The winners of the 36th Lineapelle Young Designers Contest have been announced. The international competition is one of the longest running in the leather industry with the next edition to be held from April 19-21, 2006.

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reports that Vietnam's cattle breeding sector is expanding rapidly as avian influenza devastates the country's poultry industry, according to the Vietnamese News Agency. Vietnam in December had 4.9 million cattle, an increase of 4.1% as compared with the same month in 2004.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that Ukraine exported leather and leather products worth USS150 million in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%. Imports of the same types of commodities in the January to September period were '1.6 times higher' at US$81.3 million.

Slovenia's Statistical Office reports that purchases of livestock in Slovenia in the first nine months of 2005 were 8% higher than in the same period the previous year.

Slovakia's State Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Slovak Republic in the first ten months of this year was 8.4% higher than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, overall industrial output in Slovakia in the January to October period was 3% higher year-on-year.

Leading footwear industrialists in India have been given a first-hand insight into SATRA's range of products and services. An information workshop was hosted by SATRA member Mirza Tannery in Noida and attracted 40 delegates from fifteen companies. 'This event reflects our continuing strategy to keep members fully informed of the benefits we can offer', says Alan Drage of SATRA's membership team who also offered an overview of the technology centre's activities and revealed details of its latest research and development programmes.

Russia's State Statistics Committee reports that Russia imported 8.7 million pairs of leather shoes worth US$126 million in the first nine months of this year, according to the Interfax news agency. Nearly all of these imports came from countries outside of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Wollsdorf Leder managing directors Gerhard Krammer and Gerhard Klambauer reported a turnover of €90 million for the last financial year, up 5% on the previous year. The company attribute the increase to strongly increased demand in leather-covered steering wheels from companies such as Daimler Chrysler, Audi, VW and Porsche as well as further new orders from Porsche. A significant rise in the German and US furniture market share is a further factor in the company's success.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Macedonia in the first ten months of 2005 was 16.6% lower than in the same period the previous year. In comparison, manufacturing output in Macedonia was 8.3% higher year-on-year.

Lithuania exported 50,341 head of cattle to the European Union in the first nine months of 2005, with most exports going to the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, according to the LETA news agency. Exports were four times higher than in the same period the previous year. Lithuania imported 1,480 head of cattle from the EU in the January to September 2005 period.

The trade fair interVIEW from January 28-30, setting out the fair year 2006 for leathergoods in Offenbach, also stands for a new fair concept that complements the iLM - International Leather Goods Fairs. The interVIEW - First Show Offenbach has been conceived as a compact B2B Forum for the national and global leathergoods market to show what the market needs at the outset of the new year.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that Hungary imported leather and leather products worth US$234 million in the first nine months of 2005, a year-on-year fall of 8.9%. Hungarian exports of the same types of commodities in the January to September period were 27% higher year-on-year at US$99 million.

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in the first ten months of this year was 7.% lower than in the same period in 2004. In comparison, industrial output in Croatia in the January to October period was 5.1% higher year-on-year

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that 34,114 head of cattle weighing a total of 7,071 tonnes were slaughtered in abattoirs in Croatia in the third quarter of 2005, as compared with 38,487 head weighing 7,895 tonnes in the same quarter the previous year.

The Belarusian government says it has included leather footwear and leather haberdashery in a list of 38 products that will be subject to production quotas in 2006, according to the Interfax news agency. The quotas have been introduced in order to avoid overproduction on the Belarusian market.

Argentina's National Statistics Institute reports that Argentina exported leather and leather products worth US$707 million in the first nine months of 2005, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%. Argentine imports of the same types of commodities were 17.4% higher year-on-year at US$58 million.

Albania's National Statistics Institute reports that Albania imported leather and leather products worth US$38.4 million in the first nine months of this year, compared with US$44.5 million in the same period in 2004. Albanian exports of the same types of commodities in the January to September period this year were worth US$8.77 million), as against US$9.85 million in the corresponding period in 2004.

Satra and the US-based Timberland Corporation are working together to train and accredit throughout the footwear supply chain. Companies who supply leather to Timberland's manufacturing contractors have set up laboratories capable of undertaking a series of tests to confirm that the quality of the material meets that specified by Timberland's designers and technologists.

Increases in the minimum wage in Hungary could lead to the laying off of 3,000 of the total workforce of 10,000 in the country's shoe industry, according to the Interfax news agency. Estimates are that 10% of shoe industry companies could be forced to close down in the coming few years.

Vietnamese leather and footwear business have said that they now have sufficient evidence to argue against the current anti-dumping investigation by the European Commission (EC).

Steep increases in the cost of energy, fuel, caustic soda and iron sulfate, together with the continuing high cost of iron raw materials, mean that the prices for all LANXESS' synthetic iron oxides (Bayferrox, Colortherm, Bayoxide) have to be raised with immediate effect by an average of 5-8 %. The measures implemented to improve efficiency have not been sufficient to fully compensate for the rise in costs. This increase is therefore necessary to maintain the accustomed level of quality and service provided.

Pittards are considering the closure of their loss-making factory in Leeds which will affect around 300 workers. According to the Yorkshire Post, 'the producer of leather for Timberland shoes and Adidas football boots blamed high running costs and disappointing sales for its decision to review the future of the site, which it has run since the 1970s.' The plan is to relocate production to Yeovil and Ethiopia.

The world is still waiting with baited breath to see if China will revise their system of import taxes and VAT as it currently applies to raw hides and skins entering the country. The changes under discussion would have far reaching effects and even before final decisions have been made there is conjecture that the Chinese government may have to recind the new regulations in order to maintain the competitivity of their leather industry and protect their domestic job market.

In late October, Stahl USA invited customers to their laboratories in Peabody, Mass, to attend a week-long combined training and problem solving seminar. Organised by Milt Barker, Business Manager, Leather Finish, Stahl USA, discussions and practical workshops were designed to show how some of the everyday problems that are encountered on tannery finishing production lines can be overcome and also introduced new product technology.

Stahl have announced they are organising a series of roadshows and trend shows around the globe to provide a fast moving means of informing tanneries and their cus-tomers of the latest concepts in surface effects and finishes for leather, and of the tech-nology that is now available for achieving the resulting goals.

CICA, the Argentine tanners' association and the Ministry for Environment and Development have signed an agreement to promote cleaner production in the sector. The 'cleaner production action plan' was launched in August this year by the Ministry.

On November 9, Massimo Donda, president of Federcalzature, the Italian shoe trade federation, met His Excellency the Vice Minister of Commerce Huang Hai in Beijing. The Vice Minister also saw Raphael Calvo, president of CEC and president of the federation of Spanish footwear industries.

Global brands Adidas, Nike, Timberland and Clarks have signed-up to speak at the Footwear Leather Conference which will be held prior to the APLF show in Hong Kong next March.

Clariant's finishing line were given first-hand information about latest product developments, R&D activities and actual status of project-works for different leather types to their worldwide technical staff. 'This unique event reflects our strong commitment to keep our colleagues fully informed about innovations and benefits we are presently working at to face the today's needs of our customers', says Dr Michael Kurwan, newly appointed head of PM finishing.

The 8th Dhaka International Leather Fair for 2006 will he held on March 23, 2006, at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, Dhaka. This was stated in a press released issued by Mohammad Tipu Sultan, chairman of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters' Association, Dhaka.

The steep decline in sales of European Union (EU) finished leather to its number one market, the United States, has been highlighted by a comprehensive report on the global leather (and textile) market written for the European Commission. Faced with developing country competition, the report, written by consultants Market Access Information and Analysis and the Institut Français de la Mode, says that exports to the USA fell by 40% between 2000 and 2003, tumbling from €489 million in 2000, to €334 million in 2002 and €293 million in 2003.

When it comes to physical requirements, car upholstery leather differs from normal upholstery leather. Out of many, Zschimmer & Schwarz say that two requirements stand out as being particularly important:

Introduction

Introduction

While the aid agencies are well intentioned, sadly, a large amount of money is being spent on projects that simply are not worth the investment. Trawling through Sam's postbag to see whether he was gaining support or criticism, I thought it would be interesting to put forward some of the views expressed by those in the industry.

On Wednesday September 7, the exporters of raw hides and skins in Rwanda woke up with a new situation at hand. Rwanda customs were instructed by the Ministry of Commerce to stop all processing of export documents of raw hides and skins. This means that Rwanda had unofficially banned the export of raw hides and skins.

federally inspected slaughter is still running at 2.1% below last year. For the four-week period ending October 29, the average weekly kill was 623,000 head, compared with 637,000 for the same period last year.

Slowly but surely we see raw material sellers beginning to increase their quotations but they know by now that the finished leather trade is not in the mood to pay more for leather.

The hide market continued the trend started in early September well into October as steer prices incrementally eased over a six-week period. The cow sector worked lower as well as the anticipated pick up in tanners business failed to materialise.

Kills in Ireland improved from the end of August and in September came in at just under 40,000 head of cattle per week. This meant that there were plenty of hides available and a lot of hide processors sold ahead expecting hide prices to slip gently lower and this appeared to be happening across all the weight ranges.

Westan tanning company, based in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, USA, closed at the end of April with a loss of more than 150 jobs. Westan had announced the closure in January 2005 after 138 years in business. They had been the last remaining sole leather tannery in the USA.

ASTM International Committee D31 on Leather has decided to reactivate Subcommittee D31.05 on Upholstery. During a period of inactivity for several years, the subcommittee was combined with Subcommittee D31.04 on Apparel. However, the past two years have seen an increase in the level of participation from people involved in upholstery leather manufacturing, so the subcommittees have again been separated.

That's what an Italian company called Gazzoni Ecologia uses as their slogan to promote the sales of what they call 'a collection of ecological footwear, which loves the environment, doesn't use animal skins and which is recyclable. Fashion that respects nature.'

There are conflicting reports from Spain on the future of the Pielespaña show, which is traditionally held in January. Some sources believe the event has merely been postponed, and organisers Fira de Barcelona state that it will be held at a later date in conjunction with the 'Proyecto general de la moda en Catalunya' Catalan fashion project.

In order to cut costs, Northern Butchers have announced that they will close their hide and skin operation based in Manchester, England, by the end of November. The plant is said to be handling about 4-5,000 hides per week.

The consensus of opinion regarding the Bologna shows, Lineapelle and Tanning Tech, is that there were fewer visitors but that the quality was high. As usual when times are hard, the time-wasters stayed away and only those focused on doing business bothered to show up.

This year's general meeting of VGCT (German Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists) was held in Koblenz and directed by VGCT chairman Prof Michael Stoll.

One thing for sure, there is 'good news'. Change and growth are in clear evidence and, therefore, so are potential rewards. Many of us have spent years in defensive mode - protecting our markets and trying to find new markets in uncharted territory - this is not so in China. It is a vibrant, aggressive and colourful marketplace, no matter the sector of the leather business, and it has also become one of the most competitive markets on a sometimes unlevel playing field.

Despite business conditions being harsh and visitors thin on the ground, tanners who had innovative leathers to offer were pretty much upbeat about Lineapelle. Sadly the same cannot be said for Tanning Tech which was hit by a number of big chemicals companies deciding not to exhibit. This reduced the fair by one hall but it should be borne in mind that last year the fair grew by incorporating Halls 31 and 32, absorbing them from Lineapelle.

LANXESS have a number of new finishing products available:

Corichem have a great number of new products which range from the beamhouse, through tanning and retanning to the finishing department. Here we list just a few.&rtreturn;Tanning agents include Soletan HPE which is an ivory powder, easily soluble in water and compatible with all tanning agents (both vegetable and synthetic). Soletan HPE can be used alone for white tanning, where it gives good light-fastness, fullness and soft touch. It can also be used as a pre-tanning agent for sheepskins where it facilitates a good distribution of the chrome and promotes a uniform shaving, particularly on the butt. Soletan HPE is particularly suitable for the retanning of chrome and/or vegetable-tanned skins to obtain a fine and firm grain and a good fullness and good buffability. Soletan HPE is also recommended as an economic tanning agent for the production of white skins.&rtreturn;Tanning auxiliaries include Neutralizzante LS/1 which is a greatly effective neutralising and retanning agent which is suitable for all kinds of chrome-tanned skins. Neutralizzante LS/1 displays intense buffering capacity and, as opposed to some traditional neutralising agents, does not create excessive neutralising of the skins. These properties help to achieve soft and mellow leather for upholstery and garment leather. Thanks to its anionic character, it improves the penetration and the distribution of the retanning, dyeing and fatliquoring products. Neutralizzante LS/1 has good lightfastness and is, therefore, suitable to produce white skins. Recommended amounts for use vary between 2% and 4% according to the degree of softness and type of article required.&rtreturn;For fatliquoring, Coriliker OMC is a natural and synthetic fatliquor compound which can be easily emulsified in water. By using the product, it is possible to achieve excellent softness and fullness evenly distributed all over the surface of the skin while keeping the leather light. Coriliker OMC displays excellent yellowing-fastness and good ageing stability. Amounts for use should be based on the effects required.&rtreturn;Coriliker GM 04 is a fatliquor free of mineral oil with a high softening power and a very good stability against electrolytes and hard water. It can be used on all kinds of leather articles. Coriliker GM 04 is especially recommended for fatliquoring pigskins and for fatliquoring leathers for gloves. It has an excellent emulsification and penetration power. Coriliker GM 04 can be used alone or in combination with other fatliquors, helping the penetration of the fatliquoring mix.&rtreturn;Corfat MBR is a fatliquoring blend that lubricates throughout the whole section of the skin, helping the penetration of other natural and/or sulfated oils being used as part of the fatliquoring mix. Corfat MBR imparts fullness and softness to the leather. It is used for the fatliquoring of upholstery leathers and for soft shoe upper articles and soft leathergoods.&rtreturn;Corfat 49 is a natural lecithin-based fatliquor for the production of nappa. It can also be used whenever articles with low specific weight and a very natural touch are required. This product can be used alone to produce light and soft skins, or blended with sulfonate and sulfite oils to enhance softness and roundness of leather handle.&rtreturn;Corfat FI is a synthetic fatliquor with moderate resistance to electrolytes and high lightfastness. It is possible to achieve leather softness comparable with a sulfited fatliquor. Thanks to its characteristics, Corfat FI can be added to the baths without diluting beforehand because it penetrates rapidly and deeply. Corfat FI is particularly recommended for high quality aniline nappa or velour because it enhances softness and promotes even distribution of tanning matter. The product gives a soft and elastic feel to the leather, with a very low specific weight. Colours are pure and bright.&rtreturn;In the field of dyeing, Coranil H56 is an auxiliary agent that promotes the penetration and dispersion of dyes during the dyeing process. Thanks to its excellent characteristics, it provides an extraordinary levelling effect. The percentages necessary vary from 0.5%, when used as a levelling agent, to 2% when it is used as a penetrator.&rtreturn;With retanning agents, Coretan EK is a synthetic resin in water solution specifically formulated to give greater fullness and firmness to the skin, obtaining a very fine grain. It gives good results on every kind of skin, including skins to be glazed or milled; it can also be used on white skins because Coretan EK has excellent lightfastness. The recommended amounts for use go from 2% to 5% according to the structure of the skin and the article required.&rtreturn;Coretan MM/C is an acrylic resin in water solution specially formulated to enhance better fullness and firmness to the skin. Due to its particular softness, it is suitable to produce upholstery, garment and glove leather. By using Coretan MM/C it is possible to support loosely structured parts of the skin and consequently it enables a fine and very uniform grain after milling. The recommended amounts for use go from 3% to 5% depending on the structure of the leather and the required article.&rtreturn;Waterproofing agents offer Corifob B as a fatliquor with high waterproofing capacity. It can be used successfully on all kinds of tanned-chrome skins and it is particularly suitable to produce footwear articles. Depending on the quantity of product used, it is possible to get various degrees of waterproofing. A final treatment with chrome salts is advised (use about 2.5-4% of salts with rotation of 60 minutes) to ensure fixation of Corifob B on the skins. Instead of chrome, aluminium or zirconium salts can be used.&rtreturn;Lacquers provide Corimatt W 14 as a nitro-emulsion with medium plasticity used as an intermediate coat before embossing or milling operations. Corimatt W 14 is used diluted with water in a ratio of 1:1 or 1:1.5. The hallmark features of this emulsion are its dry feel and its good topping ability.&rtreturn;Corigloss W G is used as a final top coat for leathergoods, footwear and garment leathers, enhancing the dry and wet rubbing fastness properties of any leather finished with it. Leather finished with Corigloss W G also has very good flexion properties on account of its high plastifying level. This product creates a smooth, pleasant, brilliant surface, with good plate release on hot ironing. Corigloss W G is sprayed after dilution with water in ratio 1:0.5 or 1:1, sometimes blended with polar organic solvents, enhancing the grade of shine and improving the general fastness. It can also be used as an additive in resin base coats in order to improve overall physical properties and to reduce stickiness during ironing and release from horse.&rtreturn;Corigloss S 900 is a plasticised glossy nitro-cellulose which gives a natural touch. Corigloss S 900 is used to finish full grain leathers, imparting good resistances to wet and dry rubbing fastness and to dry-milling. Corigloss S 900 can also be used in combination with anilines to obtain cloudy effects.&rtreturn;Corimatt S 659 is a medium plastified matt nitro-cellulose. It can be diluted with usual thinners. Corimatt S 659 is a general top coat that can be used on polymeric base coats and it confers a good dullness. The leather appears soft, silky and having a very natural feeling. Corimatt S 659 gives very good dry and wet rubbing fastnesses. It is applied by spraying, after dilution by usual organic thinners (esters, ketones).&rtreturn;

The decision by CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology to phase out leather research was taken some time ago and the industry was notified of this in July 2004.

Stahl continue to expand their presence in India with the recent opening of a new applications laboratory. The laboratory is the first to open in the new Banthala leather complex, where it is situated alongside the New Horizons tannery, and is fully equipped to process leathers from wet-blue to finishing as well as the application of aftercare products for leathergoods.

Kasen International Holdings, China's leading leather products and furniture manufacturer, priced its initial public offering at the bottom end of its indicated range, raising HK$775 million after a tough sell to retail investors, people close to the deal said.

Although the recent earthquake was only in the northern part of Pakistan and did not damage the buildings or plants in Karachi, the leather industry there has not been unscathed. Gulzar Firoz, who has been chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association for several years and still is the chairman of the Treatment Plant Society, told the press that all the tanneries which employed labour from NWFP in North and Azad Kashmir, the part of Kashmir which is controlled by Pakistan, have returned to their homes compelling the tanneries to cut production.

US footwear giant Adidas have signed a US$140 million contract with Indonesian manufacturers. The foreign companies that have secured the deal with Adidas are expected to open up new factories in Indonesia.

The Namibian Ministry of Finance has been requested to table an alteration to the wording of the export levy on hides and skins before the end of the year, which will specifically exclude pickled sheepskins from the levy.

The first Nairobi international leather and footwear expo and conference will take place at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre from December 1-3, 2005. The organisers describe Nairobi as a hub for eastern and central Africa making it a natural choice for this exhibition.

The next edition of Le Cuir A Paris will be held at the earlier time of February 21-24, 2006, and will present the new collections for spring/summer 2007 trends in colours and materials for the fashion and design sectors. In collaboration with the French 'Showroom Matério', the organisers will set up a 'Performance Table' where the most innovative materials with industrial applications, not necessarily related to fashion, will be shown. This will complement the fashion vision proposed in the Trends Gallery.

Somerset tannery Pittards, who specialise in technologically advanced leathers, have just announced an order worth several hundred thousand pounds from the British Ministry of Defence for their new military leather.