hide prices bounced off their lows during December, but only because some buyers and speculators felt that prices had fallen too low.

The Polish government decided in mid-December 2001 to suspend duties on imports of cattle hides into Poland during 2002, according to the PAP news agency. The suspension of duties is aimed at increasing supplies of cattle hides to Polish leather processors.

Australian wool production has almost halved since 1989/1990 and is expected to decline a further 7% this season.

A three-day long workshop organised by the Center for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Tanners Association (ETA) was held at the Imperial Hotel in December 2001. The workshop was aimed at facilitating the development of leather industries in Ethiopia.

The Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (Brazilian Statistics Institute) has reported that Brazilian tanneries acquired 11.68 million units of raw cattle hides in the first half of 2001. The June total of 1.80 million units was lower than the May total of 2.04 million units.

Over the New Year, US packer and processor supply exceeded demand from tanners, particularly when major steer producers found it impossible to increase or maintain prices between Christmas and the start of 2002.

Following the lifting of the ban on meat and livestock imports, Sudan will export 600,000 head of sheep to the Kingdom, the Sudanese minister of animal resources was reported as saying. The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has decided to lift the temporary ban on imports of chilled, frozen and fresh meat from Sudan.

Buckingham, UK-based CEM have developed a system to measure the fat and water content of a substance, SmartTrac, using nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) technology.

Atlasol 20-A is Atlas Refinery's newest, concentrated cationic fatliquor, which is based on natural materials. It produces rich, level, pull-up effects on full grain leather, or can be used to produce oily nubuck leathers.

Ensuring colour consistency is critical and with this in mind, automotive leather upholstery experts Eagle Ottawa have installed new GretagMacbeth SpectraLight III viewing booths for perfect colour matching. Eagle Ottawa have been manufacturing leather for more than 130 years and supply hides to prestigious companies such as Mercedes, Land Rover, Honda and Renault.

Italian machinery manufacturers, Bauce, have devised a full hide conveying and stacking machine, which can be fitted to the rear of their sammying machines. The Bauce Stacker is equipped with an area measuring system and a thermostamping device to mark individual hides.

TFL have produced an Automotive Finishing Guidebook, which gives an overall view of TFL's automotive finishing system.

Corilene UL is a new specific fatliquor recently introduced by Stahl International bv which has been developed for use in producing soft upholstery and garment leathers. It may be used in conjunction with Corilene AF and Corilene SSD, from Stahl's Corilene CPF product line, using the 'short float - short time' process for improved productivity.

Spanish leather chemical makers Curtin have introduced two new basifying masking agents for chrome tanning and a fatliquor for garment leathers.

ALPA SpA, the Italian leather chemical manufacturers, have introduced a series of polyurethane based finishing compounds.

As part of their relationship with Otter-Schutz, Porvair International have announced three new Otter-Schutz styles in the company's Otter Lights range that uses Permair leather.

Incoma have upgraded their vacuum drier which is now more precise than previous models. Improvements to the Super Vacuum Dry allow the operator to have greater control of the vacuum levels at low temperature.

In the early 90s, tanneries were strictly specialised. Tanners had no practical worries about sales of their finished products - the government distributed all their leather to the shoe factories. The economic crisis in the country at the beginning of the 90s negatively affected the work of industrial plants.

To quote from their website1: 'Pittards, headquartered in Yeovil, England, have been producing highly specialised and technically advanced leathers for more than 150 years. The company, which develop leathers for Titleist/Foot-Joy, Puma, Franklin and Nike, among others, are led by group chief executive John W W Pittard, a sixth generation member of the family that founded the company in 1826.'

Introduction

Suede leathers are usually not finished which makes them very sensitive to water and oil staining. In order to upgrade suede leathers and give them water and oil resistant properties without modifying their handle, they can be sprayed with aqueous solutions of fluorinated acrylic copolymers.

As with most things in life, size matters. This is certainly the case when considering the performance properties of finishes on leather. The effect of particle size on finish performance has been considered by a number of workers^{1- 5}.

When the Ecco Group purchased a tannery complex in Dongen in the Netherlands they were fulfilling a long held belief by founder Karl Toosbuy that to remain in the forefront of footwear manufacturing they should have control over every aspect of the process from the sourcing of the raw hides right through to the presentation of their shoes at retail level.

I have met many people in the leather industry who have impressed me. But few have impressed me more than Kasen Zhu, president of the Kasen Group. To me, he represents everything about being an entrepreneur and he epitomises the way in which his native China is approaching the world of business and free enterprise. Kasen Zhu is a tanner, a garment and furniture manufacturer and even a wine bottler!

August 28, 2001, was the official starting day of TFL China Ltd, a 100% owned subsidiary of TFL. The ideal location in the Qingdao High Tech Park area consists of an application lab, quality assurance lab, manufacturing plant, warehouse and administration office and are only a few minutes' drive from QTFL. QTFL was the first factory, built in Qingdao in 1996 as a joint venture with a Chinese partner.

Bayer are planning to invest US$3.4 billion in the People's Republic of China by 2008. The majority will spent on an integrated production complex at Caojing, near Shanghai, which alone will require capital spending of US$3.1 billion.

BASF and Huntsman have confirmed their plan to build and operate an integrated isocyanates manufacturing facility in Shanghai. The companies have signed an agreement to submit a joint feasibility study report in the presence of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Chinese doubleface specialists, Henan Prosper Skins & Leather Enterprise Co Ltd, have announced that they have become the first manufacturers in the country to mass produce finished medical skins. 'I think that we have become the first manufacturer in China to produce medical blankets', says Victoria Liu, vice managing director. 'The skins can be laundered up to 50 times and they have a high level of disinfection which meets hospital infection control standards', she added.

In 2000, China's export volume of commodities and shoe products amounted to US$17.47 billion, the highest in the world. China has plenty of hide and skin resources and large production and import/export volumes. Pig and sheepskin raw materials rank top in the world and cow hides rank third.

After receiving a letter from PETA in which they were advised about the 'abysmal treatment of animals killed for leather' in India, Gucci said they would not use Indian leather. PETA also informed Gucci that: 'Although India has strict humane laws regulating the slaughter of animals, they are marched for days and crammed into overcrowded trucks, causing suffocation and broken bones. Those who collapse from exhaustion or injury have their tails broken or their eyes smeared with chilli peppers and tobacco to keep them moving.

The problem

Peeling of the finish during use is a frequent customer complaint, particularly in domestic upholstery leather . Sometimes the entire finish peels away from the leather surface, but more commonly it is an inter-coat adhesion problem.

Since I do not hesitate to criticise others, I try also to look at my own defects. Last September, I advised everybody that the website I had envisioned to serve the industry would become a reality and that we would get the first outlines on the web that same month. I was wrong and I apologise.

Raw hide resources in Russia continued to fall in 2000 due to reduced livestock numbers. However, the decline in livestock slowed somewhat as a result of reduced slaughter rates and loss of cattle during the previous two years.

Reebok India have sought the Indian Government's permission to import branded footwear products from their overseas manufacturers and undertake retail trading through their distributors. The move comes in the wake of an ongoing disagreement with their Indian financial partner, Phoenix Overseas, over a change in the share holding of the joint venture.

The Leather Research Laboratory has scheduled the Leather Orientation Course this year for April 10-11. The seminar will be held at the University of Cincinnati, and is designed specifically for professionals involved in leather purchasing, quality control or product design, as well as newer tannery employees.

APLF organisers have announced that, for the first time, Hong Kong will be the focus region at the April 2002 edition. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will co-ordinate the focus region activities at the overlapping events running from April 8 (fashion and finished products) with raw materials and manufacturing from April 9-12.

British designers and creators of fine English leather gifts and accessories - G Ettinger of London - have just launched a brand new Mobile Phone Cradle - the ideal gift for the young executive

The KENYA Bureau of Standards has been given firm instructions to ensure that imported plastic and synthetic products are not labelled and priced as genuine leather. Isaac Ruto, vocational training minister, said: 'Kenya is no longer a supermarket for exploitation by other countries.' The minister challenged local manufacturers to compete internationally without expecting government protection.

Leather processors Siauliu Stumbras have changed their investment plans and postponed production development amid tensions following the US terrorist attacks.

The Novesta footwear producer in Zlin in the Czech Republic recorded sales worth Kc553 million (US$1 = Kc40) last year, a fall of Kc50 million year-on-year. This was due to the absence of orders from foreign armed forces, according to the CTK news agency's Business News.

Environment Minister Shajahan Siraj stressed the need for shifting the tanning industry outside the city and urged tannery owners to begin making the necessary mental adjustment to relocate. The minister was inaugurating the chrome recovery plant for Dhaka Hide and Skins Limited at Hazaribagh.

Moldova's largest footwear manufacturers, Zorile, have signed a contract to manufacture 1,000 pairs of shoes/day to Germany, using the customers own raw materials, designs and stencils, according to BISNIS, part of the US Department of Commerce, Washington DC. Similar contracts have also been signed with two Italian companies.

German sports equipment maker Adidas-Salomon AG have said they may stop producing footballs in Pakistan and move production to China and India. The world's number two sportswear and equipment makers are currently sourcing footballs to be sold during the 2002 World Cup from four plants in Pakistan.

The Belkelme Belarusian/Spanish footwear joint venture in Belozersk in Belarus produced 325,000 pairs of sports and men's footwear in 2001, an increase of 28% compared with the previous year, according to the Belta news agency. Exports to Spain totalled 50,000 pairs, with Russia being the other main export market.

The V Yangi Vega Ltd footwear joint venture in Uzbekistan is planning to open trade offices in Novosibirsk, Ufa and several other regions in Russia, according to UzReport. The venture produces high-quality footwear, and is increasing its share of the Uzbek footwear market at the expense of imported footwear.

Taddei & Manzi & CSPA, Stahl's leather finish distributors in Tuscany, Italy, are to begin distributing wet end and dye products.

BelRoss, a new Russian/ Belarusian leather footwear joint venture, started operations recently in Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia, according to BISNIS, part of the US Department of Commerce, Washington DC.

The Council for Leather Exports has lowered the target for leather exports in 2001-02 following a steep fall in exports to the US and UK during the first quarter and a reduction in export orders. The target has been lowered from $2.223 billion to $2.195 billion after the first quarter results fell short of the quarterly target by about 14%.

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have now teamed up with the police in ten Indian states to launch a training programme which, the organisation feels, will enable police to be better equipped to handle violations of anti-cruelty laws.

The Vladimir livestock products producers in Kandyagash in Kazakhstan have recently purchased land on which they plan to construct a tannery, according to Kazakhstan Pravda. The company envisage that the tannery will employ 650 people in an area which has a long history of livestock production. However, the company need funding worth US$20 million to equip the tannery. In the future, new enterprises producing leathergoods and shoes may be constructed adjacent to the plant.

Managing director of Pittards, Leeds, Steve Johnson has attacked the UK's Ministry of Defence for sourcing raw materials for army boots from Brazil instead of supporting the UK meat and livestock industry.

A 100-hectare industrial zone for the exclusive manufacture of leather products and footwear is proposed for the southern province of Long An. The Tan Tao Industrial Zone Development Company and the Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Corporation are to promote the project.

Despite clear directions from the Supreme Court, not a single tannery has shifted from the city and outskirts to the Bantala leather complex. The 1,100 acre complex allotted to tannery owners remains practically empty despite the Supreme Court setting a February 2002 deadline for relocating highly-polluting tanneries from Calcutta and its fringes.

Showing solidarity for America, Israeli designer Mika has added crystal inserts of the American flag on a scarf and suede top for this spring and is splashing the 'I love New York' emblem, also in crystal, on a few of her other models. The famous stars and stripes can also be seen on a charcoal black jacket studded with rhinestones.

The Bata Shoe Organization (BSO) have been invited to join the Calcutta (Kolkata) Leather Complex (CLC) project being implemented by the West Bengal government at Bantala, in Calcutta city.

Tata International have bought German shoe brand, Ornig, from a private company for an undisclosed sum. President of Tata International's leather division, O K Kaul, confirmed the deal but refused to divulge the amount.

A new trade agreement came into effect in mid-December 2001, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Under the agreement, Vietnam is granted normal trade relations with the US, with US import duties on Vietnamese products falling to an average of around 3%, compared with 40% previously. This will allow Vietnamese products to become more competitive on the US market. Footwear is among the main Vietnamese exports to the United States.

The US decided in mid-December to place economic sanctions in the form of restrictive import duties on Ukrainian footwear, in response to the Ukraine's failure to adopt a law against compact disc piracy, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. The new duties were due to become effective on January 23, 2002. They will lead to a sharp reduction in the competitiveness of Ukrainian footwear on the American market.

SIC Groupe, Paris, have announced the dates for the two editions of Le Cuir A Paris in 2002: April 18-19 and September 19-21. The event will once more take place at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Email: contactsic@sicgroup.com or [http://www.lecuiraparis.com]

Automobile manufacturer, Eicher Ltd may exit the leather and textile businesses they entered into nearly a decade ago to raise foreign exchange.

Vietnam now produces 300 million pairs of shoes each year, ranking it as the eighth biggest footwear manufacturer in the world. They account for 2.1% of the world's total footwear production. The sector is expected to earn US$1.6 billion in export turnover this year.

OJSC Novotroitsk Plant of Chromium Compounds company from Russia are looking to promote their chromium compounds to the Chinese leather industry. Left to right: Victoria Zaporojets, sales, Larissa Groshkova, deputy general director of commercial matters, Alfia Nasyrova, sales

Investcorp have reached an agreement to buy Stahl International from Avecia (see Leather January page 8). Stahl are one of five operating units within Avecia which are themselves jointly owned by Investcorp and Cinven.

The OJSC Novotroitsk Plant of Chromium Compounds company has been supplying the Russian tanning industry with chromium products for a number of years. Now they are hoping to branch out of their domestic market to gain overseas business, particularly in China.

AS I write, the annual travel programme has once more begun and January will find the Leather International editorial team in Istanbul, Barcelona, Miaimi Beach and Chennai.

The government has been considering the issue of Chinese footwear in Pakistan and intends to take anti-dumping measures, the federal commerce minister Abdul Razak Dawood has announced.

Vietnam Leather and Shoe Corporation have worked out a list of projects to raise their capacity to 80 million pairs of shoes and 12 million leather bags by 2010.

American makers of leather upholstery for the automotive industry, Eagle Ottawa have established a Hungarian subsidiary, according to the Hungarian daily Napi Gazdasag. The US group will spend HUF300 million (US$1.1 million) in the central region of Szolnok by the end of 2002.