Cromogenia help increase area yield

Cromogenia Units, producers of speciality chemicals for the leather, have launched two new products for heavy bovine leathers which provide a significant increase in area yield. Plenatol IS is an auxiliary product for use in chrome tannage and neutralisation processes. The transparent reddish liquid has a pH of between 6 and 7 and is an active alkaline with chrome masking compounds. When used in chrome tannage, the resulting wet-blue stands out due to its excellent wrinkle opening properties, both in the neck and belly, combined with the increased surface area it leads to a superior grading. When used in neutralisation, after running for 30 minutes with alkaline neutralising products, Plenatol IS opens the compact structures and allows a regular penetration throughout the leather surface to products added subsequently. In a chrome-tannage, 0.5% of Plenatol IS is added together with the first addition of the basifying agent and the standard tanning process is then carried on. During the neutralisation step, 3% of Plenatol IS is added after running for 30 minutes with neutralisation products, followed by a 45-minute run. Humectol Max is a soaking auxiliary. This is a wetting-surfactant which is a reddish transparent liquid with a pH of 6-7. Humectol Max dissolves the interfibrillary structure and therefore facilitates water penetration among the fibres giving homogeneity. It allows total or partial removal of degreasing products in the soaking bath. It also eliminates or lessens the wrinkles in the neck and the belly, producing leathers with a higher degree of grain firmness, a larger surface area and a significant improvement in the grading of the wet-blue. Although it can be used on all kinds of cattle hides, it is particularly suitable for 25kg+ hides as well as in hides with an empty structure. When used as a wetting agent for wet-blue hides, it brings about a faster and more even re-wetting, better penetration and distribution of the retanning and fatliquoring products. It can be used both on hides split in the limed condition, and those to be split in the wet-blue.