The meeting place - All China Leather Exhibition 2016

As Su Chaoying, president of China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) mentioned in our foreword, there are many positives coming out of China’s leather industry that will encourage buyers to visit the All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) this year in unprecedented numbers. Of course, the challenges remain in terms of relatively slow growth rates and large-scale environmental transformation, but as the premier event in the global leather industry, it will once more serve as an important catalyst for investment and industry cohesion.

This 19th edition of ACLE will again take place at the New International Expo Centre in Pudong, Shanghai, from 31 August to 2 September, where last year’s fair hosted more than 1,100 exhibitors from China and overseas, and was attended by more than 23,500 buyers, of which over 19,000 came from manufacturing provinces in mainland China.

The exhibition, covering 92,000m2 and eight halls of the exhibition centre, covers all points in the value chain, from international tanneries to machinery and chemical suppliers.

Plus, there will be nearly 20 group pavilions from leading leathermaking countries to bolster the significance and scale of ACLE as a key business platform to supply China with the materials that its industry requires to continue functioning at a competitive rate.

ACLE, positioned upstream nearer tanneries’ raw material and chemical requirements, and focused primarily on the Chinese marketplace, draws a majority of visitors from mainland China due to its need to import about half its annual requirements of raw hides and semi-finished leather. CLIA’s latest report on China’s leather industry performance for 2015, published in March, showed that China imported 740,000t of semi-finished leather in 2015, worth $1.8 billion. Finished leather imports for the same period were 160,000t, worth $2.63 billion. So opportunities at ACLE offered to western tanneries to export to China are considerable, noting that China’s footwear factories alone manufactured 4.56 billion pairs of leather shoes in 2015.

Subjects of interest

An overriding topic at this year’s fair will be the ongoing crackdown of polluting tanneries and subsequent closures, especially in the northern regions of the country where hundreds of tanneries have failed to comply with new emission standards imposed by the government. As global supply chains become more streamlined and companies invest more in CSR, this trend will continue as long as leather adheres to a commitment to elevating its appeal and integrity. But the emphasis is on the long game: nothing on this scale happens overnight, as APLF director Michael Duck emphasises.

“We have no doubt that these policies are on the right track,” he says. “But after decades of an environmental free-for-all we may have to exercise some patience before being able to evaluate concrete results.”

Plus, Su also said that China’s economy is shifting from export-led, investment-fuelled growth, to innovation and consumption-driven growth, making its leather industry more complex.

“The country is shifting from a quantity-oriented to a technology and innovation-driven model, which needs a lot of investment,” he emphasised.

Hall E3 booth B25c

3D Bio-Chem/Sanbo biochemical technology (Shanghai) is a high-tech enterprise focused on preservatives, fungicides, bactericides and algaecides, and is a professional auxiliary products manufacturer and service provider. To provide the most suitable products and the most convenient service for customers to maximise cost savings is a consistent pursuit of 3D Bio-Chem. It equips customers with the best products and, at the same time, gives quality after-sales service.

Hall E1 booth D03b

A+B Hides is a result of a merger of two medium-sized hide wholesalers, each with 50 years of tradition and experience. In different locations over Germany, A+B Hides stocks raw cattle hides, and prepares and processes them for leather production.

Hall E1 booth C10b

Founded in 1954, AI Topper is one of the most respected Australian producers, processors and exporters of raw, semi-processed and finished stocks. The AI Topper Group is a market leader in a diverse range of products, from raw-salted and wet-blue hides through to finished leathers. With facilities located in all the most important cattle regions of Australia (supported by key Meatworks alliances), AI Topper specialises in each of the following: brine-cured cattle hides, wet-blue cattle hides, wet-blue splits, pickle/wet-blue hide grains, sheepskins/lambskins, goatskins and horse hides, kangarooskins and finished leathers.

Hall E3 booth B20b

Albany International represents years of worldwide experience and knowledge built up thanks to close relationships with tannery OEMs and final users. Continuous research and development, and steady commitment in product engineering allow Albany International to be a worldwide leader in manufacturing felts for all phases of the tanning process, from sammying to ironing and embossing through setting out.

Hall E1 booth E09a

Arzignano Leather has over 25 years of experience in the leather trading industry. Its range of business covers the trade of goat/sheep/cow hides and skins in their raw, wet-blue, crust and finished conditions. It is a major exporter for these products from one of the biggest tanneries in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Hall E2 booth E01 

Buckman began as a simple chemical company more than 60 years ago and is now a global leader in leather processing innovation. It is the industry leader in microorganism-control programmes and hide preservation solutions. It also offers superior beamhouse systems along with wet-end and finishing applications. Buckman brings proprietary chemicals, industry knowledge and collaborative problem solving to leather processors around the world.

Hall E3 booth B19b

Chimont International is a chemical industry providing innovative products and technical assistance in tanneries all over the world. The company researches and develops new technologies, aiming to improve the realisation of leathers in all steps of production: tanning, retanning and finishing. A hundred years of experience provides the measure of the degree of specialisation achieved by Chimont Group, which has proven to be a trustworthy institution.

Hall E1 booth E25a

Brazilian Leather represents the interests of Brazilian tanneries and leather industries around the world. By promoting, advocating and gathering efforts with several paramount partners, CICB (Centre for the Brazilian Tanning) aims to provide its associates with the best practices in fair trade, design excellence and ecosocial industrial development in the leather sector. The raw material availability allied to modern industrial facilities, technical excellence and pioneering sustainable practices highlights Brazil as one of the top international leather suppliers.

Hall E3 booth C09a

Codyeco was established in 1976 in Santa Croce Sull’Arno (Pisa), one of Italy’s most important tanning districts. The company was set up to provide the tanning industry with a range of high-quality chemical products and dyes, distinguished from the competitors by the addition of a strong technical service component with support from a technical testing laboratory.

Hall E1 booth C17

Colomer Munmany Europe Leather was founded in 1792 by the Colomer-Munmany family. With the centre of the global economy shifting to Asia, the management realised that it must move to China, which has a huge consumer market with better prospects. After repeated negotiation, Henan Prosper Group of China and Colomer Munmany finally reached an agreement in establishing a new brand, Colomer (China) Leather.

Hall E2 booth B03a

Armed with expertise that began in 1899, CTC has become a market leader through a one-of-a-kind research centre for leather, footwear, leather goods and gloves. CTC provides solutions for manufacturers, distributors and brands, in the fashion, luxury goods, sport and personal protective equipment (PPE) markets, as well as in the environmental sector.

Hall E2 booth F02d

EM.tec Design is an exclusive European licence partner of BASF’s Valure transfer coating technology for tomorrow’s surfaces, with quality, perfection and exclusivity in mind. From the initial idea to the finished surface and the perfect product, the company can fascinate customers time and again. Perfection means thinking of each and every little detail, and ‘Made in Germany’ equals customer satisfaction. State-of-the-art application and material processing methods enable EM.tec Design to achieve maximum process reliability. Its objective is to support you with your success.

Hall E3 booth B20a

Erretre is a world leader in tannery machine construction, providing more than 40 years of high-tech solutions for leather processing, with thousands of machines installed all over the world. The production range includes stainless-steel milling drums with temperature and humidity control, and chemicals injection; self-cleaning laboratory milling drums; spraying lines with advanced pigment management systems; anti-pollution systems; and drying tunnels with energy recovery, heated by steam, hot water, oil, gas or with hybrid infrared heating.

Hall E2 booth D17

For more than 40 years, Fenice has designed and manufactured chemical specialities that include: chemical products for leather finishing in the tanneries; chemical specialities for shoe finishing in shoe manufacturers; chemical products for the finishing of leather goods; products for dry cleaning and the renewal of leather garments; specialities for the care and maintenance of leather articles for the final consumer; specialities for the care and maintenance of car leather upholstery; and professional repair products for all leather articles.

Hall E2 booth B09a  

Zhenglong is located in Foshan, which is the golden hinterland of Pearl River Delta. It is a modern tannery enterprise. The company uses high-tech purification vegetable tannery methods to increase its eco-friendly production standards. It specialises in the production of burnished leather, eco-leather and vegetable-tanned leather. The main products are shoe-upper leather, belt leather and bag leather.

Hall E3 booth C21a

Fratelli Carlessi’s production range includes finishing spray lines with widths of 1,800, 2,200, 2,600, 3,000 and 3,400mm; drying tunnels for spray cabinets and roller-coaters, operating with steam, hot water, gas or electricity; ecological suction units, for spray booths fumes extraction; toggle driers; half-damp, damp and wet hides; drying and conditioning plant CRC  (cell rotary conditioning); pole-driers; air-off tunnels above spray lines; liftable conveyors; conditioning machines; manual spraying cabinets; and Spraytex spray cabinet for non-woven fabric.

Hall E1 booth E21b

Fuga Couros is a Brazilian company that was founded in 1947. Specialising in garment bovine leather for the past 69 years, today, with more than 20 plants (five of them are tanneries), the company is present in all kinds of markets – garment, upholstery, automotive, leather goods and shoes. It is also Gold-certified as a LWG tannery of excellency.

Hall E3 booth B18b

Gemata has been operating in the tanning machinery sector since 1971. Its new models offer technically advanced innovations and solutions. The company is a leader in the manufacture of roller-coating machines and complete equipment for finishing skins and synthetic materials. Every model manufactured by Gemata brings you the benefits of high manufacturing precision and high-quality materials.

Hall E2 booth E19b

Gotech Testing Machines is a high-tech manufacturer in the line of testing equipment, and specialises in producing and researching leather and shoe equipment. Gotech focuses on innovation and ranks highly among testing-equipment markets. As the biggest manufacturer of quality-control equipment in Taiwan, Gotech is also the first one that passed the ISO 9001. The main products are its tensile-strength tester, and machines for abrasion, flexing, penetration and climax testing. It provides perfect machines with perfect quality and perfect service.

Hall E2 booth E07

GSC Group is a 100% Italian company with over 40 years of experience in leather chemicals through the brands VANDONI, the Italian fashion brand for shoe-upper and leather goods; LETEX, a door-to-door worldwide service for pigments and shoe-uppers; EXEL, an Italian market leader for upholstery and automotive; and BERCHIMICA, a special product for dry-milling drums. Through the cooperating branch ITA CHEMICALS (Zhongshan), GSC Group can provide a quick and high-quality service to the Chinese customers.

Hall E1 booth C12b

Heller-Leder produces fine German leather to the highest environmental standards. It has received awards such as Tannery of the Year 2011, Gold Rated (LWG), Blauer Engel (Germany) and the German Sustainability Award 2013. The company combines a modern production facility, environmental responsibility and high social standards to produce the most beautiful German leather. The product range includes high-quality upholstery leather, automotive leather and aniline leather for leather goods as well.

Hall E1 booth B01

Henan Prosper Skins & Leather Enterprise is a joint ventures with Hong Kong and Australian investment, a registered capital of 680 million yuan, premises covering over 800,000m2, 8,000 employees and a capacity to produce 20 million skins a year. Henan Prosper has been consecutively honoured in the top 20 of the world tanning industry.

Hall E1 booth D07c  

Heng Long Leather is an importer, exporter and manufacturer of fine-quality exotic skins. It is a modern tannery based in Singapore, specialising in producing top-quality leather from alligators from the US; crocodiles from Africa, Australia, PNG and South-East Asia; and caiman skins from Central and South America for luxury and fashion houses, and manufacturers of watchstraps, handbags, garment, footwear, upholstery and small leather goods.

Hall E2 booth F02e  

Heusch produces blades and knives for the leather and fur industry. The main applications in the tanning process for these are fleshing and shaving. As the world’s number-one supplier for these products, Heusch delivers to customers in 54 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1850 in Aachen, Germany, which is still its home base. All products and solutions are solely manufactured in Germany using high-quality materials.

Hüni Hall E3 booth A03c

Hüni is a leader in the field of tannery machines (drums and paddles in wood and polypropylene), of automation for tannery process controls and of engineering/realisation of complete plants for tanneries.

Hall E1 booth D01

Ongoing investments in technology, process standardisation, a focus on strict quality standards and privileged access to raw materials make JBS Couros an important international leather supplier for companies looking for a high production capacity, delivery assurance and the solidity needed for long-lasting partnerships. With modern industrial facilities allied to a global sales platform, JBS Couros supplies quality wet-blue, crust and finished leather for the automotive, upholstery and leather goods markets all around the world.

Hall E1 booth C07a

Knox International is the skin division of JBS Australia, the leading producer of lamb, sheep, goat and calfskins in Australia. Established more than 35 years ago, Knox International specialises in selecting the finest quality skins for your requirements; supplying skins for garment, mouton, rugs, footwear, double face, bed underlays and merino. JBS Australia can also supply brine-cured hides from its plants in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Hall E3 booth C11

Lamberti is an Italian speciality chemical company that was founded in 1911, and has a comprehensive range of polyurethane water dispersions and acrylic polymers for formulator and end-user markets. Unichem is a wholly owned Lamberti Group Company, which specialises in the production and sale of speciality chemicals for leather finishing. Lamberti and Unichem have more than 50 years of experience in the leather business, offering a comprehensive range of products and services.

Hall E2 booth E03

Lanxess (Changzhou) is a wholly foreign-owned subsidiary of Lanxess. The company mainly produces wet-end/tanning/finishing auxiliaries and glossing agents on a capacity of 50,000t a year.

Hall E3 booth D19a

Mercier Turner has over 140 years of history with its ‘Made in France’ ethos. Brands owned by the company include Mercier Freres, Mercier Turner and Monues Turner. For hides, it can provide automatic trimming, through-feed and conventional fleshing and accessories, CNC and PLC splitting, patented reciprocating spraying, buffing and ironing. For skins, it provides automatic trimming, dewooling, fleshing, dry splitting, sammying and setting-out, staking, shaving, buffing, ironing, spraying, and special machines for stretch leather. For non-woven and microfibre products, it provides splitting and buffing solutions.

Hall E1 booth E15a

Nick Winters Hides and Skins division specialises in the sourcing of top-quality hides and skins from France, England, Italy, Ireland and around the world. As a guarantee of quality, the company only works with the largest industrial abattoirs and tanners in order to best satisfy all your raw and semi-finished leather requirements.

Hall E1 booth A01a

Headquartered in the UK, where significant leather production and group R&D activity is undertaken, Pittards’ range of products includes sheep and goatskins for all sports, military and fashion glove applications, ranging from premium-technical to basic functional, in addition to footwear lining leathers and the sale of crust to global markets. Cow side leathers are also offered for lifestyle and performance footwear uppers and premium leather goods.

Hall E1 booth D03a

PrimeAsia manufactures high-quality lifestyle and sports-inspired leathers for the global branded footwear, apparel and leather-goods markets, reaching an annual capacity of approximately 128 million square feet. PrimeAsia is committed to engaging in a socially responsible and ethical manner with its customers, employees and the communities in which it operates. PrimeAsia meets – and often exceeds – manufacturing and warehouse regulations and working conditions with regard to pay, health, safety and the environment.

Hall E3 booth A02d

Rota Kimya, located in Istanbul, Turkey, was established in 1976 for the production of leather-finishing chemicals. In 2000, Rota Kimya increased its production range with shoe and leather-goods finishing chemicals, and with water-based adhesives in 2014. Due to its R&D activities, Rota Kimya also produces special product solutions in order to meet its clients’ everyday needs. The company is developing new products using market research analysis and customer demands.

Hall E1 booth E09b

Scottish Leather Group is the largest manufacturer of leather in the UK. The group comprises five leather-manufacturing subsidiaries and a technology company, all located in the west of Scotland: Andrew Muirhead & Son, Bridge of Weir Leather Company, WJ & W Lang, NCT Leather and SLG Technology. Their specialist leathers are produced for a wide range of industries, including automotive, furniture, marine, aviation, and shoe and leather goods.

Hall E1 booth D15

Established in 1968, and specialising in lambskin doubleface shearling, Sen Deri is one of the largest tanners of Spanish merino, Toscana and tigradoskins in the world, with a capacity of over six-million square feet a year. It offers an extensive variety of colours and finishes for suede side and wool side, which are designed by the company’s international designers aiming at the high-end range of the market. It is also a leading exporter of shearling garments, with a capacity of 60,000 pieces a year.

Hall E2 booth B02b

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. It has some of the world’s leading textile and footwear laboratories. The company’s experienced experts can provide one-stop services to its clients with comprehensive support while preventing them from risks.

Hall E2 booth E05a

Sintan Kimya, founded in 2006 and located in Izmir/Menemen Free Trade Zone, Turkey, produces phenolic and naphthalenic syntans, mealmine and dicyandiamide resins, chrome syntan and tanning auxiliaries, within advanced and up-to-date production infrastructure and technology. Syntans and polymer resins, with the diverse product range, are its core business. As a devoted company, it aims to provide reference intermediates throughout the entire leather sector.

Hall E3 booth B03

Smit & zoon develops and produces chemicals used in the manufacturing and finishing of leather for well-known brands of shoes, cars, furniture, clothes and bags. Smit & zoon is an international family business that was founded in 1821. Headquartered in Weesp, the Netherlands, Smit & zoon also has branches in Amersfoort (also in the Netherlands), Germany, Italy and China. In total, Smit & zoon has over 200 employees.

Hall E1 booth E22b

Tal Couros produces semi-finished leathers for the automotive and furniture industry. The production capacity is 600 vacuum whole hides a day. Its production is dried under vacuum; it does not use toggling. The company produces leathers with a maximum thickness up to 1.6mm. It was founded four years ago and currently supplies to North American, Indian and Chinese markets. Tal Couros is an agile company with simple, direct and responsible administration.

Hall E3 booth C13

Tanac is one of the largest mimosa vegetable extracts producers. Its products reach more than 75 countries worldwide and are ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and FSC-certified. Tanac is constantly investing in the development of its technology products. The company’s concern for the environment and the sustainability of its business is recognised in its carbon footprint.

Hall E2 booth F01c 

Tecnochimica specialises in the production and commercialisation of syntans, resins, oils and fatliquors, auxiliaries for liming, and dyes studied for a more diversified and demanding market. Tecnochimica’s objective is the development of research and quality, ensuring a high reliability of the finished product. The company’s great business flexibility allows it to be prompt in its products’ distribution, and technical and commercial assistance. Tecnochimica is present in the Italian and international markets.

Hall E3 booth B23

Find out how to achieve high air quality in cars by significantly reducing the emission of leather interiors with CORIPOL LE, SELLA Tec AS and RODA Tec AI. TFL can show visitors technologies to lower the impact of beamhouse processes and chemicals on the environment, helping to substantially lower the COD and salt load in the effluent, while reducing the amount of process water at the same time. Also, experience how to create the deepest black with a very silky touch on all your suede and nubuck articles using INVADERM DB. And become familiar with TANNESCO CPR liq, the new capping, pre and retanning agent for white and brilliant leathers. The innovative mineral tanning agent opens many new opportunities for your processes.

Hall E1 booth C13b

Supported by private companies operating in the leather industry, Turkish Leather Council (TLC) was founded in 2005 with the support of private sector companies under the organisation of Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (IDMiB), and Agean Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (EDMIB). TLC is a council of public and private-sector collaboration, and operates under the General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Association (ITKIB).

Hall E1 booth B10b

Twin City Hide is a well-established cattle hide-processing company, incorporated in 1919, and is family owned and operated. It is currently selling cattle hides, wet-blue and wet-white worldwide. The company processes about 20,000 cattle hides each week and has two wet-blue tanneries located in St Paul, Minnesota, and Waterloo, Iowa, with a combined capacity of about 5,000 hides a day.

Hall E1 booth A01g

The US Hide, Skin & Leather Association is the exclusive representative of the US hides, skins and wet-blue products industry. Member companies include meat packers, hide processors, brokers, dealers and exporters. The association has a number of associate members that include tanners, equipment manufacturers, and other suppliers of goods and services to the hide-processing and marketing industry.

Hall E1 booth D17a

Wenzhou Xiangshun Leather mainly manufactures pig leather for shoe lining and other leather products. It has more than 1,000 employees and has total assets worth over 300 million yuan. Using superior workmanship and high-tech equipment, the output of pig leather can be more than 100-million square feet annually, which ranks the company as a top enterprise of pig leather. Its products reach the requirements of the EU Environmental Protection Standard.

Hall E1 booth B10c

Zschimmer & Schwarz, the world’s largest producer of fatliquors, will have on display a wide range of leather and fur articles done on raw material from all over the world, including China and other Asian countries. Since the integration of former Lamberti wet-end product ranges into the Zschimmer & Schwarz product portfolio was successfully conducted, the range of available leather articles on show will be remarkably widened. Distribution partners from Asia, especially China and other parts of the world, will also be present at the fair to welcome customers, interested persons and friends.