PKL inaugurate bovine tannery

Presidency Kid Leather Limited (PKL), better known for production of high quality goatskin leather, have opened their new cow calf leather plant. The official ceremony took place on January 31 at the tannery complex in Kannivakkam, approximately a one hour drive from Chennai. The tannery will initially process 500,000 ft² of calfskins a month from wet-blue to finished. Drumming operations will be carried out in the kid leather tannery next to the new building. 'We want to produce high quality calfskin leathers for footwear', Zackria Sait, joint managing director, told Leather International. 'We wish to compete with major European tanners producing box-calf, aniline and small calfskin leathers for high quality uppers', he added. Full production begins at the end of February and the factory will employ 100 people during the first phase. Eventually, PKL want to fulfil the 1.5 million ft² per month capacity of the plant. The company have invested US$3.5 million on the new tannery, which features some the most modern Italian leather making machinery available. The new tannery was officially opened by Dieter Meinke, Ara Shoes Germany and Masud Ali Khan, chairman and managing director, Presidency Kid Leather Limited.