According to an official statement from Bertin, the company have re-evaluated the future demand for leather on the international market and the supply of hides resulting from bovine slaughter and have decided to focus their operations on their own units. The facilities leased in Uberlandia (Minas Gerais) and Itumbiara (Goias) will be returned to their owners. Activities at the Itumbiara plant were shut down in October.
The Braspelco unit in Uberlandia had been forced by local authorities to cease operations between January 14 and March 10 this year due to the emission of effluents which produced bad smells in the local area. Operations recommenced once Braspelco and the contractor Bertin signed a TAC (agreement to modify their behaviour). Transformation of raw hides remained prohibited at the complex as the initial phase of the tanning process was deemed to be the most polluting in terms of odours.
The Bertin group have fourteen other tanneries throughout Brazil and it is hoped that some of the Uberlandia workforce can be absorbed elsewhere.
