The Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI), in conjunction with the Government of Ethiopia, has announced that the 36th International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) Congress, and the 5th World Leather Congress (WLC) are becoming hybrid events. Both events will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from November 1-5, 2021.
Read more...The Italian Leather Chemists Association (AICC) has announced that UNIC (Italian Tanners’ Association) and UNPAC (National Association of Italian leather chemicals manufacturers) have joined the Organising Committee of the III IULTCS EuroCongress Vicenza 2022.
Read more...The Organisation Internationale Des Constructeurs Automobiles (OICA) has reported a 16% decline in automobile production in 2020, attributed to Covid-19. This comes after a 5% decline of world auto production in 2019, which ended ten years of growth in the industry.
Read more...The Leather Working Group (LWG) has announced that German chemical company Lanxess has joined the LWG Executive Committee to represent the supplier sector, which includes chemical companies, test houses, machinery manufacturers and more.
Read more...Collaboration between international brands, leading chemical and bioeconomy companies to innovative start-ups for CO2 utilisation is growing, facilitating a “smart transition” from fossil carbon to renewable carbon, latest analysis by the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) has found.
Read more...Vietnamese exports to EU member states reached almost US$10 billion in the first quarter of 2021, up 18% from 2020, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), following the landmark EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which came into force. The leather and footwear industries are amongst those positively affected.
Read more...In the first quarter of 2020, Mercedes was in pole position in terms of luxury vehicle sales, 11,400 vehicles ahead of Lexus. But in the first quarter of 2021, Lexus is only 4,003 sales behind Mercedes, with BMW 2,820 vehicles behind Lexus, according to latest insights from Auto News.
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Credit: Natuzzi
The Italian premium leather furniture maker has reported its 2020 fourth quarter and full year unaudited consolidated financial results. Consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter of 2020 were €99.9 million, down 0.6% from €100.6 million reported in the 2019 fourth quarter. At constant exchange rates, consolidated net sales would have been up 3.5%.
Read more...Both Volvo and Kia UK have reported record performances for the first quarter of 2021. Volvo’s global sales have increased by 40.8%, marking the best first quarter in its history, while Kia UK saw its best-ever first quarter market share.
Read more...The European Footwear Confederation (CEC) and its international partners have launched the new Erasmus+ project, digitalFabLab.
Read more...The Argentine tanning sector has expressed concern about the lack of bovine hides on the domestic market and the consistent price increases for tanneries. The union sector has issued a document requesting that government stop exports of raw materials, or risk endangering 30,000 jobs in the leather sector.
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Credit: Pecca Group
The Malaysian automotive leather seat manufacturer’s share price rose by 9.64% to a record high of RM3.64 (US$0.88).
Read more...The Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030) launches April 9, 2021 in Bulawayo. The government has earmarked the leather industry, which is already a strong sector bolstered by the country’s competitive livestock and crop production, for structural transformation along the value chain, and it is believed that it has great potential to become one of the biggest employers.
Read more...Service Global Footwear Limited (SGFL) held an initial public offering (IPO) briefing on March 24, 2021, to inform investors of the launch of SGFL on the stock market. The company is offering shares to raise funds to invest in a new joint international business venture.
Read more...According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan exported 11.56 million pairs of footwear in the first eight months of 2021, which resulted in revenue of US$88 million. This is an 11.67% increase in volume and a 6.18% decrease in value.
Read more...A government tender of KSh1.2 billion (US$11 million) has been awarded for the construction of four industrial warehouses in Machakos County, which stakeholders in the leather industry claim is driven by personal interest within the Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC).
Read more...Automotive supplier Brose has signed a joint venture agreement with Germany headquartered automotive Group Volkswagen to develop and manufacture complete seats, seat structures and components along with solutions for the vehicle interior. The transaction is still pending antitrust law approvals and other standard closing conditions.
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Credit: Ian Taylor
Tanneries around the world have expressed concerns around the recent rises in raw materials prices (hides in particular), along with increases in costs for leather chemicals while the consumer market in many parts of the world remains fragile caused by the pandemic.
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Credit: UNIC
The Italian Tanners Association, UNIC, has warned that raw materials and leather chemical prices have entered what it calls “a phase of high pressure”, calling recent price hikes “excessive and destabilising”.
Read more...Following the merger between Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the creation of Stellantis, latest figures published by The Association of Vehicle Logistics show Stellantis was the number one automaker in Europe in the first two months of 2021.
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Credit: PrimeAsia
PrimeAsia’s life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to increase the use of scientifically based approaches in its operations to measure, manage and reduce its impacts.
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Credit: Fortier-Beaulieu - © CNC – P&M
The French Leather Industry has seen a decline in activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although imports and exports fell in 2020, there is a positive balance of trade, attributed to a large degree to an increase in sales to Asia.
Read more...Building on the success of similar competitions in the Taiwan region, Italy and the United Kingdom, Mainland China concluded its first Real Leather.Stay Different design competition after an eight month delay due to the pandemic.
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The rapid rise of many raw materials prices is causing Italian tanners some concern, according to raw materials pricing and analysis website theSauerReport.
Read more...The leather trade show is set to launch Sampleroom, a B2B social networking marketplace for suppliers to present collections and connect with buyers, on April 19, 2021.
Read more...The Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) has requested the reduction of corporate income tax and source tax on export at a pre-budget discussion with the National Board of Revenue on March 28, 2021.
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Credit: Pittards
The UK headquartered tanner and leather goods manufacturer has announced its results for the 2020-year end. Despite a full-year loss of £2.3 million (US$3.2 million) in 2020, 2021 has started on a stronger footing than 2019 and 2018.
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Antoine Arnault and Audrey Azoulay
The French luxury conglomerate, a partner of the UNESCO MAB (Man and the Biosphere) program, has announced a new biodiversity strategy at the “Our Planet, Our Future” Forum.
Read more...The Sustainable Leather Foundation and the Oeko-Tex Association have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the aim to work collaboratively across a number of areas to benefit the global leather industry.
Read more...India’s Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has ordered the closure of 95 tanneries in the Jajmau area of Kanpur with immediate effect as Pumping Station Number 3 and the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) are overflowing.
Read more...The world’s largest meatpacker has announced a fourth-quarter profit rise of 65% on 2019 levels, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s currency. For the full year of 2020, profit was R$4.6 billion (US$814 million), 87% of which was generated in the fourth quarter.
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Credit: Bhartiya International
India’s largest exporter of leather apparel and accessories has implemented a SupplierSure Project which gives third party verification to a range of positive activities that the company has been working on, including social auditing, the management of mould, policies on animal welfare and deforestation, the traceability of materials and governance processes.
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Credit: BelTA
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko described the leather industry as a strategic national branch of the Belarusian economy on a recent visit to a tannery in the country and ruled out privatisation of its largest leather processor.
Read more...The Hong Kong manufacturer and retailer of footwear and leather goods has reported revenues of US$1.14 billion for its financial year 2020, ended December 31, down 26.5% compared with 2019.
Read more...National Beef, the U.S.’s fourth biggest meat processor owned by Brazilian beef producer Marfrig, has announced plans to increase processing capacity and production at its Iowa Premium facility.
Read more...The university in Rome and the Italian tanners association are hosting a seminar series “Made In Italy” as part of the university’s Master’s in Fashion Studies.
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Credit: Weaver Leather
U.S. private equity firm Blue Point Capital Partners has acquired Weaver Leather, a maker of leather products in the equine, pet, leather crafting and construction markets.
Read more...The Zimbabwe Leather Collective (ZLC) is a partnership between ZimTrade and the Tanners, Footwear and Leather Manufacturers Association of Zimbabwe (TAFLAZ) and seeks to assist the industry in enhancing output capacity, mitigate marketing costs and promote and grow exports of Zimbabwean leather and leather products.
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Credit: Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale
Leonardo Volpi has been appointed as the new President of Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale (The Genuine Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium) and will hold the position for a year.
Read more...British private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is rumoured to be planning a sale of its shares in the Italian automotive upholstery tanner. Both parties have so far declined to comment when approached by local media.
Read more...The Footwear Design and Development Institute in Noida, India, has organised a month-long training workshop on leather goods, taking place at Langei International in Nongpok Sanjenbam.
Read more...The U.S. automotive seating company is reportedly planning to close its factory in Slovenj Gradec by the end of 2021.
Read more...Hides and leather exports from Brazil in February totalled US$109.5 million, up 11.7% compared with the same month in 2020, with China returning to the lead position after Italy overtook in January.
Read more...After the cancellation of the Freiberg Leather Days in 2020 due to Covid-19, the 9th annual event will take place in a hybrid format.
Read more...The latest figures from Confindustria Moda Research Centre for Assocalzaturifici (the Italian Footwear Manufacturers’ Association) show that in 2020 the Italian footwear industry saw a 25.2% decrease in turnover to €10.72 billion, a 27.1% fall in production to 130.5 million pairs of shoes, and a drop in exports by 14.7% in value and 17.4% in volume as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read more...Italian bio-stimulant producer ILSA has announced plans to turn 120, 000 tons of tanning by-products into bio-stimulants for sustainable agricultural practices.
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Credit: Simona Tanning
With hide prices climbing steadily since autumn 2020 for some selections/origins, and many now at the highest levels for a few years, the price of finished leather is set to increase, too, which may place it at a disadvantage over cheaper, alternative materials, according to raw materials pricing and analysis website theSauerReport.
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Credit: APLF
Hong Kong trade fair APLF will be rescheduled from July 5-7, 2021 to November 17-19, 2021, following the Hong Kong government’s decision to extend the compulsory quarantine regulation until September 30, 2021.
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Credit: PrimeAsia
PrimeAsia Vietnam has been awarded LWG Gold certification, which the company says is cementing its commitment to sustainable leather production.
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Credit: A.P. Müller
The Brazilian tannery is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, it is launching a new collection of baby calf leather and imported small skins for bespoke products.
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