Sales of the 2004 version of VisionStitch - SATRA's stitching efficiency and training software system - have already broken all records and are set to reach £250,000 (US$450,000) before the end of this year.

Intenational Leather Days organisers Ezgi Ajans have announced the dates for the next editions of their Golden Horn, Fur'Ist and International Leather Days exhibitions.

Southern Vietnam's Dong Nai province exported leather, leather products and footwear worth US$260 million in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 36%, according to the Vietnamese News Agency. Foreign investors in the province benefit from preferential corporate tax rates, temporary tax exemptions and duty exemption on imported machinery and equipment.

Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that Turkey imported raw livestock hides and skins worth US$255 million in the first five months of this year, compared with US$230 million in the same period last year. Turkish exports of hides and skins were worth US$36.5 million, against US$32.6 million in the January to May period in 2003.

Russia's State Statistics Committee reports that the number of cattle on farms in Russia on April 1 this year was 25.9 million, a fall of 6.2% as compared with the same date in 2003, according to the Interfax news agency.

Michael Frank Johnston died in hospital on July 19, 2004, just three hours short of his 67th birthday. He was a very popular past president of the International Council of Hides Skins & Leather Traders Associations and for many years continued to run the family business founded by his father, Frank Johnston & Sons.

Kazakhstan's National Statistics Agency reports that leather industry production in Kazakhstan in the first half of this year was worth US$8.58 million, a year-on-year increase of 13%, according to the Interfax news agency. In comparison, overall industrial output in Kazakhstan in the first half of this year was 9.4% higher year-on-year.

Kazakhstan's National Statistics Agency reports that the number of cattle on farms in Kazakhstan in the first half of this year rose by 5% year-on-year to 2.44 million head, according to the Interfax news agency.

Ireland's Central Statistical Office reports that Ireland imported leather and leather products worth euro1.5 million from non-EU states in the first five months of this year, as compared with euro900,000 in the same period in 2003.

Belarus' Economy Ministry reports a sharp year-on-year increase in Belarusian imports of Russian-made leather shoes in the first five months of this year, according to the Belta news agency.

Croatia's Central Statistics Bureau reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in the first half of this year was 2.7% lower than in the same period last year. In comparison, industrial output in Croatia in the January to June period was 3.8% higher year-on-year.

TFL, one of the leading suppliers of specialty chemicals to the leather industry, have announced their intention to increase their prices.

From September 7-9, 2004, the 9th Int'l Leather Exhibition will be held in Wenzhou Int'l Convention & Exhibition, China. The exhibition is among the four most famous leather fairs in Asia.

SATRA is running several Leather Awareness seminars aimed at the furniture industry. The first one will take place at Satra's HQ in Kettering, UK, on November 17, 2004, and will be open to both Satra members and non-member company representatives.

Muirhead are bringing luxurious leather to life at this year's Decosit exhibition, 11-14 September inclusive.

The new Le Cuir A Paris autumn/winter 2005-2006 collection is to be held between 13-15 September 2004 and will be presented in hall 6 of Paris Expo-Porte de Versailles.

At their meeting on July 16th, the Board of Management of Bayer AG decided that the Lanxess unit, currently operating as a Bayer subgroup, should be spun off to the company's stockholders and listed separately on the stock exchange at the beginning of 2005.

The International Leather Week will stage its fifteenth edition between September 24-26 at the Juan Carlos I Exhibition Centre in Madrid, presenting the largest showcase for footwear fashion and accessories in Spain and the most important business and trends forum for both segments. The fair, formed by the shows Modacalzado - the International Footwear Trade Fair - and Iberpiel Marroquinería - the International Leather Goods Trade Fair - expects to gather 700 companies, among which the main brands from the national and international scene, within an exhibition area of 36,000 square metres, 7% more than at previous editions.

Clariant's Business Unit Leather has launched its new shade card illustrating the latest fashion for the forthcoming autumn-winter season 2005-2006.

On July 14, 2004, Stahl Holdings BV acquired control over the Spanish Group Pielcolor which in-cludes all the shares of Pielcolor SA and Desarrollo y Control Logístico SL as well as the majority stake of Picassian SL. Stahl are one of the world's leading suppliers of leather processing products and have a strong position in other selected market niches.

The FotoScan foot scanner is a brand new foot scanning system that is set to revolutionise the custom and orthopaedic shoemaking sector.

Muirhead, one of the leading suppliers of quality upholstery leather to the design industry, will show their new metallic leather collection at this year's 100% Design.

It seems that the UK Leather Merchants & Wholesalers industry is finally turning the corner, according to the latest Portfolio Analysis by Plimsoll Publishing Ltd.

The Pakistan Tanners Association is worried that leather industry might face problems after implementation of the regulations of World Trade Organisation. Major changes are expected in the global leather market that will reduce leather prices. In addition, local tanneries have yet to prepare for the new criteria of social and environmental compliance under the WTO regime, which might lead to closure of such units or trade embargoes on them by the international buyers.

The International specialised exhibition of goods from the leather and fur industry, LeShow 2004, has taken place from July 6-8, 2004 at Moscow's Krasnaya Presnya Exhibition Complex (Expocentre) in pavilions 1 and 2.

President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan has said that all industries, including the leather industry, will be privatised, with the aim of improving their economic efficiency, according to the Turkmen Dowlet Habarlar Gullugy news agency. Niyazov added that Turkmenistan's corporate tax legislation will be amended in the near future, leading to tax reductions for enterprises. He also indicated that the state might purchase stakes of up to 50% in struggling shoe factories to help them survive.

Statistics New Zealand reports that New Zealand exported raw hides and skins, and leather, worth NZ$540 million (US$355 million) in the twelve months to the end of May this year. This figure was 16.8% lower year-on-year.

Officials in Lipnik Nad Becvou in the Czech Republic say that Italy's Italcomfort have withdrawn plans to establish a plant in the town that would have produced leather armchairs, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. No other details are currently available.

The Czech Shoe Manufacturers' Association (COA) reports that only 6.5 million pairs of shoes were produced in the Czech Republic in 2003, a year-on-year fall of 20%, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. The COA added that footwear production in the Czech Republic has fallen by 80% over the past ten years.

Final figures for 2003 released by Croatia's Central Statistics Bureau reveal that Croatia exported leather and leather products worth US$202 million in 2003, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. Croatian leather and leather products' imports in 2003 were 23.1% higher year-on-year at US$266 million.

Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that Turkey imported raw hides and skins worth US$202 million in the first four months of this year, compared with US$177 million in the same period last year. Turkish exports of hides and skins were worth US$30 million, against US$25 million in the January to April period in 2003.

A new investment at SATRA has doubled the UK technology centre's capacity to assess the slip resistance of all types of footwear soles.

Putting the record straight

Since its start at the NEC, Birmingham, in August 2000, Footwear UK has grown to become an established fixture for mainstream fashion footwear buying with over 9,000 sq m of exhibition space dedicated to shoes and accessories. Organisers DEW Events believe it is now the optimum size for its target audience, providing a showcase for the new season's ranges from all the main brands as well as offering a launchpad for new companies making their entrance into the market. Here are some of the things to look out for at the show:

Croatia's Central Statistics Bureau reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in the first five months of this year was 2.1% lower than in the same period last year. In comparison, industrial output in Croatia in the January to May period was 4.1% higher year-on-year.

LANXESS, the future company where the Bayer Group will combine almost all areas of their chemicals business and parts of their polymers activities, began operating as an independent unit on July 1, 2004. For the moment, the new structure only applies internally. 'We've reached an important milestone for the realignment of the Group on schedule', said chairman of the Bayer Board of Management Werner Wenning. LANXESS will be able now to operate largely independently, he said. The company is scheduled to be listed on the stock exchange at the beginning of 2005. And the decision as to whether this will take place via an IPO or a spin-off will be taken over the coming weeks. Until the stock market flotation, LANXESS will operate under the umbrella of the Bayer AG holding company.

SATRA have been commissioned by Timberland to assist in their global initiative to improve the quality and consistency of raw materials used in the company's footwear products.

From January 30 to February 1, 2005, the PRE-GDS footwear show will be staged for the first time as a parallel event to cpd woman_man in Düsseldorf. This combination now brings together the entire outfit industry: from head to toe, for women, men and children.

Brazil's first foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in nearly three years, announced towards the end of June, has resulted in minimal disruption to Brazil's beef export trade.

The 10th International Leather Goods Fair (ILGF) will be held at Hotel ITC Sonar Bangla in Kolkata from October 2-4, 2004. The event is organised by the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), Indian Leather Products Association (ILPA), Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the Freya Fashion Design Studio.

Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that leather industry production in Turkey in April was 57.3% higher than in the same month last year. In comparison, Turkish manufacturing industry output in April was 17.3% higher year-on-year.

Slovakia's Statistical Office reports that leather industry production in the Slovak Republic in the first four months of this year was 6.5 per cent lower than in the same period in 2003. In comparison, overall industrial output in Slovakia was 6.2 per cent higher year-on-year.

Statistics Norway reports that Norway exported raw livestock hides and skins worth US$39.7 million in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year fall of 4.4%.

Leather shoe manufacturers Ro Alto Gradimento are planning to construct another factory in the Jiu Valley in Petrosani in Romania by the end of this year, according to Bucharest Business Week. Investment in the new factory will total euro1 million. Ro Alto are currently undertaking a feasibility study for the new factory and are looking at the business incentives on offer in the Jiu Valley. It is envisaged that the factory would produce around 15,000 pairs of shoes each day and would employ 300 people. The company focuses on the luxury women's shoe market.

Kyrgyzstan's National Statistics Committee reports that the production of leather and leather products in Kyrgyzstan in the first four months of this year was 60% higher in value terms as compared with the same period in 2003, according to the Interfax news agency. In comparison, the annual increase in industrial output value in Kyrgyzstan in the January to April period was 11.%.

Iranian and Tajik officials signed a memorandum of understanding in Teheran in early June for the establishment of joint companies producing leather and leather products, according to the IRNA news agency. These companies will sell their products on the Iranian and Tajik markets.

The municipal statistics office in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam reports that the production of shoe leather in the city in the first five months of this year was 12.9% higher than in the same period last year.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first four months of this year was 17.2% lower than in the same period in 2003. Total sales recorded by Hungarian leather industry companies in the January to April period were 16.8% lower year-on-year, including a fall in sales of 22.3% on the domestic market and 14.7% lower sales on export markets.

The Czech Statistical Office reports that leather industry production in the Czech Republic in the first four months of this year was 0.8% higher than in the same period in 2003. In comparison, the annual increase in overall industrial output in the Czech Republic in the January to April period was 9.3%.

Croatia's Bureau of Statistics reports that cattle production in Croatia in 2003 totalled 72,874 tons, a year-on-year rise of 7%. Private family farms accounted for 55,408 tons of the overall production figure, while companies accounted for 17,466 tons.

BLC Leather Technology Centre has signed an agreement with Biomass Engineering, a UK company specialising in renewable energy technologies, to develop and market gasification technology for industrial solid waste processing. This technology offers a stepwise change in the way solid waste is utilised as a fuel for electrical generation. Focusing primarily on the leather and footwear sectors, the partnership builds upon strategic UK funded projects undertaken by BLC to evaluate and develop gasification technology for treating leather waste. Biomass Engineering have developed a unique method of converting waste streams into a form of gas which can be used in a conventional gas engine or turbine to create a combination of electrical and heat outputs (good quality CHP).

Ever wanted next-day results on your testing? Well now it is possible. Due to the growing demand for fast testing results, from July 5, 2004, BLC will introduce 'snapshot'. This is a next-day, two-day or three-day testing service for those customers who demand a rapid response.

Dr Bernard Angermaier, Audi, told delegates at the Upholstery Leather Conference in Verona, May 1-2, of a customer who specified emerald green ostrich leather for her car. She paid €2,000 for the privilege and presumably was pleased with the result.

BASF have launched a new logo to cover all the company's manufacturing divisions. The new logo consists of two components, the squares and the letters BASF.

Summary

Bergi have harnessed their years of experience to the new generation of rollercoaters acquired from the acquisition of Incoma (now integrated into the Bergi Group along with Tanmac). They now offer working widths from 1800mm to 3400mm with machines which can work in synchro, reverse and both synchro/reverse modes, for processing skins, splits, sides and whole hides (see Leather International, December 2003, page 32).

Italian leather chemical producers, ALPA, are constantly coming up with new wet-end and finishing ideas. They have recently presented their latest finishing chemicals which include novel fashionable effects and new ideas for upgrading lower quality leathers.

The one signature product that has made Gemata worldwide leaders in the finishing market is their range of rollercoating machines.

The German leather chemical industry is still regarded as the best in the world. It has been a difficult couple of years for everybody, but most are optimistic for a recovery soon. Karen Wallace spoke with several German chemical manufacturers and this is what they had to say.

Hide prices rose sharply over the Easter period and up to the end of April. There were a number of reasons for this. Kills were very low due to the holiday period and also because meat processors genuinely seem to be having a terrible time.

Post Lineapelle and high point, the market situation is more optimistic but with caution. The upholstery sector, already active in Asia, is also said to be picking up in Europe. Europe in this case means Italy and is concentrated on the better qualities.

Fear and greed have been influential in human behaviour for as far back as we know and, yet, this human trait still flourishes in our business lives and, to a lesser extent, our personal lives.

With the exception of dairy cows and native bulls, prices across all US selections in mid-May were between US$1 to $5 less per piece than they were a year ago. If you also consider that a year ago, the economic predictions were worse than they are now and the war in Iraq and SARS was upon us.

Münzing are still a family-run business, with two family members currently on the management board. Today, the number of employees totals around 120 with annual production of around 24,000 tonnes of chemicals.

Founded in 1894, Zschimmer & Schwarz are said to be the biggest, privately-owned chemical company in Germany. There are around 520 employees at the Lahnstein facilities, 40 of which are active in the leather sector, based either at Lahnstein or travelling around the world visiting customers.

Invista, the largest integrated fibres and intermediates business in the world, have announced DuPont Teflon leather protector for washable leathers.

Dr Seshadri Ramkumar, research associate for the Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University, and his associates, have developed a solution for the complexity of friction with a simple friction factor software.

In a major expansion of their Corilene range, Stahl have added five new fatliquoring products and one softening polymer.

Every year, Pittards publish a detailed trend analysis and their report for spring and summer 2005 includes some exciting new developments in general styles. The retro boom will have declined and modern and futuristic styling will begin to reappear. The male market will continue to prefer relaxed formality, while for women, the dressy and formal sector will remain buoyant. Colours will become more clean and colourful.

Expert International were exhibiting in the German pavilion at the APLF. Situated in Bielefeld, they are acknowledged experts for automated leather cutting. They have been offering different modular high-performance leather cutting systems and solutions since 1994. These are also able to cut several other materials such as plastics, rubber, foam and man-made fibres.

Mercan Endustri TAS Makina San Ltd Sirketi, located in Izmir, have a twenty-year old pedigree as an engineering consultancy in automated systems. They added tannery processing machinery in 1994 and offer turnkey projects for tanners.

Leather International provides a worldwide selection of raw materials prices for the leather industry. Although we update these on a regular basis, they are only intended as a guide since market fluctuations occur constantly.

During their annual general assembly on May 7, the members of VDL, the German leather federation, voted in a new president for the next three years. Outgoing president, Maximilian Räuchle stepped down after two terms and Thomas Strebost, managing director and owner of fourth-generation Heller-Leder took over. Heller have 200 employees and produce mostly upholstery leather for furniture and automotive purposes.

Ann Tate, rector of University College Northampton attended the APLF in Hong Kong for the first time and also attended various leather industry functions including hosting BSLT's own evening reception for past and present students, staff and guests. BSLT has seen a major increase in the number of students from Asia studying in Northampton over the past few years and UCN sees APLF as a great opportunity to meet the Asian market.

Bata India Ltd have appointed a new chairman, P M Sinha, the former ceo of Pepsi International South Asia. He replaces Constantin Salameh, who was in charge on a temporary basis after A L Mudaliar stepped down recently. Salameh will continue on the board.

The International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies president, Professor Jaume Cot, met with a number of key national heads of technical societies during the APLF in Hong Kong at the beginning of April. His aim is to increase and improve international relations between the various international leather societies within the IULTCS, especially in regions where the leather industry is rapidly growing, such as China and India.

At the recent annual meeting in Hong Kong, John R Gorman stood down after one of the longest terms, six years, as president of ICHSLTA. He has been president of the Australian Hide Skin and Leather Exporters' Association Ltd since 1996. Later the same day he was awarded one of two Frank Johnston Awards for services to the industry. Gorman has been in the leather industry all his working life, starting his own company Aries Victorian Sheepskins which he founded twenty years ago. Prior to that he worked for William Haughton and Co and Elders IXL. In his younger days, he represented Australia seven times in small bore rifle shooting events around the world and also competed in boxing championships during his school and national service days. The new president of the council is Pierre Bonefant of France who takes on a two-year term with the option of a further two years.

Hans Dieter Pötsch, a member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, has joined the supervisory board of BASF Aktiengesellschaft. He was appointed by the district court of Ludwigshafen on March 2, 2004. The appointment was made necessary by the death of supervisory board member Helmut Werner. The supervisory board of BASF Aktiengesellschaft now once again complies with the requirements of German law.

Satra has appointed an executive director to cover its quality assurance operation and services. He is Austin Simmons who is also head of the UK technology centre's safety product centre. He joins the Satra board and now takes a key role in strategic forward planning for the centre as it sets out its plans for the next six years, up to 2010.

DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise (DCSE) have appointed additional technical support to the DuPont global leather surface protection team with resources in the European and Asia-Pacific regions.

By now, I believe that those who bother to read Limeblast are convinced that my respect for authority is low and that my favourite pastime is the bashing of everything that is in authority, Red Tape as well as the Old Boys clubs that exist in our industry. Most of the negative criticism that finds its way into Limeblast comes from those corners.

The first joint-venture Upholstery Leather Conference, held at the hotel Leon d'Oro, Verona, Italy, May 1-2 and organised by Leather International and TheSauerReport, ended with a very enjoyable trip to the Lamborghini factory. Following two-days of presentations and discussion delegates were also shown the famous Galleria Ferrari in Marenello.

Spanish bovine wet-blue, crust and finished upper, leathergoods and garment leather tanners, Tenería Moderna SAL (also known as Tenería Moderna Franco-Española), have been declared insolvent with debts of €26.5 million. The company lost €5.9 million in 2003 after sales fell by 30%.

Pittards have announced their breakthrough WR100 Cool technology. The new cool leather is based on the mainstream Pittards sports leathers which are water resistant and have properties of dryfastness and softness. In the new WR100 Cool, additional technical properties have been added which reflect out the rays of the sun associated with heat.

It is a common sight at any exhibition to see people from non-exhibiting companies roaming the halls with their samples and price lists. This time, however, Lineapelle decided that this was simply not on.

Italian leather finishing chemical makers, Kemiter, inaugurated their new production plant in the Macrolotto Industrial Area, Castelfranco di Sotto, Italy. The new factory is located in the heart of the Santa Croce sull' Arno tanning cluster. The opening ceremony took place at the new site on May 21.

The current crop of students from the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) in Paris have designed a series of leather gloves as part of their MA fashion course. The finished articles were on display at the Le Cuir A Paris exhibition held at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, April 15-16.

The final conference of the project for Implementing and Evaluating Social Standards in Europe was held in Brussels on May 7. The objective of the project has been to lay down a framework of social responsibility and has been a co-operative venture between Cotance, SAI, Nyenrode and TUF:TCL. The full title of the project is Implementing and Evaluating the Cotance/ETUF:

APLF Ltd, organisers of a number of leather and leather product exhibitions such as the APLF and ACLE, has launched a new event: Fashion First - Europe. The new show will be held at Brussels Expo Centre, Belgium, from January 31 to February 2, 2005.

It was never the intention for the two events to coincide. Tony Cox had planned to tender his resignation last year but the agm was cancelled due to the SARS epidemic.

The growing capacity for leather production in China is a major concern for tanners in the rest of the world. This was made particularly clear at the recent Upholstery Leather Conference in Verona. Speaker after speaker expressed fears of what would happen to the European leather industry in the wake of China's success.

Following the APLF in Hong Kong, S M Naseem, chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association, told Leather International that a large number of orders were booked during the show which amounted to around US$10 million.

Ceylon Leather Products Limited (CLPL) have achieved new heights in their 62-year-old history as the only local manufacturer of highly-specialised anti-mine shoes for the Sri Lankan armed forces and foreign Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). 'We are the exclusive local supplier of these technically-advanced anti-mine shoes for de-mining operations in Sri Lanka', says Reggie N Jayasena, CLPL's marketing manager.

Liberty Shoes plan to expand their domestic manufacturing capacity by starting a shoe factory in either Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh and are buying a tannery in Tamil Nadu, according to executive director, Adarsh Gupta. He said the factory would be set up 'once value-added tax gets implemented', while the acquisition of a tannery in Tamil Nadu was a long-term plan.

Leather exporters have achieved the $2 billion target set for exports in 2003-04, according to industry estimates.

Local company DK-Leather Corp expect to raise Rm17.3 million (Rm3.8 = US$1) from listing their shares on the Malaysia Securities Exchange in June.

The end of March/early April saw leather sector employers in Zimbabwe win their case against a threatened national strike by the (leather sector) trade union. Labour wanted a 200% wage increment backdated to January plus a further increment in April.

Following an import ban on certain goods which could be produced locally, a group of investors from Italy have expressed an interest in setting up a shoe and leathergoods manufacturing plant in Kano next June. The target for initial production is 2,000-3,000 pairs of shoes/day.