Footwear Plus, the business-to-business magazine covering the footwear industry, announced the winners of their coveted Plus Awards at the WSA Show, the industry's largest trade fair, in Las Vegas on February 1. This year's winners represent the best in footwear fashion, as voted on by their retailer partners.

Uruguay has imposed special import duties on certain products from Argentina. The list includes footwear and apparel produced in the provinces of La Rioja, San Luis, Catamarca and San Juan. These are all provinces where industrial promotional regimes are in force. The duty imposed will be up to a maximum of 18%. It is estimated that sales totalling US$52.5 million would be affected.

Recently famous brand products for sale on the high streets of Shanghai have not met the standards required by China's authorities. While this may refer to textile products on this occasion - beware; testing of leather products will only be just around the corner.

Taiwan's Pou Chen Group are to create 10,000 jobs at a new factory in central China, according to local government sources. Pou Chen will invest a total of US$120 million in the new plant with a yearly production capacity of 12 million pairs of shoes, according to local government sources.

A tannery has been opened in Botswana to reduce dependence on South Africa which has been supplying the local and outside markets with processed leather. Tannery Industry Botswana, which is based in Phakalane, started business in November 2006 and was already supplying the local market with leather for making shoes, leather jackets, belts and handbags.

Luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo has been bought by a US private equity firm working with the firm's management team, including British co-founder Tamara Mellon. TowerBrook Capital Partners are said to have paid £185 million for the brand which has famous customers such as Madonna and Beyonce.

An Italian Economic Mission headed by the Prime Minister, Romano Prodi and attended by the heads of Confindustria, ABI and ICE, together with the 370 enterprises represented, included a delegation from Gemata SpA consisting of Gianni Maitan, general manager and Claudio Carmagnola, sales manager.

Investors from China, Taiwan and South Korea are in talks to take over the production capacity of three troubled shoe makers which closed with the loss of 18,000 jobs at the end of last year. According to the chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), Eddy Widjanarko said: 'The three manufacturers, PT Tong Yang, PT Dong Joe and PT Spotec, mainly make footwear for Reebok (owned by Adidas, Germany).

Plans have been announced by the Addis Ababa City Administration Trade and Industry Development Bureau to construct 82 hide and skin collecting centres following repeated complaints from buyers and exporters of poor quality and damaged hides. This is according to department head, Girma Demissie, who said the birr1.4 million (US$165million) necessary had been mainly supplied by the USAID to launch construction.Girma said: 'Between 2-3 million hides and skins are collected in the metropolis annually and nearly half of the product is wasted due to loss of quality and untimely collection. Upon completion the centres would significantly contribute to solving the problem.

The government in Indonesia raised leather export taxes from 15-25% to 25-35% at the end of January to ensure a continuous supply of local leather. Metal, machinery, textile and multifarious industries director general Ansari Bukhari said that in spite of government having reviewed export taxes, leather footwear manufacturers have raised the issue of shortage in supply of raw materials.

An Ethiopian government agency has announced that $42.3 million out of the planned $53 million was secured in the last six months from leather and leather products. This is 20% up on the same period a year earlier, according to Abdisa Adugna, secretary of the Association of Ethiopian Shoes and Leather Products. Previously, only one factory was producing shoes for export but now more leather producers are involved in the production and export, the income from the sector will continue to grow. Countries importing are mainly European and Asian, with Italy taking the biggest share. Among the factories which exported leather products in the last six months are Ethiopian Leather Factory, Dire Industrial (Peacock) and ELICO Walia. According to the Ethiopian Customs Authority, leather and leather products accounted for 6% of total exports for the period.

A Russian government agency has recently implemented a new regulation by which foreigners are not allowed to do business in the retail market after January 15, 2007. This regulation has significantly affected shoe manufacturers in the Sichuan province of China as exports of the region account for 60% of total exports to Russia.

Australia is saying goodbye to the Blundstone boot as manufacturing moves offshore to Asia. The tannery which supplies the leather for Blundstone boots are now looking at export markets for their hides.

Of one thing there can be no doubt, the Indian International Leather Fair continues to grow. This year, in addition to Hall 1A and 1B and Hall 2 and three hangars (temporary structures), the fair also encompassed the Chennai Trade Centre which is located on the same site but which had not been used for exhibitors before. There were also reports that thirty potential exhibitors had been refused because there was no more room.

Equitan have always been conscious of the ever more demanding needs of leather processing. After long and careful research, the Equitan team have developed the new elastic antistatic belt for staking machines called Condutex Plus+. Condutex Plus+ is a staking machine elastic belt in a completely redesigned and upgraded fabric:

Summary

One sentence which says it all: 'The market is in a coma.' With China out because of the upcoming Lunar new year holidays and Italy slowing down by the day there is next to nothing going on.

During the four-week period ended February 17, 2007, Federally Inspected Slaughter showed an average weekly kill of 631,000 up from the 611,750 of our last report. This compares with an average of 583,500 in covering the same period the previous year and represents a 4.4% increase over 2006.

At the recent UKLF annual general meeting in January 2007, David Bailey of Charles F Stead & Co Ltd was appointed as the new president and Mike Dodd of Pittards plc was elected as vice president. Bailey looks forward to raising the profile of the organisation with a view to further developing the reputation and potential of UK leather.The UK Leather Federation, whose antecedents go back to 1908, was re-established in September 2005 as a separate independent organisation.Bailey took over the role from Jonathan Muirhead, chairman of Scottish Leather Group Ltd, and he acknowledged the immense efforts made by Muirhead in steering the smooth transition of the new organisation. Muirhead will continue to sit on the UKLF board together with David Bailey, Mike Dodd and Paul Pearson, UKLF director.Nephew of the late Philip Stead, David Bailey joined Charles F Stead and Co in 1965. Initially he attended Leathersellers' School, while it was still in Bermondsey, and subsequently learned the technical aspects of footwear manufacture and design at the Northampton School of Technology.

The 110th conference and dinner dance of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists will be held on September 29, 2007, at The Blossoms Hotel, Chester, UK.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Office of Statistics reports that 108,767 head of cattle were slaughtered at abattoirs in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, 5.9% lower than in 2005.

The exhibition layout for the new technological event in the leather sector is being planned. As already announced, SIMAC (footwear and leather-goods machinery) and Tanning Tech (tanning machinery, chemical products and laboratory and purification plants) will be held together at the Bologna exhibition centre from April 17-20. The decision to combine the whole technological supply under the same roof was prompted by the need to offer advanced solutions to all system production problems: those working in the manufacturing and semi-finished goods industry know they will find all the state-of-the-art technology in a single visit.

Investment fund Fortelus Capital, UK, have acquired 100% of Bruno Magli SpA from Bulgari-backed equity fund Opera.

Since January 1, 2007, New 3P have acquired the activities of the company formerly known as 3P. This was made possible because of the synergy between Mosconi SpA and Escomar Italia srl, companies with established positions in the market for many years and known for the reliability and quality of their products.

100 VIPs have been invited by IULTCS to a summit meeting in Paris on September 17. The meeting will be called the International Leather Forum, also known as the 'Istanbul Initiative' and is aimed at holding strategic and marketing discussions on the global leather industry.

Gluv are marking the launch of their biggest ever spring and summer range with a link to one of the UK's leading low-cost airlines, bmibaby.com whereby the leading women's comfort shoe brand supply shoes for all female cabin crew members who work for bmibaby, the airline with tiny fares. Gluv and bmibaby are ideal partners for demonstrating the everyday comfort and support offered by the shoes which are manufactured by William Lamb Footwear.

This year's international leather trend workshop was held by LANXESS in Santa Croce sull'Arno in Italy from February 12-16, 2007. The event was organised by the new 'Competence Centers Italian Innovation' team set up in 2006 to present leather trends in the furniture upholstery and upper leather sectors. The participants included employees from the local Leather business unit, representatives from headquarters in Leverkusen, leather technologists from South America, China, Spain and Portugal and the main Italian dealers.

Prices of US steers rose rapidly since our last report. Gains were seen in heavy Texas, branded, butt branded and native steers that increased as much as 4% in little more than a month. Cows were not left in the dust with branded and native plump material adding 6% in most cases to early January levels. The only exceptions to the gains that exceeded historic highs were Holsteins which maintained steady levels during the period.

EU ministers have been asked to approve a trade deal negotiated by the European Commission and Albania, which would liberalise sales of various leathers and hides. It says Albanian duties on many EU leather supplies would be removed upon the deal's mutual ratification. These include various bovine, lamb, sheep, and goat hides and skins, ranging from fresh, wet salted and dried to preserved products, along with a variety of furskins, including fox, mink and others.

Prices of US steers rose rapidly since our last report. Gains were seen in heavy Texas, branded, butt branded and native steers that increased as much as 4% in little more than a month. Cows were not left in the dust with branded and native plump material adding 6% in most cases to early January levels. The only exceptions to the gains that exceeded historic highs were Holsteins which maintained steady levels during the period.

While studying psychology I was told that Charles Darwin's assertion that it was the survival of the fittest was untrue and that those who survive are those who are able to adapt to changing circumstances and environment.

The demands made on modern waterproof leathers in terms of dynamic water resistance, water vapour permeability as well as the aesthetic properties associated with leather such as handle, softness, lightness and dyeability led to Trumpler introducing the Truposist waterproofing system some twelve years ago. This comprised of two products: Truposist A (a polymer/fatliquor-based waterproofing agent) and Truposist C (a silicone-based hydrophobing agent).

Silvateam group built new plants in 2006 for the production of synthetic tannins. The two new production lines launched, one located in San Michele Mondovì (Italy) and the other in La Escondida (Argentina), will increase the global production capacity of synthetic tannins by 5,000 tons per year, to a total of 20,000 tons.

Shafi Reso-Chem have introduced an environment friendly, phenol free degreasing agent. Evolite 2020 is a fatty alcohol based wetting/ degreasing agent that removes extra fats without drying out the leather. The product is a non- ionic synergistic, viscous liquid. It is environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and can work at any pH. Low quantities are effective over a large area. Evolite 2020 can be diluted easily and makes low foaming. Evolite 2020 has high wetting power and is suitable for tanners wishing to make quality leather without harming the environment.

DuPont are introducing a new, patented manufacturing process to remove more than 97% of trace levels of perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA), its homologues and direct precursors from their fluorotelomer products. This company milestone meets key commitments to the EPA voluntary stewardship programme for product content, three years ahead of schedule.

As a late consequence of Clariant's spin-off from Sandoz in 1995, the Leather Business is required to rename all products starting with the prefix: Sand-&bsquo; within their product portfolio.

The Genuine Leather Mark is a trademark registered by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). CLIA, as the third party, promises customers that a product bearing the Genuine Leather Mark meets the following standards: major components are genuine leather; are of good-quality; and considerate after sales services are provided.

Linz will be presenting their second generation Flow Control Inline Activating System at APLF. The new design features a high quality touch panel computer and is built in a completely encased design in stainless steel, complying with IP 65/ NEMA 4 standard, without any external fans. The new program features more individual settings for different applications: new injection valves without moving parts in the component fluid.

Incotec Automation will present wet process automation, production supervision systems, area and thickness measurement apparatus for wet-blue and wet-white at APLF.

Heusch supply precision leather blades for tanneries worldwide. The product range includes shaving and fleshing blades, rough-shearing blades for processing raw hides, fur shearing spirals and ledger blades for shearing lamb hides and precious furs as well as jaw plates and scrapers for bandsplitting machines.

The Dry-Flat continuous conditioning machine is the result of Thema System's long experience in the field of drying and natural conditioning of leather. The Dry-Flat line meets market requirements for a machine to dry or simply condition skins or hides which have varying moisture content at delivery and which, after conditioning, will have precisely controlled, uniform humidity and perfect flatness.

Once more the international leather industry will meet in Hong Kong either as exhibitors or visitors at the APLF from March 28-30, 2007.

In association with Italian designers Carmen Rimoldi and Sergio Belloni, TFL have released their new Colour Trends & Fashion Inspirations catalogue for leather for the autumn/winter season 2008-09, 21 months in advance of the retail season.

The next meeting of the International Council of Tanners (ICT) will be held, as in recent years, the day before the APLF opens in Hong Kong. The meeting takes place in the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre in the morning of Tuesday, March 27, 2007.

Introduction

On the strength of an initial feasibility study, BLC was selected to be the main process consultant. Using the in-house industrial experience at BLC, the critical aspects of the feasibility study were combined with the needs of the client to make the first or 'conceptual' design.

The UK Leather Federation (UKLF) will once again be participating at the Asia Pacific Leather Fair along with a small group of UK companies including Scottish Leather Group Limited, Joseph Clayton and Sons (Chesterfield) Ltd, East Hides Ltd and BLC Leather Technology Centre Ltd. As well as organising and supporting the UK group at the event, UKLF will be representing the interests of UK tanners and associated companies.

Hüni will be at APLF to present their product range which consists of the following:

Zschimmer & Schwarz have a worldwide acknowledged professional competence in the field of wet-end processes. All their leather auxiliaries are produced in Germany, guaranteeing a constant high level of quality.

Tanac say they are the world's biggest Mimosa vegetable extract producer and cultivate their own forests (70 million trees) which are certified under FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). Tanac's ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified facilities in Brazil produce around 35,000 metric tonnes of Mimosa extract per year and the company are represented in more than 75 countries worldwide.

Silvateam do everything they can to optimise service to clients by satisfying their demands wherever possible. By listening to the requests of their customers, Silvateam develop new products in line with their traditional base: the wet-end. At the beginning of 2005 the company decided to confront a new challenge: to enter the finishing field. As a result Silvateam have acquired a finishing brand and have started to promote this in all the countries where the Silvateam brand is already present. The new product line has been called ILLO' chemical industry.

For leather that meets the toughest requirements, LANXESS are continuously improving their chemicals portfolio to meet customers' requirements. Recent, innovative product examples are the polymers Lubritan XS/XB for 'open' waterproofing technology. They can ideally be combined with Levotan PS 100 for waterproofing applications.

Intensive research and development for the production of modern shoe upper leathers resulted in Münzing's new shoe concept 'Fun for Shoes' which will be the highlight of the company's participation at this year's APLF.

This year's APLF will be a special platform for DyStar and Boehme to jointly present their solutions and developments for the leather industry. Latest innovations include leathers and furs which have been processed with DyStar dyes. These dyes, marketed under the Solvaderm brand name, have outstanding fastness properties, very high brilliancy and excellent combinability with each other.

Dr Eberle Clever Chemistry GmbH, serving the leather industries since 1875, are poised for development and a higher growth profile.

Carpetex will be focusing on the company's latest products including Merpin 8011 and Hydrophan 8074. Merpin 8011, for successful soaking of stale raw hides, is characterised by hydrotropic and dirt and scud dispersing properties. Deposits and impurities can be removed by washing. The product provides uniform water absorption throughout the cross-section even on raw hides with a high natural fat content. Hydrophan 8074 New is highly concentrated and very active in emulsifying natural fats, scud, lime and chrome soaps.

Total exports of leather manufactured goods, including leather garments, leather gloves, and other items made from leather, stood at $261.7 million during the first six months of the current fiscal year (July 2006 - June 2007) as compared to $378.7 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

According to the inventors, from Leverkusen (LANXESS) and Philadelphia (Rohm and Haas), the new Lubritan products are impressive and bring some of the advantages of acrylic technology to the wet end of leather processing. The products provide lightweight leather with a natural feel without dyeing problems, waterproof but firm enough for hiking boots and offering improved finish adhesion.

Last year July's issue talked about the Chinese taking a serious interest in the African tanning industry.

The delay in implementing the Dhaka Tannery Estate Project (DTEP) poses a threat to the Buriganga River and millions of residents in the western part of the capital. With a total of 195 acres of land, the Hazaribagh Tannery Relocation Project (HTRP) will eventually have an annual production capacity of 74,000 tonnes of leathergoods.

Presenting SAMA's 42nd annual state of the economy report for 2005 to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah in Riyadh, its governor, Hamad Al-Sayari, emphasised the growing strength of the Saudi economy and noted increasing investment in all vital sectors.

'As the Sarchem family, when we started the business, we were aware that the journey was going to be long and tough. However, we have believed, worked, moved ahead in our own way and succeeded to become a well known trade mark which makes the biggest developments in the sector', says Omer Sarialemdaroglu, the general manager of the Sarchem Chemicals Inc.

Cognis opened a new plant in Jinshan, near Shanghai, on December 1, 2006. They already own a factory in Jinshan, China, where degreasing agents, auxiliary agents and some fatliquors are being produced for the leather segment.