros celebrated the inauguration of their new joint-venture tannery. The new facility known as 'Internacional Couros', will specialise in the production of quality crust leathers for Crest Leathers' worldwide operations. It is located next door to one of Vanzella's existing wet-blue plants near the city of Londrina, in the state of Parana. At present, the tannery has a capacity of 2,000 hides per day which will be doubled within the next twelve months with the implementation of additional drums and machinery. The partnership between Crest Leathers and Vanzella is described as an 'excellent synergy between two highly competent companies and will no doubt become a strong element in the Brazilian tanning industry.' Vanzella Couros are a family-owned firm, which began as a hide trading company in 1990, collecting 1,500 hides per month. They now have two wet-blue plants, one near Londrina and one at Sinop in Mato Grosso do Norte. In the month of October 2005, production across the two plants totalled 96,000 hides. Crest Leathers are a sister company of the East Hides group and are managed by Chirag Patel and Alex Rigoni. They began operations in 1998 and have grown into important upholstery leather producers, supplying leather to European, Asian and North American furniture manufacturers. Crest Leathers' finishing production takes place at their Italian tannery in Arzignano where they have a capacity to produce 4 million sq ft of finished upholstery leather per month. They are also in the process of setting up a finishing tannery in China.