Titled ‘New technologies for reliable, sustainable and safe production of chrome-free automotive leathers’, Dr Fennen will demonstrate how COD levels in the processing floats can be reduced by about 50% compared with standard chrome-free production, and how the versatility of the types of leather produced can be increased at the same time.
Chrome-free tanning has long been established as a valid alternative to chrome tanning for the production of automotive leathers. Car manufacturers favour chrome-free leather because it provides technical advantages such as reduced dry shrinkage, completely avoids the risk of Cr(VI) formation, and it is a sustainable and biodegradable material.
As one of the industry’s foremost promoters of wet-white technologies, TFL has continuously been offering modern solutions for the production of chrome-free automotive leather and will present further significant advances in the field during the conference in Munich. Dr Fennen will highlight how a new pre-tanning/retanning process addresses the requirement of low impact manufacturing by providing excellent exhaustion of process chemicals and cleaner effluents.
Originally from Osnabrück, northern Germany, Dr Jens Fennen studied chemistry at the University of Göttingen and obtained his PhD in 1992 with a thesis in the field of theoretical organic chemistry. In 1995, Dr Fennen joined the leather unit of Ciba-Geigy in Basel, Switzerland, initially working in the R&D team of the dyes division. He is currently the Head of Research and Development for the TFL Group.
Munich’s leading hotel
The half-day (afternoon) conference will take place at the 5-star Bayerischer Hof luxury hotel in the centre of Munich. The conference will be held on Monday, May 22, in the hotel’s elegant Königssaal room.
Speakers will include representatives from the whole automotive leather supply chain, including leading tanners, tier-1 suppliers and OEMs. There will also be opportunities for networking. So far, we have confirmed speakers and topics from Gruppo Dani, Dräxlmaier, Wet-Green, Stahl, Erretre and TFL.
All presentations will be in English and the conference is lead sponsored by global leather chemical makers, Stahl, TFL and Erretre.
The Hotel Bayerischer Hof is situated in the heart of the city on Promenadeplatz square; just a short walk from the opera house, the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and various museums.
For further updated information about the conference, confirmed speaker programme and topics, or to register delegate places online, please click here.
