UK company Corium Solutions Ltd, specialists in the chemical protection, finish and aftercare of leather material and products, have just expanded their global operations to China. With their head office in the Midlands, the company opened their first factory in Asia in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, in July. Corium Solutions have 21 years of experience in the global leather industry and are well known in the trade for producing chemicals to finish, treat and protect all kinds of leather against bacteria, fungal growth and odours within the manufacturing of footwear, upholstery and other leathergoods. They also produce a range of leather finishes for these items to ensure that the finished leather product matches the original design vision. The company chose to set up operations in China because the country is now so widely used as a manufacturing base for leather goods, particularly shoes and sofas. Much of what is produced in China is exported but, as Byron Dixon, managing director of Corium Solutions explains, these items don’t always arrive in the same condition in which they leave. ‘When sofas, shoes and other leather items are shipped from China to the UK and other parts of the world, they are often treated ineffectively, or not at all’, comments Byron. ‘This makes the products prone to mould on the long journey to the UK and as many as 10% of items are scrapped on their arrival in the UK. By treating the leather with our scientifically developed chemicals, such as Microfresh, prior to export, this can be avoided. Our clients have also found that, due to language difficulties, the effect or colour specified within the design brief doesn’t always match the end result. By working with the UK designers and Chinese manufacturers, we can ensure quality consistency in the required finish. As far as we know, we are the only UK company in China set up to offer this service to the leather and leathergoods manufacturers.’ The company are offering a total supply chain of on-site technical help, finishing products, application testing facilities and aftercare. ‘This will ensure that our customers get a high quality product priced competitively’, adds Byron. ‘We are really excited about this move. Whilst we have been involved in the global market for some time, this will really help to eliminate the wastage problem caused by both fungal growth during the manufacturing process and mismatch between the design specification and finished product.’
