The Indian central government’s proposed leather cluster for Tamil Nadu, that was announced in the Union Budget 2011-2012, is likely to be located near Tiruvannamalai. The process of land acquisition and other formalities are underway, members of the Council for Leather Exports said in a press conference on January 30.

S S Palanimanickam, Indian Minister of State for Finance has officially opened the 27^th edition of India International Leather Fair in a warm Chennai evening on January 31. The show takes place until February 3.

The 27th India International Leather Fair (IILF) opens on January 31 and is one of the first major leather sector shows of the year. With a strong focus on the European footwear sector Indian exporters are looking to diversify their production into different markets. The show takes place at the Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Chennai. The fair will be open to business visitors from 10 am to 6 pm.

At the India International Leather Fair (IILF) in Chennai taking place January 31 to February 3, 2012, BASF focuses on delivering comprehensive solutions that include both product and process applications. Newly launched products with high performance and ecological benefits will also be introduced at the fair. 

Indian leather chemical producers, GG Organics have formulated a range of environmentally focussed leather chemicals which will be highlighted at the IILF this year.

In November 2011, ATC started production at their new facility of Trevoux (France), dedicated to the production of new copolymers, high tech fatliquors, and a wide range of polyurethanes and acrylic binders.

C&E Ltd are a leading manufacturer of leather chemicals and finishes catering for the entire leather industry. They have been in the leather business for the past three decades.

Clariant invite visitors to the IILF, the Indian International Leather Fair, to ‘Sense the Difference’ in performance and productivity possibilities created by its revolutionary new products and systems for the leather and footwear sectors. During the last six months, Clariant has launched an unprecedented number of innovations, which it will showcase alongside eye-catching leathers and other exciting advances.

ICLT (Institute for Creative Leather Technologies – University of Northampton) builds upon their international reputation for leather education and their proven excellence in fashion, footwear and wearable accessory design. Collectively it creates a globally unique centre embracing the technical, scientific, creative and end-user elements of the leather and leather product value chain.

Stahl India’s display at IILF  (India International Leather Fair) held January 31 - February 3, 2012 will be largely based on Colour Previews linking colour with the time of day.

During the IILF, Smit & Zoon will attend with their staff consisting of Jan Koopmans, Kenan Özcan, Arijit Misra and Dirick von Behr. A full collection from local stock has been prepared and will be exhibited at their booth.

SMBPL were established in Chennai in 2009 as an R&D based company with a vision to emerge as a prominent player in the field of biotechnology. They are currently involved in the manufacturing of enzymes for textiles, leather, feed, pharma, food, tea, detergent and the pulp and paper industries. In addition to enzymes, SMBPL manufacture textile and leather auxiliaries, agri products, such as, plant growth promoters, super spreading agents and nano products such as UV blockers and fire retardants.

Vishnu Chemicals is a diversified, vertically integrated, chromium chemical manufacturer and exporter, located in India, producing Vishnuchrome (basic chromium sulphate) for the international tanning industry. 

Key representatives of the three International organisations that operate within the leather sector – International Council of Tanners (ICT), International Council of Hide Skin & Leather Traders Associations (ICHSLTA) and International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) – met during the Istanbul Leather Fair in January to continue discussions on global cooperation in the leather industry.

Environmental and sustainability issues are the focus for an upcoming conference in Hong Kong organised by BLC Leather Technology Centre and show organisers, APLF Ltd.

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) have established a formal partnership with the Scottish Leather Group (SLG). The ‘University-Industry Partnership Agreement’ will see UWS and SLG working on a range of projects embracing; joint student interaction, sponsored academic programmes, joint research and knowledge transfer activity, consultancy work, and staff education and training programmes.

The Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) have requested that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) reconsider their request of a 50% subsidy for the participants of the upcoming APLF exhibition to be held in Hong Kong (March 28-30), for the promotion of the leather industry.

Coach’s fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 15%, with its leather merchandise seeing demand from a growing men’s business and the retailer enjoying a good performance in the US and China.

According to local media reports the Korangi Industrial Area (KIA) near Karachi is besieged by a set of mounting troubles for both workers and manufacturers, which is causing swift closure of many industrial units in the area.
From a weakening law and order situation to the lack of energy, the KIA is set with a number of problems with almost no help from the government say local reports.

Tandy Leather Factory, said on January 20 that they opened two new stores last week in Spain, one in Jerez and one in Ubrique. The stores will operate under the name Tandy Leather Factory serving wholesale customers as well as the general public.

Austrian automotive leather makers, Boxmark are to supply leather for the new Audi Q3, which is the latest model to be added to Audi’s Q-Series. Boxmark World Leather are a subsidiary of H Schmidt Holding and manufacture around 12,400,000 m² upholstery leather annually for a number of premium automotive brands and other upholstery leather customers.

The retanning and finishing plant of JBS Couros’s Cascavel-CE was audited by BLC Leather Technology Centre in  December 2011 against the Leather Working Group protocol 5.2.2. It achieved a silver LWG tannery award.

Heusch from Germany are one of the worlds leading suppliers of fleshing and shaving knives. They have launched Excalibur, the world’s 1st stainless steel fleshing blade.

Bonfide Group are planning to build and open a new tannery to boost leather processing capacity in the country. The tannery expected to be running in the next two years is estimated will cost almost Sh200 million ($2.3 million).

Leather manufacturer, Pittards have opened a major new leather goods factory in Ethiopia.
The new facility is just another step in the ongoing success story of the British manufacturing company that last year saw profits rise by over 20% and achieved early success with its new venture into own brand fashion and leather goods.

Raw hide and skin prices saw an increase of 25% in Ethiopia last month. The price of hides and skins normally lowers or remains the same during the New Year holiday season but that has not been the case last month say the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI) in Ethiopia.

Expo Riva Schuh, a leading international fair dedicated to the footwear sector, closed on January 17. The event, held at Riva del Garda, Italy January 14-17, concluded its 77th edition with 12,513 visitors. The organisers claim visitor numbers are up compared with January 2011.

Stahl present their colour, fashion and leather technology preview for spring and summer 2013, which includes an exciting new section on Italian fashion trends.

An announcement was distributed to the USHSLA (US Hide, Skin and Leather Association) membership by President John Reddington this week concerning non-performing purchase/sales contracts.

Clariant announced on January 17 that they have successfully priced an Eurobond transaction of €500 million with a tenor of five years, issued by Clariant Finance (Luxembourg) and guaranteed by Clariant Ltd.

New Wave Leather located in Toowoomba will close its doors next month, resulting in the loss of 53 jobs.

Lawyers reached a last-minute settlement January 6, avoiding what was to have been a three-week trial.

George Adam, MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) for Paisley and Renfrewshire’s Provost, Celia Lawson, have visited tanners W.J& W Lang, part of the Scottish Leather Group.

During the last Acexpiel council meeting, the Spanish Tanners' Association, Xavier Badia has been appointed as the new President of the association. He previously held the post of vice-president of Acexpiel.

Severe shortages of gas and miserably low pressure of gas supply are adversely hitting the leather industries based in Karachi.

Tandy Leather Factory’s sales at stores open at least a year rose by 19% in December, the company said on January 5. This figure is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

The Leather Industry Development Institution, Ethiopia is to import semi-processed leather products. The Ethiopian institute had originally considered importing raw material. The institute made the decision to import leather to solve the shortage of supplies for national tanneries.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are used by marketers to bridge virtual and physical worlds and by retailers to track inventory. However, it can be exploited by criminals seeking to steal individuals' personal information encrypted in credit cards, IDs and passports.

After significant export growth of 33.3% in 2011, Vietnam is expecting this year to attain further growth for their major export products including textiles and garments, leather and footwear, wood products and seafood.

Tanneries are facing an acute water shortage in the Korangi tanning cluster and the situation is threatening export orders worth millions of dollars say the Pakistan Tanners Association.

PrimeAsia Leather Company are one of the first tanners worldwide to extensively measure the individual carbon footprint of their leather products against international standards. SGS in collaboration with the Plastics Industry Development Center certified PrimeAsia leather’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) according to ISO 14064-3:2006 as meeting the requirements of PAS 2050: 2008. PrimeAsia’s carbon footprint program aims to provide additional knowledge to drive ahead the use and further development of energy efficiency.

DyStar, the textile and leather dyestuff and chemical specialists, have continued to move ahead of expectations in a tough market, gaining market share and substantially improving on last year’s earnings. All this has taken place in the face of falling market demand and rising cotton costs, as well as wider issues such as the tsunami in Japan in March, political unrest in the Middle East, floods in Thailand in November and ongoing economic instability across the US and Europe.

The German-Chinese eco-tannery ISA Tan Tec have received ‘Gold’ status from the Leather Working Group (LWG) for their plant in Saigon, Vietnam. This is the highest category awarded by the Group. The award is based on an independent audit of resource consumption and environmental management. ‘We are delighted that the LWG has honoured our commitment to the highest ecological standards by granting us ‘Gold’ status’, says Tom Schneider, Founder and CEO of ISA Tan Tec.