For a number of years, the raw material exhibitors have been bunched together. This, in itself, is not a problem. However, the management of Lineapelle have taken it upon themselves to place the raw materials section in the most obscure of places which is well away from the main body of the fair and difficult to find. Over the last two fairs, the amount of passing visitors has been almost zero which completely defeats the purpose of a fair.

OJSC Novotroitsk Plant of Chromium Compounds (Novochrom) began operations in 1963. In 1992, it was reorganised into an open joint stock company. The plant specialises in producing sodium dichromate, chromic anhydride, chrome oxide pigments and metallurgical grades, sodium sulfate, alumothermal metallic chromium, paint and varnish products.

Trading conditions are continuing to be extremely difficult. Kills are on the low side but so is demand. The situation is further complicated by the strength of the Euro which makes hides expensive in the Republic of Ireland.

The United States Department of Commerce has reported that the US imported hides and skins worth US$26 million in the first two months of this year, compared with US$29 million in the same period in 2001. US exports of the same products totalled US$270 million, compared with US$300 million in January and February last year.

There is rising concern over the reducing supplies of stock being presented for slaughter which has resulted in shortages of lambs, sheep and cattle. Nick Nicholson of the Wool Exporters Assocation has suggested that sheep numbers could be 36 million rather than the 44 million estimated.

The Czech Statistical Office has reported that there were a total of 1.52 million head of cattle in the Czech Republic as of March 1, a fall of 3.9% compared with the same date last year, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. The fall in cattle numbers was attributed to a fall in profit margins from cattle breeding over the past. The fall in cattle numbers was attributed to a fall in profit margins from cattle breeding over the past year.

What a difference a month can make. The four week period ended June 30 began with a significant advance in price on most categories. The following week was one of the quietest in memory, and then prices fell sharply on all branded material.

In order to help the industry there are many market reports published in the various economical newspapers, magazines and websites. With the number of industry-dedicated websites increasing, so the number of reports are increasing exponentially. I believe that LeatherXchange alone have some ten reports.

Due to the fact that there is a big gap between the supply and demand of high class/grade raw material, tanners need sophisticated systems and products as well as customised procedures to get the maximum returns for their output.

Only modern leathers, which are manufactured in accordance with ecological demands and can be recycled after use, have a long-term chance in the future. They should be in line with the health-centred, sporting life-style of the new millenium. New prescriptions on full-recycling systems and the desire to use renewable resources speed up this development.

The Hwaseung Group from the Republic of Korea have begun construction of a US$39.5 million sports shoe factory in the Nhon Trach Industrial Zone 1 in Vietnam.

Following the Supreme Court order three months ago to close the tanneries of West Bengal, manufacturers are still 'meeting most of their requirements of raw material from local sources', according to officials from the CLE.

Nike are planning to increase sports goods production in Thailand this year by 20% compared with US$600 million last year.

Mirza Tanners Ltd (MTL), a leading exporter of shoes and manufacturer of popular brands such as Red Tape, are planning to set up a production facility near Delhi to meet rising demand.

THE leather SECTION of BASF's website has been up and running for over a year. Now, BASF have added a business barometer to the site which is intended to keep users informed about trends in the industry. To have a look go to [http://www.basf.com/leather] The new service is interactive. Every visitor to the site is encouraged to contribute to ensure that the results are a true representation of the market.

The Indian government has finalised the sell-off plan for Balmer Lawrie Ltd. The proposal will see four of Balmer's businesses divided into four separate companies for which strategic partners will be found.

A group of four Chinese delegates from Hai Ning recently completed a successful tour of UK tanneries, hosted by BLC Leather Technology Centre Ltd.

The production of high-quality waterproof leather is a challenge to both leather chemists and applications technologists - especially if long-lasting waterproofness is required and no mineral salts are to be used for fixation.

Nick Cory, director of the Leather Research Laboratory, presented a ground-breaking Leather Technology Seminar for Garden State Tanning (GST) in Hagerstown, Maryland. GST commissioned the training seminar as a key element of their new initiative to reinvent their approach to Total Quality Control.

As part of their strategy for sustainable growth, DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise have reached a business agreement with French oil/energy conglomerate TotalFinaElf to acquire their fluorotelomer surface protection and speciality surfactants business assets from Atofina, the chemicals branch of TotalFinaElf. The agreement is subject to consultation with the French workers council, a union body, and the approval of relevant authorities. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The reorganisation of the Bayer Group has been completed with the new structure in place as of July 1, 2002. The improvements are said to boost Bayer's competitiveness, strengthen the focus on their core businesses and increase transparency, flexibility and agility.

International soccer players are being targeted by Australian anti-kangeroo shooting activists because of the leather used in their boots. Most premium boots worn by stars such as David Beckham and Fabien Barthez are made from kangaroo leather: the Adidas Predator.

Slovenia's Statistical Office has reported that Slovenia exported leather and leather products worth US$50.7 million in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year fall of 9.8%. Slovakian imports of the same products were 7.4% lower year-on-year at US$77.8 million.

Poland's Economy Ministry has announced it is to use the state-owned Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) bank to launch cheap credits for the restructuring of companies producing leather and leather shoes, according to the Interfax news agency. The credits will be granted to companies to finance equipment purchases and modernisation, the acquisition of licenses and patents, and structural and organisational changes. The cheap credits programme will last until 2005.

The State Statistics Institute has reported that leather industry production in Türkiye in the first quarter of this year was 5.8% higher than in the same period in 2001. The year-on-year increases in production in the public and private sectors were respectively 23.7% and 5.3%.

Armenia's National Statistics Service has reported that Armenia produced leather footwear worth 42.8 million drams (US$1 = 565 drams) in the first quarter of this year, a fall of 59.6% compared with the same period in 2001, according to the Interfax news agency. Leather footwear sales in this year's first quarter were worth only 25.5 million drams.

Turkish officials attending trade talks with Iranian counterparts in Teheran in mid-June indicated that Turkish companies are looking to make investments in Iran's leather industry, according to the IRNA news agency.

THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers (internal market) has imposed restrictions on the use of short-chain chlorinated paraffins, ordering that they not be sold for use in the fatliquoring of leather, whether as substances, constituents of other substances, or in preparations where concentrations are higher than 1% of the total volume. Also, the council said that before January 1, 2003, all remaining uses of short-chain chlorinated paraffins must be reviewed by the European Commission.

A new initiative to forge business relationships between eastern and western European companies who trade in raw hides and skins - the Leather Link - got off to a promising start in Budapest, June 20-23. Despite being hit by an air traffic control strike, delegates who made it to the venue made plenty of interesting contacts and the organisers were able to deliver their full programme of keynote addresses.

If you are wondering why we have brought our What's New in Leather Chemicals supplement forward to July, the answer is simple. Its normal September slot coincides with the All China Leather Exhibition, in Shanghai, which is growing in importance.

The results of the inaugural Matech China exhibition, April 15-17, 2002, have led the organisers, Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd, in cooperation with the China Leather Industry Association, to schedule a second edition for 2003. This will again be held at the Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, on April 2-4, 2003. These dates have been chosen to enable exhibitors at the Asia Pacific Leather Fair in Hong Kong, April 7-10, 2003, to travel first to Dongguan.

Tenerías Omega, Spain, customers of BASF, have become the first tannery in the world to manufacture leather that will be sent to the International Space Station. Tenerías Omega will provide all the upholstery for the 'Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System' (MARES). MARES is a facility that will be used to study the effects of zero gravity on the human body. It has been developed by the Spanish company Nuevas Tecnologías Espaciales for the European Space Agency.

The combined effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the Korangi Industrial Area in Karachi, is facing a shortage of funds which experts fear may lead to its closure. The project was launched by the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) to control tannery pollution and a PTA Environmental Society was also set up in this connection.