Part 2 of an experimental study - colorimetric testing - by Dr Ramón Palop, Joan Parareda and Olga Ballús of the tanning laboratory of Cromogenia-Units SA, Barcelona, Spain.

Part I of an experimental study - ageing resistance - by Dr Ramón Palop, Joan Parareda and Olga Ballús of the tanning laboratory of Cromogenia-Units SA, Barcelona, Spain.

The Problem

An earlier article in this series discussed the problems of butcher's strain; small tears resulting from extremes of force during the removal of the skin from the carcase. This article is a natural progression from that and discusses flay cuts.

What is cadmium?

Cadmium is a transition metal which occurs naturally in the form of greenockite. It is rare and nearly always associated with sphalerite (a sulfide ore of zinc). Hence, cadmium is largely produced as a byproduct from the mining of zinc. The name of the element was derived from the Latin ‘cadmia' and the Greek ‘kadmeia,' both ancient names for calamine (zinc carbonate). Cadmium and several cadmium containing-compounds are known carcinogens and can induce many types of cancer.

SPIC Biotechnology, based in Chennai, specialise in enzyme-based products for the leather industry. With ‘Spic Bio Dart' they offer a complete package of beamhouse products.

TFL have introduced a new shade deepening agent with reduced formaldehyde content. Dyeing of leather is one of the most challenging tasks within the leather making process and the use of dyeing auxiliaries contributes significantly to achieving the best results, often with reduced dyeing costs.

BASF India Limited have launched a new concept specifically tailored to the requirements of the South Asian leather market. BASF have been operating in India for more than 40 years and were one of the first chemicals companies to establish local manufacturing there.

The incertainty about restrictions to operate tanneries around Beijing during the Olympic games do have an influence on the Chinese buying of cheap raw material. This specifically concerns African hides and skins.

For still another month, hide prices were basically unchanged. A number of large processors as well as packers reported continuous weeks of being able to sell all the hides they wished. However, by mid May, a softer undertone could be detected in the cow sector, but brands, natives and dairy cows could still not necessarily be called weak. The only category that appeared to be softer, were low grades.

The long hot summer has begun early this year. Kills are lower and so is demand. It seems as if fuel bills are now increasing on a daily rate and the dark mood that prevails in our industry is further compounded by the collapse in the property market in the UK and Ireland. People are depressed because they feel that they have lost something that they never had in the first place.

In the four week period ended May 24, Federally Inspected Slaughter amounted to an average kill of 708,750, up from the 660,000 of our previous report and also up on the 684,250 average of the same period last year. FIS was running at 1.4% over the 2007 figures.

V Sivakumar, K Jeyaraj, R Chandrasekar, and G Swaminathan from the Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, India discuss the advantages of adding titanium to chrome leathers.

Fact file

Republic of India

Area: 3,287,000 sq km (around the size of the EU)

Capital: New Delhi

Population: 1.1 billion

Population growth rate: 1.4% per annum (average)

System of government: Parliamentary democracy composed of 228 states, 7 union territories

Head of state: Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India

GDP: $910 billion

Currency: Indian rupee

India is the seventh largest country in the world with one of the fastest growing economies. The current GDP growth rate is 9%.

The first reaction when you hear the word ‘Afghanistan' is horror, war, death, Taliban, Bin Laden, suicide bombers, etc. So when you get an invitation to visit the country, your mind is made up before the word Afghanistan is completely pronounced. No way!

In order to provide better service to customers, TFL Quinn India have replicated their technical and application services available in ACI, Hyderabad, by establishing technical service centres in Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata and Vaniyambadi.

BASF are the largest chemicals manufacturing company in the world. They cover a broad spectrum of industries of which leather is only a very small part. Their Indian company differs from operations elsewhere in that the leather sector accounts for a much bigger slice of their business of their business.

Stahl India are now promoting new and wide ranging fashion concepts related to future seasons to a wider audience in all the leather production centres in India. Based on information from the Stahl Design Studio in Milan, Italy, and developments created locally, the new concepts include finishes, effects and colours as well as the ways in which these will be presented on leather and leather articles to create worldwide saleable fashion. A major roadshow attended by more than 150 people was held in Kolkata recently and forthcoming events are already planned for Kanpur and Jalandhar.

India and China are the giants of the leather industry, both countries having witnessed huge growth in leather processing over the past few years. While there are similarities between the two countries it is the differences which are most notable. For India tanning is a traditional industry and the country has an extensive livestock base.

After reaching a peak of US$42 per sq ft for Grade 1 in October 1993 before the market was deregulated, the price of ostrich leather entered a decline which resulted in prices bottoming out some ten years later. This was due to oversupply of ostrich leather triggered by over-production of birds. 

On June 26, 2008, family business Langro-Chemie will celebrate their 75th birthday as well as the inauguration of a new development and customer centre including a unique ‘leather-world'.

The twelfth annual general meeting of the Uttar Pradesh Leather Industries Association (UPLIA), Kanpur, elected the following office bearers: Taj Alam, president; Mohammad Moin Lari, vice president; Iftekharul Amin, general secretary. The outgoing president was S M Shahid.

Leather Industries of Uganda Ltd have lost close to Shs420 million in revenue since their closure in March by the National Environmental Management Authority. And losses continue to accumulate as the tannery remains closed.

In another stench related incident, the town abattoir at Moyo has been closed due to poor hygiene. Dr Dominic Lali Mundugo-Ogo said he took the decision after investigating complaints from people living around the slaughterhouse about a terrible stench.

Tanzania is reported to be in the process of improving its hides and skins production in order to improve quality and earnings from the sector. The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries has launched a Hides, Skins and Leather Development Strategy to address problems in the supply and demand chain as well as to raise policy-related issues that hinder development of the sector.

The Central Leather Research Institute, the largest leather research institute in the world with over 515 research members, celebrated its 60th anniversary on April 24.

Following a R4 million investment in mostly wet-end equipment, the resurrected Sutherlands Tannery, Pietermaritzburg, resumed production in March, planning to produce around 800 dyed crust splits and 50 full grain hides/day.

The A Altes footwear factory was inaugurated in Ouro Preto do Oeste, in Rondônia, north western Brazil, by governor Ivo Cassol in May. The undertaking involved an overall investment of 2 million real.

This is the 25th year of this important exhibition, the premier international event for all those engaged in the business of making leather.  Over the three day period - March 31 to April 2, 2009 - those attending, both exhibitors and buyers, enjoy a once-a-year opportunity to catch up with what is new, view the latest trends, meet new business partners, and exchange industry gossip.  There is no trade show more highly regarded, or better attended, than APLF - Materials, Manufacturing & Technology (MM&T).

The Leather Research Laboratory has scheduled the Leather Orientation Seminar for August 5-6, 2008, at the Vernon Manor Hotel in Cincinnati, OH. The Leather Orientation Seminar is designed specifically for the leather product manufacturing and use industries. Professionals involved in leather purchasing, product design, and quality control will benefit, together with chemical companies and newer tannery employees. 

Stahl have announced significant price increases on their leather and Permuthane product ranges. The inflationary downstream pressure on a wide range of raw materials, intermediates and services arising from the escalating price of oil is forcing Stahl to increase prices effective globally from August 1, 2008. Depending on the product type, the increase will be in the range of 6-10% but could be higher in particularly difficult cases.

Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited has been honoured by the Dyestuff's Manufacturers' Association of India (DMAI) for Excellent Performance in Pollution Control by a Large Scale Unit for 2007-2008 & Excellent Performance in Safety and Hazards Control by a Large Scale Unit for 2007-2008.

As the UK's leathergoods firms continue to feel the pinch, the latest research offers little in the way of comfort. The latest findings from Plimsoll Publishing Ltd, UK industry analysts into the leathergoods industry, warn of consolidation ahead as leathergoods firms hit the danger list.

The Materials at WSA Expo and Conference, taking place in Las Vegas from July 28-30, 2008*, will offer exhibitors unparalleled opportunities to expand their businesses within the USA. The inaugural show played host to key decision makers and top-level executives, all set to return again this summer. Sourcing and development professionals attending the show will be looking to resource new materials, components and technologies, and open trading relationships with new innovative suppliers. 

Apologizing for his April decision to resume imports of US beef from cattle of all ages, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has promised to limit US imports to beef from animals under 30 months of age.

Research and Markets Ltd  recently published their latest report on Leather Product Manufacturing in the US.  The Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing subsector report provides in-depth analysis of the subsectors key financial data, cost and pricing, competitive landscape, subsector structure, and trends and opportunities.  

The board of executive directors of BASF SE has decided to start a new share buyback programme and plans to buy back shares for €3 billion up to mid-2010. The share repurchase can start immediately based on the authorization by the annual meeting held on April 24, 2008.

DyStar, leading suppliers of products and services for the textile and leather industries, are currently making substantial increases in prices of textile and leather dyes and auxiliaries in response to soaring energy costs and unprecedented volatility in the raw material market.

TFL have announced the implementation of an increase in selling prices. This is to compensate the global increase in raw material prices as well as energy and transportation costs. Due to these continuous price rises, TFL are forced to take this step in order to guarantee their high quality standard and service in the future.

Buoyed on by the success of the previous Fashion Access (FA), the next event, scheduled for October 2-4, 2008, will focus on the upcoming season under the slogan 'Let's Go Summer 2009'.  The earlier event, held at the end of March 2008, heralded the growing importance of the twice-a-year exhibition in determining trends across a wide range of lifestyle accessories for forthcoming seasons. It is a unique event that encompasses bags, footwear, travelware, leather goods and, of course, fashion accessories.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Office of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May was 1.3% lower than in April and 26.1% higher than in May 2007.

Statistics Norway reports that Norway exported raw hides and skins worth US$49.2 million in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%.

Vietnam exported footwear worth US$19 million to Brazil in the first five months of this year, according to the Vietnamese News Agency.

The Institute of Statistics in the Bosnian Serb Republic reports that leather industry production in the Republic in the first four months of this year was 1.2% lower than in the same period in 2007. In comparison, industrial output in the Bosnian Serb Republic in the January to April period this year was 7.8% higher year-on-year.

An exclusive agreement with the Frederic Remington Art Museum makes new limited edition art available to Remington and western art collectors, some of it in the form of genuine buffalo leather bags.

The Leather & Hide Trades' Benevolent Institution (LHTBI) held their annual lunch following the annual general meeting at the Leathersellers' Hall on May 22, 2008, and the committee were delighted to have a record number of leather trade personnel present.

Stahl have recently issued their Fashion & Design Forecast Trend book for spring and summer 2009. This comprehensive, valuable edition forms a compendium of everything that has been forecast by the Stahl Design Studio for this season for leather industry companies who are interested in producing shoes, leathergoods, garments and upholstery from the leather prepared for these products.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that the number of cattle slaughtered in Ireland in the first four months of this year was 8.5% lower than in the same period in 2007. The number of sheep slaughtered was 3.2% lower year-on-year.

Albania's National Statistics Institute reports that Albania imported leather and leather products worth US$28.7 million in the first four months of this year, compared with imports worth US$30.4 million in the same period in 2007.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that Hungary imported leather and leather products worth E66.5 million in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%. Hungary exported the same types of commodities worth E34.4 million in this year's first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%.

Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that the number of cattle in Turkey in 2007 was 11 million, as compared with 10.9 million in 2006.

Israel's Central Statistics Bureau reports that Israel imported leather and leather products worth US$42.3 million in the first four months of this year, compared with US$34.7 million in the same period in 2007.

Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics reports that Croatia exported leather and leather products worth US$127 million in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%.

Serbia's Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Serbia in the first four months of this year was 0.3% lower than in the same period in 2007. In comparison, Serbian industrial output in the January to April period this year was 5.3% higher year-on-year.

The US-South Korean beef deal, which was supposed to have taken effect this week, is now in danger of collapsing as daily street protests in Seoul are threatening to stop beef imports before they start.

According to meatingplace.com, three of South Korea's main opposition parties on Friday filed lawsuits asking the country's Constitutional Court to block imports of US beef. This, following the government's recent announcement that it would resume trade under a new protocol with Washington.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office reports that the average gross monthly wage in the Macedonian leather industry in the first quarter of this year was US$273, 48.2% higher than in the same period last year.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that Ukraine exported leather and leather products worth US$92 million in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office has reported that the production of leather and leather products in Macedonia in the first four months of this year was 8.1% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Macedonia's State Statistical Office has reported that the production of leather and leather products in Macedonia in the first four months of this year was 8.1% lower than in the same period in 2007.

The Bellegprom light industry corporation in Belarus says that the production of ‘chrome leather products' in Belarus in the first four months of this year was 12% higher than in the same period in 2007.

The Statistical Office of the Bosnian Serb Republic reports that the production of leather and leather products in the Republic in the first four months of this year was 1.2% lower than in the same period in 2007.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that Ireland exported hides and skins worth e5.3 million in the first two months of this year, compared with e4.3 million in the same period in 2007.