Lisa Howlett
First published in the March/April 2018 edition of ILM. While visiting with a colleague the recent Northeast Footwear & Apparel Show in February, I was amused to hear him say that he thought his company should stop using the term “synthetic leather” because of the bad connotation equated to leather now days. In his opinion, today’s buyers are looking for anything but leather.
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Philipp Azarchenkov
First published in the Jan/Feb 2018 edition of ILM. The leather industry is one of the oldest in Russia. According to historians, the tanning trade appeared in ancient Russia as early as in 6th–7th centuries. Russian tanners are mentioned in chronicles of 992, and the annals of 1240 read that “Drochilo Nezdylova, son of tanner” fell in the battle with the Swedes. References to the guild of tanners testify that at that time leather working was a special craft, and a respectable one.
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Chiara Mastrotto
First published in the Nov/Dec edition of ILM. Gruppo Mastrotto, the industrial group in the global tanning industry which I represent, places sustainability at the core of its business and its future growth. First and foremost, we must carefully manage our water usage; considered an essential resource not only for the environment but also for the tanning sector given its key role in the production process of leather. The rational management of water is critical, which can be implemented through the design of leather articles, the recycling of process water as well as inside the different production departments within the business.
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Thomas Bee
Article first published in ILM Sept/Oct 2017 edition. After attending a recent Cotance council meeting in Igualada, Spain, followed by the 6th Freiberg Leather Day’s conference in Oisterwijk, the Netherlands, last June, I would like to pick up once more with a request to the global tanning industry for more positive industry information and propaganda supporting leather and the leather industry, wherever it is possible.
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Gianni Russo
This article was first published in the March-April 2017 edition of ILM. It is truly an honour for me to find myself today leading the Italian Tanners’ Association, UNIC, at a time of unprecedented change in the tanning sector. A real challenge, yet at the same time, the chance to seize opportunities. Italian tanneries from time immemorial have been a cornerstone of the national economy, the focus of studies and analysis the world over.
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David Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Modern Meadow
Spokesperson for Leather Naturally and ILM columnist Mike Redwood asked David Williamson, Chief Technology Officer, Modern Meadow for an update of the company’s future plans during the recent Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists (SLTC) conference in Northampton. Article first published in ILM May-June 2017 print and digital edition.
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Rafael A. de Souza Coelho
The experience of making and using leather from hides has accompanied humanity since its origins, and continues to be a challenge on various fronts such as environmental, chemical, physical and cultural even today. Article first published in ILM January-February 2017 print and digital edition.
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Richard Pai
As President of the International Council of Tanners (ICT) and of the Taiwanese International Leather Association (TILA), I recently announced that preparations were under way for the third Congress to be held on August 29, 2017, at the Pullman Hotel in Shanghai South, China.
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Hsin Huang, Secretary General, International Meat Secretariat
Article first published in ILM July-August 2016 edition. The meat and livestock industry is making great strides towards becoming more sustainable. This is fortunate as with a growing population, projected to be over 9 billion by 2050, there will be an increase of around 75% in the demand for meat. Meat and other animal products such as milk and eggs provide a critical contribution and diversity to diets, are nutrient-rich and energy-dense, and are excellent sources of protein, vitamins and key micronutrients.
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John Koppany
Article first published in ILM May-June 2016 edition. Argentina is a country which almost by definition is profoundly politically and economically unstable, and totally unpredictable. However, because of its more than 55 million head of cattle, a traditional export oriented and well known tanning industry, it has always been a player in the global leather industry.
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Amitabh Mathur
Leather goods evoke a feeling of luxury and class. However, the leather industry per se including abattoirs, beamhouses and tanneries, does not enter the minds of consumers.
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Rino Mastrotto
As China is going through a period of huge transformation in its economy, mainly linked to the necessity of managing the slowdown in growth, this is having important consequences in each and every sector, leather included.
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Nick Winters
Hide markets worldwide have been under serious pressure since APLF, the Hong Kong fair, and have brought back the type of stress we encountered at the end of 2008. Although some in the industry are trying to compare these two events, I tend to disagree for three main reasons.
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Guilherme Motta
One of the biggest discussions the industry is going through is about the growth in demand for automotive leather in a moment when the expansion of cattle herds around the world is not keeping at the same pace. In fact, in some areas traditionally known for their cattle production, a reduction or just a marginal growth is expected in the next few years. This is the case in the U.S and Europe.
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Muhammad Musaddiq, Director of Siddiq Leather Works
For the leather industry, the cost of doing business is very high at present, with little or no margins around the world and especially in the South Asian region. The main problems are the cost of the raw materials such as raw hides and process chemicals. Article first published in ILM May-June 2015 edition.
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Although the leather manufacturing industry in the developed world has declined, certainly in respect of the number of tanneries, most of those that remain are leaner, cleaner, fitter, safer and much more sustainable than ever before.
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Jon Clark, CEO PrimeAsia
Article first published in ILM January-February 2015 edition. Jon Clark, CEO and Sarah Swenson, Environmental Director of tanners, PrimeAsia ask if sustainability pays for tanners.
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John Graebin
It seems like a lifetime ago when I was driving that little tannery truck and dropping bags of salt at mud and straw houses as I collected a few hides in the neighbourhood that week. It was a very poor village in the northern part of Brazil, where families subsisted on a few banana trees and a couple of goats and cows grazing in their backyard.
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Andreas Kindermann
Leather is increasingly becoming a distinguishing feature in the automobile industry. Thanks to leather’s surface feel and distinctive smell, customers experience it as something positive and luxurious. This is why they happily opt for it as an extra in their cars.
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Mike Larson
The talking stick is indigenous to our area here in South Dakota and the definition is as follows:
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Salvatore Mercogliano
And so Lineapelle has returned to Milan, where it first was in 1981.Italian tanners, driven by their growth, left their stands in the footwear and leather goods fairs and established their own trade show, which immediately propelled them into international markets.
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Thomas Strebost
A while ago a board member from another leather-related industry association asked me as a current board member of the German Tanners’ Association (VDL – Verband der Deutschen Lederindustrie) if we, as a well-equipped, safe and sustainable tanning industry, would share our know-how with their leather suppliers in poorer regions of the world which produce cheaper leather.
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Juan Colomer LLauger
Back in late October (2013) I read the very interesting Redwood blog on ILM’s website, “Don’t make a commodity and complain about price”, published on October 29. After reading the article I contacted Mike Redwood with some of my own comments relating to his excellent observations, which has led to my writing this article.
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Thomas Schneider
Let’s face it. Our industry has not exactly shone through its economical use of resources. Heavy-oil tanks using out-dated burner technologies, waste heat expelled unused into the atmosphere - in some tanneries, it still looks like the 19th century. It is the same story for the wastewater treatment.
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Panos Mytaros, President, ECCO Leather
Many articles are written about the leather Industry relating to the current state of the industry and the market conditions etc etc. I have spent the past 25 years in the tanning industry and have seen a lot and have managed too achieve quite a bit also. In my opinion, to be honest, the industry has not really changed that much. The disconnected relationship between sales demand for leather and supply is a fact: a fact that drives profit margins and the total business forward.
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Nuno Carvalho
It’s always important for the leather and leather product industries to remind the world that leather is one of the oldest products in existence. Over the centuries, it has undergone many changes and challenges. Today, leather is known by its uniqueness, associated to luxury and with high living standards.
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