The wet-blue produced in St. Joseph is sold throughout the world to tanners who produce finished leather for high quality products in industries such as automotive, luxury goods, shoes, handbags, apparel and furniture. The plant upgrade and expansion will include new liming and tanning equipment along with enhanced structural, electrical and water mixing systems. A new laboratory is included as part of the expansion and will serve to strengthen National Beef Leathers’ commitment to safeguarding the environment for future generations. The facility currently maintains the highest rating for its process compliance in production (ISO 9001:2000 certification), environmental (ISO 14001:2004 certification) and safety (OHSAS 18001:2007 certification). The plant upgrade will further improve National Beef Leathers’ use of sustainable and environmentally sound business practices. ‘Our goal is to be a world class producer of consistent, high quality wet-blue leather in the largest and most efficient wet-blue processing plant in the world’ says Robert Hein, senior vice president, National Beef ‘This upgrade will allow us to incorporate our proprietary processing technology in a way that will allow us to consistently produce premium wet-blue leather.’
