The 2020 edition of Simac Tanning Tech, the international exhibition of machineries and technologies for the tanning industry, ended with a very positive response for Gemata.
Although the predictions were pessimistic due to the international health emergency, the company registered more than 300 visitors to its booth: beyond our expectations.
The key factor for the success of the event?
The GREENFINISH system. It created curiosity and interest for many reasons, first of all the harmony with the theme of sustainable innovation. Gianni Maitan, executive director of the company, explains: "The new line has a low environmental impact thanks to the use of a roller machine, instead of the spray booth, for the finishing of the leathers. We worked on the sustainability theme, which has become over the years an increasingly important issue. I have been running the company since 1992 and together with the technical team have been focusing our efforts to make machines with low environmental impact. To produce technology that does not pollute has
always been our starting point, never the ultimate one".
The new GREENFINISH finishing line reflects Gemata’s identity: the know-how gained in roller machine technologies is applied to a release paper system, pursuing Gemata’s green vision and developing a project with a strong ecological footprint that allows to save water and electricity and with zero emissions in the
atmosphere.
What is GREENFINISH exactly?
GREENFINISH is an innovative release paper finishing system that guarantees a uniform covering effect on all leathers, even the most defective examples. The plant is characterized by the use of a roller coating machine to deposit the thermo-adhesive both on corrected grain and full grain leathers.
The release paper printing is transferred to the thermo-adhesive, previously coated, thanks to the pressure of the paper on the leather. Then it is fixed by infrared tunnels that guarantee uniform and controlled drying of the film.
In addition to the extremely important ecological aspect, there are other distinctive factors of the line:
- the reduced overall dimension of the plant: starting from 34 m with a coating head,
- the lower economic cost compared to the previous market technology using the spray booth,
- the absence of the boiler for diathermic oil,
- the use of infrared ovens with temperature control directly on both the surface of the release paper and on the leathers.
One of the plus point of the line is the compact dimension which turns out to be very attractive for many tanneries and that is a fact, not only a marketing claim. To bring it to the fair on display was the demonstration that Gemata wanted to give to customers.
"Many people asked me to see it; someone was skeptical about the possibility to reduce so much the length of the line", explains Mr. Maitan. "As everyone knows (and this how it is understandable), it is very difficult to have the permission from those tanneries which have purchased the Greenfinish to show their own plan to possible buyers. Our great intuition was to put on display the line at Simac Tanning Tech. We booked one of the largest exhibition spaces in the pavilion and assembled the whole
could see the project as it is. It was a great investment but it was worthwhile. The interest it aroused was remarkable. We launched a line ready to sell to the tannery to respond to their requests and we made them possible, as it’s in our style".
He ends by saying: "The ecological innovations, the technical ones and those concerning the optimisation of dimensions: what we have done has been possible thanks to the commitment of all of us. Gemata is a company that can rely on excellent human resources and on a truly exceptional spirit of cooperation. This is the strength that allows us to always reach new goals and to look to the future with confidence".