THE DREAM OF TRANSPARENCYITS NAME IS APPARITION. MADE IN DENMARK BY ECCO. THEY CLAIM TO HAVE WORKED OUT ITS TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS: IT'S NOT JUST

"FINE AND FLEETING", THEY SAY, AS ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS ARE UNLIMITED. WILL THEY TURN THE DREAM OF TRANSPARENT LEATHER INTO BUSINESS? HERE IS THE CHRONICLE OF THE MOST FAMED EXPERIMENTS TO MAKE IT. IN 1894, FOR INSTANCE...

STORIES ON PAGE 5

CONTENTS

COVER STORY | THE DREAM OF TRANSPARENCY

THE PHILOSOPHER’SLEATHER

5OBSESSION WITHTRANSPARENCY

6ALONG WITH ALBATROS,

AT ONE TIME

9

11 Surrounded, yet not alone

12 Alas! Judges are around in Milan

14 Brazilian counter-measures

15 Italian tanning industry keeps up

16 For the first time

17 Aiming for the contract to come

18 The sorrows of the calves

21 Corruption scandal strikes JBS

22 CLeAR close to target

24 The ZDHC Project: unic takes chairmanship

of the leather working subgroup

Acque Del Chiampo:

project financing for the new purifier

25 Research and around Hair as alternative adsorbent. Yet…

PEFCR, the trial phase

is going to be over in november

TCMTB, photodegradable and removable

26 RMG’s minibond

27 Buzz in the distance

28 Fair Leather, Changeable Weather

31 A luxury holding?

32 Better than expected

33 The leadership of selling prices

34 Waiting for winter boot

35 Americans keep up

36 Hand in hand with development

38 Frontiers Australia: every year 800,000 bovines

from Australia to China

From Egypt to India: tannery relocations,

between Egypt and Kanpur

(two workers have died over there)

Cambodia: on strike

Mexico: on the way to safety

SUMMARY

number 1 year 2017

THE AMBITIONTO NARRATE THE FUTURE,

THE AIM TO ANALYSETHE PRESENT

LaConceria, for almost 125 years, has been chroni-cling the evolution of the Italian and Internationalleather sector.

Since 1893, LaConceria has published a weekly insertin Italian that, in recent times, has started a process ofdigitisation, consolidation of its authority and renewal ofits editorial content.Thanks to a dynamic and critical journalistic approach,LaConceria - edited by Lineapelle - is now an educatio-nal hub that, through its weekly insert, the Daily News,laconceria.it website and its social networks, promotesthe vision, the idea of doing business and the dynamismof the Italian leather industry. It especially analyses therepresentativeness of a sector that has conquered theworld with the quality of production, the innovative ca-pacity of the projects, and the constant and continuousimprovement of a sustainable approach.Every month, thanks to our various outlets, we talk aboutthe future of the tanning industry as well as of the entireleather industry to over 100,000 contacts.

Despite this success, we have learned that achieving a(good) result is not the end of a project, but it only repre-sents the beginning of the next steps to reach another,more ambitious, goal. Since June 2016, we have addres-sed our content to our international readers, alongsideour editorial production in Italian, setting up an Englishversion of our website as well as a weekly newsletter.The good feedback received has taken us to the next stepwith the creation of this exclusively digital monthly for-mat that's accessible by clicking theconceria.it/en.The access is free of charge until December 2017. Pas-sed this date, it will be then available exclusively for pre-mium subscribers.Insights and news. Infographic, photo-essays and exclu-sive interviews. Research, Innovation and Sustainability.The ambition to tell the whole world about the future ofthe leather, analysing it accurately and stimulating thepresent.Our new adventure starts from here.We want to share it with you.

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17EDITORIAL

4

©LINEAPELLE Srl all rights reserved

PublisherLineapelle S.r.l.

Via Brisa, 3 - 20123 MilanoTel. +39-02-8807711 - Fax +39-02-865732

www.laconceria.it/en - info@laconceria.it

Since 2017

Editor in ChiefLuca Fumagalli l.fumagalli@laconceria.it

Editorial StaffIvana Basso i.basso@laconceria.it

Gianluca Losio g.losio@laconceria.itRoberto Procaccini r.procaccini@laconceria.it

ContributorsMario Catania, Maria Vittoria Galeazzi,Alessio Potocco, Andrea Rossi Tonon,

Paolo Tartamella, Massimiliano Viti

Advertise with usinfo@laconceria.it

THE MONTHLY MAGAZINE

THE PHILOSOPHER’S LEATHER

Gauzy leather is suggestive and evocative. There is no innovation, though, if you thinkabout it. However, it represents sort of a philosopher’s stone in tanning. And this is notdue to the way we make it, we know it as a matter of fact. Conversely, it’s rather due to

another reason: any time it comes back in fashion, it arouses somehow a fleeting astoni-shment, though it does not turn into a unique article with its own placement in the market.Yet apparently the strange case of the gauzy leather is good stuff this time. Still arousingthe same astonishment, it is more liable to turn into a well identified item, a niche onethough. Such aim is pursued by a Danish company, “leader of cutting-edge footwear formen, women and kids”, which handles the leather demand independently as they own atannery (based in The Netherlands), which liaises with a global network of suppliers. Lastmonth, on April 21, we advertised on our Facebook page the launch of a gauzy leather, Ap-parition, by Ecco Shoes: in a few hours over 14,000 followers joined the page, 165 liked it,48 shared it. Quite amazing indeed. On top of that, a number of comments about the newlyadvertised article: despite its not being brand new- as leather transparency is well-knownas a matter of fact- “this time it could really represent something new and unique as it mayensure a performance never accomplished before”- says one of our followers. Aiming togive the big picture of it, we’ll start from the past, 1894, then we’ll move on to present. Inthe next pages we’ll tell you about the several attempts (along with the Danish ones), loo-king at the prospective conditions of use of gauzy leather.

TANNING A GAUZY LEATHER IS NOT A BIG DEAL. TURNING IT INTO A NICHE ARTICLE, WITH A SOLID MARKET IDENTITY, IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT PERHAPS.

WILL APPARITION PROJECT SUCCEED IN THAT?

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 5

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COVER STORY

APRIL 1894“The French consistently strive hard to carry outchemical experiments, probably more than anyother nation. The last of those, which lookspromising - according to Pitoresque Magazine- isabout a gauzy leather. To begin with, leather is tobe placed in a dark room; then you will make itsaturate by using potassium dichromate. Whenleather is entirely dry, it will plunged into analcoholic solution, so as to get its transparency.Such leather is flexible, soft, foldable and can beused for all dressing table articles and so on. Itmight be a good idea, perhaps, to apply its use tofootwear”. The quote is not taken from alchemist’shandbooks, but rather from one of our periodicalfirst issues. Gauzy leather was already known 125years ago.

APRIL 2017“A bovine leather, soft and gauzy, flexible, sturdy,easily workable and water protecting. Such new andcutting-edge material, which is presented in a widevariety of colours, can be now used - in several ways-to make bags, shoes, jackets and shirts. A small teamof researchers worked over the project for threeyears: they first studied ancient Greek and Egyptiantanning techniques, then they matched them withmodern industrial applications, so as to get aninnovative product.” Ecco Leather tell aboutApparition leather on their own web portal. Speakinga marketing oriented language, though properlyaiming, with regard to the transparency issue, to“work out a few practical problems, such asdurability and permeability, which were not tackledpreviously”. That could be the big news then.

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17COVER STORY

6

by Luca Fumagalli

OBSESSION WITHTRANSPARENCY

MANY ATTEMPTS, OVER THE YEARS, TO TURN TRANSPARENT LEATHER INTO A BUSINESS CHANCE.THERE WE GO WITH A FEW OF THEM, TILL THE LATEST ONE CARRIED OUT BY DANISH ECCO

When visitors pop in LPFashionStudio, inMilan, on the lookout for leather samples,a vast majority can’t help focusing their

attention on a special type of leather, out ofthe hundreds on display. Visitors, fashion de-signers, students, tanning specialists, standstill before it as soon as they have a glance atit. It can’t be helped. They touch it, they crum-ple it, they raise it towards light. In otherwords they do what is shown in picture num-ber 1, to make sure that it is really the way itlooks like. That is, transparent, gauzy. It’s ne-

ver been put into production. It is ajust a lab prototype. Unlike the

sample shown in picturenumber 2, which was shot

at Anteprima winter edi-tion, in 2009. A sample

of “calf translucent

leather” was exhibited at the fair by AF, basedin Milan. Feedback was the same, as leatheraroused obsessive interest and huge curiosity.A few years later one of the most prestigiousluxury fashion brands, Hermès, nurtures thedream of transparency. As shown in picturenumber 4, Hermès presented on the runway,for summer 2011, a very slim “transparentleather” blouse. After the fashion show, notmany samples of it were put into production.Moving on to October 2016, let’s have a glanceat picture number 3. Boris Bidjan Saberi,“leading-edge” fashion designer, put forth inMoscow a project to fulfill, quoting his words,“his quirky obsession with leather”, presen-ting some transparent shirts. As for sales andfurther production, we haven’t a clue. In Fe-bruary 2017 in Turkey a tannery, based inUsak, announces that they have made “a

1 2

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 7

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17

COVER STORY

transparent leather for a French desi-gner, whose name cannot be revealed,after two years work”. It is shown inpicture number 5. Its thickness is 0,4millimeters, “but we can get to 1,5”.The Turkish tanners say that they arewaiting for the anonymous designer topresent his collection as they want tostart dealing with “the massive num-ber of purchase orders sent by othercustomers. As we tan both cattle andsheep leather, we achieve transparen-cy through 7 tanning stages, and werely on this new leather to boost ourexport to Europe and Asia”. Last to co-me, ECCO’s footwear. Picture number6 shows their article, Apparition, (socalled because of “its kind of ghostlyappearance”), hung in their own tan-nery based in The Netherlands. Ai-ming to turn transparent leather into abusiness chance, something morethan just a fashion fancy then, Appari-tion stands out, amongst the othertrials, for dimensions. Focus on largecattle hides then, not on small ones,sheep or calf either. Good news with

regard to colour as well (“In theory wecan make it in whichever shade”). Atthis point we wonder if the Danish fac-tory has eventually worked out the hi-storic problems related to transparentleather- which is not a real innovationfor leather experts by the way- (“Myson made them for fun 20 years ago”-comments on Facebook a Lombardtanner; and a chap from Tuscany re-calls that his father “would tan pythonand caiman transparent skins when Iwas attending primary school”): soft-ness and resilience. Market will give itsresponse. If they made it, they will haverelieved an obsession which had beenprobably going on for ages.

3 6

5

4

ALONG WITH ALBATROS,AT ONE TIME

blems. His method drew the attention of Al-batros Tannery, based in Solofra, who ac-quired the patent for two years and develo-ped its use for sheep&goat and calf skins.“Fashion shows were arranged in coopera-tion with some important fashion brands,and lamb transparent leather was emplo-yed for clothing. I remember a transparentleather cloak, matched with a woman’s suit,which was sold, at that time, at over 30,000Euros”. Just a fleeting success, like we saidearlier in our articles. Although it enabledAlbatros to show off and prove their top qua-lity (unfortunately they went bankrupt a fewyears later though), that article did not turninto a consistent must, “since - adds Vivaldi- the item can’t be employed, on top of theabove mentioned drawbacks, as a commonleather, unless a fashion brand invests in it.A tannery might carry out global research,but they need special machinery for this ty-pe of leather, that can’t be split nor cropped,special systems with lower heating tempe-ratures and operating at lower speed”. Re-sults might be better by using current ad-vanced equipment, especially with regard tosoftness. “Something new has come up la-tely, since Arzignano asked me to maketransparent leather again (thanks for adver-tising my work on your online channels bythe way)”. Vivaldi’s research is about to startagain then. Taking the cue from a chemicalauxiliary, suitable for finishing, made by Sol-vay, that enables transparent leather, tradi-tionally closed and hardly absorbent, to letcolour “hold on to it”. Let’s wait and see.

SANTA CROCE UPON ARNO, 2002: CHEMIST STEFANO VIVALDI PATENTS TRANSPARENT LEATHER TANNING PROCESS. SOLOFRA HISTORICAL TANNERY “ACQUIRES” IT FOR TWO YEARS. A HIT AT FIRST, THEN A STOP DUE TO “RESILIENCE AND SOFTNESS ISSUES”. TODAY, THOUGH …

It was February 2002,in Santa Croce uponArno. Stefano Vivaldi,

owner at that time of Euro-kimica, a chemical com-pany, does not invent butrather patents a techniquefor tannning sheep&goat,cattle and pig skins andmake them transparent.It’s not just for fancy, as herather wants to give re-sponse to a specific re-quest he’s been sent, atthe end of the past century,

between 1998 and 1999, by one of his custo-mers: Centro Pelli, based in Bologna. Theywanted to make transparent leather articlesby using pig skins, taking the cue from a Ja-panese project set aside owing to its poor ac-complishments. Vivaldi takes on this chal-lenge and starts up his research which willdrive him to set “the transparency techni-que” for whichever kind of leather, thus de-veloping a suitable finishing for clothes, sho-es and bags. ”Unfortunately transparent lea-ther has two big drawbacks- points out Vi-valdi- namely resilience and softness. If lea-ther, which’s got very thin, doesn’t have anysupport in its sewing parts or even a tran-sparent lining, to make it more resilient, it’sgoing to tear as you process it. Yet, on theother hand, supports make leather lose itssoftness”. That’s what the patent of the Tu-scan chemist, now owner of Leather&Co-lours, was aiming at: to work out such pro-

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 9

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COVER STORYby Maria Vittoria Galeazzi

Stefano Vivaldiholds a transparent leather boot, made in 2002

SURROUNDED,YET NOT ALONE

We are about to tell you a paradoxical story.Written, by the way, on the Court’s headedpaper: it would be a surreal tale otherwise.

We don’t want to tell you everything about itnow, it would not be fair: you will find it outshortly anyway. For the time being, just bear inmind that the question has a bitter aftertaste.As a matter of fact, the leather industry on thewhole, sector operators and associations thatrepresent them, feel a little bit alone before againing ground mob of opponents. 2005/29 Eu-ropean directive over unfair trade practice and11427/2015 UNI regulation set precisely whatis included in the definition of “leather” (na-mely, what is resulting from animal slough pro-cessing) and what is not (all the rest). On top ofthat, the UNI regulation lays the groundworkfor the definition of environmental low impact.Italian tannery is traditionally very well prepa-red for this issue, as acknowledged worldwide,

thanks to its consistent commitment. Informa-tion, technologies and practice are updated andrevised on a regularly planned basis. When itcomes to “leather” everything seems to be licit.But it’s not: terms such as eco-friendly leather,fake leather, cruelty free leather are massivelyadvertised. Quite shocking indeed. The fashionsystem, in all its hierarchical ranks, is accoun-table for that: top brands, whose profits wouldrescue the Eurozone’s balance, as well assmall manufacturers of fake goods. All drivenby the same sly aim: to provide customers, whoare the final victims of this lexical fraud, withfake guarantees. What for ? To foster consu-mers’ appreciation for an article, putting neareach other “leather” and materials the item ismade of, and to claim, at the same time, a clo-ser attention, with no evidence though, towardsthe planet. This is the main reason why sly, mi-sleading and improper terms are employed.Records are endless: therefore the question isto be tackled through a daily endeavour. UNIC,the Italian Association of Tanneries, who safe-guards Vero Cuoio and Vera Pelle, that is, realleather and hide trademarks, is striving for that.No wonder, then, we are flabbergasted as theCourt glibly stands by our opponents. Seems tobe really surrounded. Yet comforting messagescome from Brazil. They are not about suddeninspections carried out by CICB tanners (we’lltell you about them on page 8). They ratherconcern actions taken by manufacturers andretailers: once they get informed over law re-gulations about proper use of terms, theyamend their own errors. And they say thanks.However surrounded we may be, we are notalone. We might open a window then.

SOME TANNERS ( FROM ITALY TO BRAZIL) SAFEGUARD LEATHER’S VALUE. ON THE OTHER HAND MANY (TOO MANY IN FACT) SLY PEOPLE BLAME LEATHER AND BELITTLE IT, AS THEY “USE” IT TO DECEIVE CUSTOMERS ON PURPOSE.

A NEW PLAYER JOINS THIS NEVERENDING MATCH WITH A TWO-FOOTED TACKLE. THUS SETTING A SERIOUS PRECEDENT

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 11

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THE WORDS ABOUT LEATHERS

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17THE WORDS ABOUT LEATHERS

12

by Roberto Procaccini

ALAS! JUDGESARE AROUND IN MILAN

STELLA MCCARTNEY WINS A COUNTERFEITING CASE. YET JUDGES FILL THE SENTENCE WITH VEGAN PLATITUDES AS THEY BLAME ITALIAN MANUFACTURERS FOR THEIR USE OF LEATHER:

“THIS WAY THEY HARM THE ECOFRIENDLY REPUTATION OF THE ENGLISH BRAND”

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 13

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THE WORDS ABOUT LEATHERS

Quite amazing indeed: the leathermanufacturing of a bag is about tobe the key point, both for prosecu-

ting and defending counsels, in acounterfeiting lawsuit. Furthermore,and that’s astonishing as well, selec-tion of materials, a natural one to thedetriment of synthetics, in a trial, mayrepresent an aggravating factor. Allthat took place at the Court of Justice,in Milan: the case has involved, as ithappens every now and again, an im-portant brand and a smaller fashionindustry player. In the lawsuit, which isa counterfeiting and unfair competi-tion case, an Italian leather manufac-turer (Imax, headquartered in the pro-vince of Lucca) yields to a luxury giant(Stella McCartney, Kering Group). Thecase, which has recently come to anend, is quite interesting: not just for themoney compensation (110,000 Euros,plus legal fees) granted by judges tothe fashion brand created by PaulMcCartney’s daughter. Rather for jud-ges’ going off topics as they deliveredtheir judgement. The story is pretty ea-sy in the end. Imax would manufacture(in China) and sell bags, in the Italianand international markets, that “tookinspiration” (so to speak) from StellaMcCartney’s patterns. More specifi-cally, the Tuscan company was pre-senting a cheap alternative option toFalabella: sale price was less than onehundred euros, counter to one thou-sand euros or so for the original one.Whilst responding to such unfair com-mercial conduct (in fact, in the senten-ce judges also hint at plagiary ofMcCartney’s advertising), Imax’s coun-sels based their defense on three maintopics: firstly the same bag, Falabella,is kind of rehashing of Chanel’s andother brands’ work (the jury did notagree on that); secondly the article byMassimiliano Incas is original enough,in its details, and that makes it clearlydifferent; last but not least, we are tal-king about a leather bag: since leatheris absolutely loathed by animal-rights

ultra-activist Stella, that makes the re-al difference between the two articles,thus granting total mutual autonomy.At this point judges go beyond withgoing off topics. They don’t just rejectImax’s plea, but they also state thatleather, and its use, further “discre-dits” Stella McCartney’s work. Let’sread their judgement: “By selling lea-ther bags, they are cheating on theircustomers as such material is discre-pant with the environmentalist mes-sage, traditionally driven forward bythe brand; in fact they have been ban-ning, in their manufacturing, whiche-ver material of animal origin, as theyhave been investing in research for al-ternative environmentally friendlysources”. Therefore, launching andselling such leather goods “jeopardi-zes the ecofriendly reputation of thecompany, traditionally respectful to-wards animals, that mirrors moralprinciples from which they proudly ta-

ke inspiration”. In a few lines most ve-gan platitudes have been summari-sed: accordingly, the tanning processseems to be accountable for pollutionand causing animals to suffer, where-as synthetics would be by all meansecofriendly. Did anyone strive to de-monstrate, upon technical knowledge,that the substitute materials actuallyimpact on environment more softlythan the ones coming from the tanningindustry? No, nobody did it, not evenMilan magistrates. Let’s make it clear:we are not entitled to horn in on thelawsuit, as we don’t know who’s right,whether Imax or Stella McCartney; ifwe expressed our opinion, we would gobeyond our duties. Yet conversely wedo believe that judges have deviatedconsiderably in their judgement, asthey considered the use of leather tobe partly accountable for damaged re-putation (estimation of damage was30,000 euros).

Stella’s hostility“The tanning industry is one of the most toxic ones in the world owing tochemicals employed”. Or: ”We believe that no animal can be killed because offashion”. Further on: “We do not use, and we never did, leather, hides, feathers,fur for our own goods, nor for licensed products. Our decision is based onmoral and environmental principles”. Visiting Stella McCartney’s brand website,in its Italian version, we may come across such utterances. That clearly showhostility towards the tanning industry. Such attitude is now backed up by ajudgement delivered by Milan Court of Justice. Not necessary though.

BRAZILIANCOUNTER-MEASURES

a timely manner, thus protecting our custo-mers, who would otherwise purchase substi-tute items mistaking them for leather. As wellwe want to draw media attention to the pro-blem”. As for violations, they are basicallycomprised in a few types: “Retailers, whileselling their articles directly to customers -adds CICB’s chairman - break the law as theywant to boost their sales thanks to eco-frien-dly good points. Yet they forget to say thatsynthetics come from petroleum, which ispotentially very harmful for our planet. Thenthey go with the term “leather”, very appea-ling, to increase the appreciated value oftheir goods”. Surprisingly, despite their beingcaught red handed, some entrepreneursdon’t even apologize. Some of them “do notaccept sudden inspections and say no to anyerror amendment” - says Bello -: in such ca-ses further measures are to be taken, forexample contacting law offices or reportingthem to national unions of consumer rights”.Yet most frequently “they are grateful to usfor our tips: hence they update and revisetheir information brochures and engage theiremployees in new protocols in order to pre-vent further violations in the future”. Their re-demption drives optimism and new energy.

CICB, THE TANNING BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION, SENDS OUT INSPECTORS TO DETECT IMPROPER USE OF LEATHER AND ECO-FRIENDLY LEATHER TERMS. “SOMEONE DOES NOT WANT TO AMEND HIS ERRORS”

“We need everybody’s commitment. Allparties involved in the tanning industrymust strive: chemists, tanneries, advi-

sors, sector media, manufacturing designersand so on. Further support has to come fromthe Government, as they can strengthen lawsand embitter penalties. Above all, such en-deavour must be enduring”. Not just in Bra-

zil, his country, but on an in-ternational scale as well, sin-ce “the problem is spreadworldwide, especially in Asia”.José Fernando Bello is thePresident of CICB, the Brazi-lian association that gathersleather companies. Since2013 it has been leading andsupporting financially theLeather Law Blitz project: pa-trols of “tanning inspectors”search Brazilian shops andfirms to verify their complian-ce with law regulation aboutthe use of the leather termand the prohibition of the“eco-friendly”one (or similarillegal ones). For the timebeing, over 16,000 inspections

have been carried out, and many more havebeen planned between April and the currentmonth. Through a special software CICB isalso supervising, on a daily basis, the use ofthe aforesaid terms on the web portals. Theywon’t retreat. “The initial aim of the projectwas to verify, on-site, the daily communica-tion between manufacturers and retailers,hence towards customers, over synthetics -says Bello. We can therefore amend errors in

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17THE WORDS ABOUT LEATHERS

14

José Fernando Bello

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 15

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FOREIGN TRADE

ITALIAN TANNINGINDUSTRY KEEPS UP

A COMPLICATED YEAR, OWING TO NEGATIVE ECONOMIC TRENDS. AND EXPORT DOES NOT GIVE GROUND. 2016: STEADY VOLUMES AND “SLIGHTLY DECREASING” VALUE FOR

THE ITALIAN LEATHER INDUSTRY ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. GOOD NEWS FROM THE USA

We were aware of it. Therefore foreigntrade reports over 2016, provided by UNIC(National Association of Italian Tanne-

ries), come as no surprise. Tough times. Yet, from a different standpoint, the same da-

ta show the extraordinary ability of the Ita-lian tanning industry to withstand “a numberof concurrent circumstances and their ef-fects - points out UNIC - that have broughtabout a downturn in the average price of fi-nished goods: a persistently low demandfrom leather goods customers, more intere-sted in a structural request for price reduc-tion, in addition to the currency spread bet-ween euro and dollar”. According to percen-tages the market share (and internationalleadership consequently) is still sound: fini-shed goods export is pretty much even, com-pared to 2015, with regard to volumes, andslightly decreasing with regard to value(over 3,4 billion euros, -3% compared to2015). The Italian tanning industry keepsgoing then, thus showing remarkable resi-lience. That drives a few interesting tips whi-le glancing at the international marketschart. US manufacturing, for example, ke-eps increasing Italian leather purchase. Infact, in 2016 Washington accomplishes+14%, then reiterating a long positive trend.Overseas new markets are affected, espe-cially for footwear, by a heavy slowdown inthe Chinese area: Beijing’s stability is coun-teracted by Hong Kong’s -21%. On the otherhand neighbouring countries go up, thanksto the big western outsourcers: Vietnam+9%, Cambogia +9%, The Philippines +20%,Indonesia +6%, Myanmar +34%. Mexico aswell takes off: +22%. Good performance, inEurope, for French customers: +2%. Foot-wear and, most importantly, new entries inthe automotive sector turn to important in-crease, +15%, of Serbian purchases.

ITALIAN TANNERIES’ EXPORT IN 2016EVEN VOLUMES, SLIGHTLY DECREASING VALUE

VOLUME +0.1% VALUE -3%

Hong Kong

-21%

Source / data provided by ISTAT and processed by UNIC

FOR THE FIRST TIME

Its acronym is ICDA, namely Internatio-nal Chromium Development Associa-tion. Since 1984 this organization, ba-

sed in Paris, “has been representing, pro-moting and supporting the chromium in-

dustry” worldwide. A “heavy” in-dustry, as development of

metallurgical industryis going to be based

on chromium ore.In fact, over 90%of the annualproduction ismoving in this

direction, especiallywith regard to the steel

sector. Chromium chemicalapplication (it does not go beyond 5%,points out ICDA on their web portal) is justa niche one then. When it comes to tanningit turns to Chromium III, and with regard toaccessories it enables the development ofgalvanic, that is, surface process for shoes

and leather goods small metal items.That’sthe big picture. ICDA held their Members’Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on April25-26-27: for the first time the Italian tan-ning industry has taken part in it, as UNIC(National Association of Italian Tanneries)took a seat as a guest speaker. Quite a hi-storical participation, very appropriate byall means. For many reasons. Firstly be-cause UNIC has disclosed, while taking thefloor, during the meeting, in the “other keyapplications” work session, the real impor-tance of chromium in the tanning industry,which is pretty distant from the metallurgi-cal one. Secondly because price lists ofchromium based leather manufacturinghave been under pressure for months, somuch so that one of the major suppliers,Lanxess (involved, among other things, inthe chrome mineral processing), has rai-sed them twice: +20% in November 2016,+10% last March. Waiting for a third raisepossibly. Directions coming from Astanaare about to confirm this trend. Recoveryof global demand for steel and chromiumbased products for construction, especiallyin China and India, is fast and lively, and it’salso affecting the other markets, nicheones though. Focus on supply of a mineralwhose major lodes are placed in SouthAfrica, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, India andTurkey (some important pits are also loca-ted in Brazil and Cuba); hence some ex-perts are concerned about that. Conversely,looking at the tanning sector, UNIC consi-ders its participation in the Kazakh Meetingto be very positive: “An excellent chancethat has enabled the leather industry tostrike up important connections for furtherinteresting developments in the future”.

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17OFF TO KAZAKHSTAN

16

THE CHROMIUM WORLD INDUSTRY MEET UP IN ASTANA. UNIC TAKES PART IN THE MEMBERS’ MEETING. AN IMPORTANT LEAD-OFF STEP INTO A SECTOR DRIVEN

BY METALLURGY, THOUGH ESSENTIAL FOR LEATHER TANNING

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 17

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ICT GUIDELINES

AIMING FOR THECONTRACT TO COME

TRANSPARENCY, ORIGIN, ALLOWANCES. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TANNERS ISSUES A VADEMECUM TO PUT ON PAPER PARTS OF THE AGREEMENT WHICH ARE CURRENTLY NEBULOUS.

TIPS FOR A REFORM TO BE CARRIED OUT

The crucial point of the document is aboutallowances and commercial margins, whichare being updated in order to stick to market

conditions. Likewise traceability is a matter ofparamount importance: it is advisable to specify,as much as possible, all information about theorigin of tanning raw materials. Country, inclu-ding region and province, the slaughterhouse forlivestock processing and specific informationabout breed and physical qualities of leather. Aswell issues related to transparency are to be ta-ken into account: the weight of hides is to be spe-cified precisely,as approximate estimation is notvalid. These are some of the key points of theguidelines for tanning raw material trade, appro-ved by ICT (International Council of Tanners) onMarch 28 and issued on May 2. It comes there-fore to an end a project that started when RinoMastrotto was the president (for two years) of theassociation, and went on during Richard Pai’schairmanship. The above mentioned managersrepresent Italian and Chinese-Taiwanesegroups, the major buyers in the world with re-gard to raw hides.The document, which can be modified by ICT asthey take on new requests coming from entrepre-neurs, is a benchmark tool that will enable busi-ness operators to highlight, while negotiating acommercial agreement, some points still notconsidered in the International Contract n.6 forbuying and selling of tanning raw material. As amatter of fact such guidelines are not about toreplace the International contract, they rathercomplete it, thus acting in a dynamic position. Ontop of that, they are going to be the starting pointfor a future reform of the text of the contract.

The guestSo far counterparty has said “no”. ICHSLTA, the Internationalassociation of raw and semifinished leather traders, did not wantto take part in the work session for the revision of InternationalContract n.6 (ICHSLTA is a co-signer), which was last updated in1999. That made the Guidelines necessary. In view of ICT’sunilateral decision, the association of raw hide traders haspointed out their position. President Stephen Sothmann hasreminded, in the first place, that contract n.6 is to be consideredstill valid in its terms. Then he showed, seemingly, an attitudetowards openness. “We are examining ICT’s Guidelines - saysSothmann-. We expect again a mutual commitment betweenthe associations, aiming at a revision, in the future, of the text ofContract n.6”.

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17THE FRENCH RENDEZ-VOUS

18

by Roberto Procaccini

THE SORROWSOF THE CALVES

GLOBAL PRODUCTION HAS BEEN DECREASING. LIKEWISE THE AVERAGE QUALITY OF RAW MATERIAL COMINGFROM TANNERIES HAS BEEN GOING DOWN. BAD NEWS FROM LA BAULE (NANTES), AT THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL

MEETING OF THE TANNING INDUSTRY, OVER THE CRITICAL CALF SITUATION

The calf situation is not good in the end.Worldwide production has been decrea-sing, both in Europe and in North Ame-

rica. Better be wary about a few positive tipscoming from butcheries. Looking at 2015positive trend in Europe, still we don’t knowif that means a solid growth again or it’s justbeen a good season, which will not comeback though. By and large, calf butcheringhas been decreasing, as much as quality ofleather sent to tanning laundry machines.Damaged by infections and parasites, spoiltby small scars, showing how careless her-dsmen are about cattle, tanning raw mate-rial can’t be used for top class clothing on

the whole. Tough times for calf tanning in-dustry then, as being reported on the sixthedition of the international Calf Conference,on the agenda in France, in La Baule (placedon the Loire coastal region, about 80 kilome-ters from Nantes), on April 25-26.The confe-rence was set by Interbev, the French inter-professional association of meat industry.Apparently the market is being affected byrelevant changes, mostly due to customers’different attitude towards their spendingtheir money. Several issues are to be takeninto account. In the first place, the recenteconomic crisis, which has counted againstone of the most expensive types of meat. Mo-

2016 calf butcheryMajor manufacturing countries Breeding farms

Meat production

EUROPE

NORTH AMERICAThe Netherlands 32%France 30%

Italy 14%

Canada 50%

The USA 50%

EU 6,000North America 800

EU 645,000*North America 70,000** Tonne Équivalent-Carcasse

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 19

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17

THE FRENCH RENDEZ-VOUS

ving on then to more demandingclaims with regard to quality andwholesomeness (real or just percei-ved) for the final product. As regardsantibiotics for instance. As a matter

of fact, in Italy some supply chains de-mand for animals that have not un-dergone any antibiotic treatment overthe last 4 months prior to butchering.On the whole consumers’ expecta-

tions and claims have been rising,though apparently they are not goingto stand price increases driven byanimal welfare. As for Italy, just onpurpose above mentioned, it’s placed

Manufacturing historical trend

Source / IDELE - Québec Cattles Manufacturers

450,000

400,000

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0

1964

1967

1970

1973

1976

1979

1982

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

2000

2003

2006

2009

2012

2015

FranceItalyThe NetherlandsBelgiumGermany

téc800,000

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The USAQuébec

téc

683,395

212,446

218,964

185,581

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17THE FRENCH RENDEZ-VOUS

20

in one of the best European rankingsboth for calf meat production andconsumption, according to Jean-Marc Chaumet’s report (researcher atIDELE, Institut de l’Elevage, EconomicDepartment). Moreover Italy has beenstanding up, for a long time, againstthe economic crisis the calf tanningindustry was suffering from. Compa-red to key countries, such as France,where trend has been continuouslynegative since the sixties, Italy’s trendhas been conversely fluctuating untilthe nineties, when the global Europe-an crisis hit the Italian market as well:from 1984 till these days over 10 mil-lion cattle samples have gone lost.Only The Netherlands have been sho-wing a countertrend, as their entre-preneurial model has been leading,starting from the seventies, the deve-lopment of tanning industries in theUSA and Canada. Tough times forthem as well, as they are sufferingfrom large bovine leather competi-tors; on top of that customers are notthat fond of calf, as they stick to ga-stronomic traditions. As for the Cana-dian one, mostly based in Québec, ithas reached its own stability. Conver-sely the American one, which has be-en considerably halving its productionvolumes since 2002, is indeed in atight spot. The meat industry can behappy, anyway, since over the last four

decades the unit weight of calves, bythe time of butchering, has been re-markably increasing. Glancing at theFrench trend, the overall weight hasbeen going up as follows: 90 kilos in1970, 110 kilos in 1983, 142 kilos no-wadays. Yet, back to tanning business,that’s not a good news. The LeatherNational Council (Conseil National duCuir- CNC), the French federationthat comprises 20 leather industryassociations, has taken stage at theConference to send a warning: “Far-mers, please take care of your calves-that was the gist of CNC PresidentFranck Boehly’s speech - as our fac-tories are sent raw material of verylittle use (20%) for luxury and topclass clothing”. French entrepreneursare concerned about the situation,Italians even more. In fact, from Sep-tember 2016 till March 2017 prices ofraw materials, coming from France,

have gone up considerably (+22%). Al-legedly calves’ weight is a problem.One of the problems. In the very latestyears more and more leather sam-ples were spoilt by stretch marks orveinings, most likely due to the hea-vier weight of calves. That’s not all.They are also spoilt by scars followingabrasions that occur in the cowshedsand on transportation vehicles, aswell as by scratches after shearing,infections and parasite attacks, not tomention further damages potentiallycaused by butchers whilst skinning.Calf breeders deal with very younganimals, whose immune defense sy-stem is still not completely developed.They should therefore take much careof them and help them avoid stressfulsituations that might jeopardize theirhealth conditions: vaccinations andsuitable facilities would be most ap-propriate.

Farmers want to receive money incentives from tanneries inorder to comply with tanneries’ demand for closer attentionto animal welfare. Seemingly CNC is going to grant them.What way? Through a leather tracking system: valuablezootechnics will therefore be rewarded. On the other hand,breeders have got the same problem with their ownsuppliers. Milk makers, for whom calves are a by-product,

put forth same complaints. ”We are paid peanuts for ouryoung calves- some entrepreneurs complain at La Baule-.At times we can hardly get rid of them. This problem mayjeopardize our business”. The nitty-gritty, quite clearindeed, is that makers need incentives to keep up in themarket as milk industry is currently facing such a seriouscrisis. Farmers can’t help that. They must pay more.

The supplier question

These veinings make us wary“We are dealing with a brand new issue, probably linked to breeding farmindustrialization”. Jean-Christophe Muller Haas is the chairman of HaasTanneries. He himself took stage at the Calf Sixth Conference and he pointedout French tanning difficulties. “Leather samples have mechanicalimperfections- he says - caused by conditions of cowsheds, where animalsbump into bolts and corners, or arising from sanitary and health issues”. As forveinings and stretch marks, we have been facing such problem since 2000;lately it has turned into a chronic matter: “It is quite a serious issue”- recapsMuller. With regard to vaccination against ringworm, CNC may set someconferences and allocate funds for breeding farms, whereas zootechnics lookat crossbreeds and forage elements as industry top secret. Still wonderingthen if calves’ heavier weight and leather endurance can go hand in hand.

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 21

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17

BREAKING NEWS FROM BRAZIL

CORRUPTIONSCANDAL STRIKES JBS

THE MEAT GIANT IS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN LAVA JATO INQUIRY, THE LEGAL CASE THAT HAS BEEN ROCKING BRAZILIAN POLITICS AND INDUSTRY.10,3 BILLION REAL (ABOUT 3 BILLION EUROS) FOR PLEA BARGAINING

In mid-May the press disclosed the con-tent of a phone tapping given to Brazilianinvestigators by Wesley Batista, currently

chairman of JBS, the meat industry holdingheadquartered in Sao Paulo. In the conversa-tion Batista agrees with Michel Temer, Presi-dent of Brazil, upon the payment of a numberof bribes to former President of the Chamberof Deputies, at present in jail, to make certainof his silence. Such phone tapping is the lastchapter of the legal inquiry “Lava Jato” (“Car-wash”), which has been looking into corrup-tion in Brazilian politics since 2014. This is thesecond judicial scandal JBS has been recentlyinvolved in. In fact last March the Brazilianholding was implicated again in another legalcase, “Carne Fraca” (“Weak Meat”), about al-leged bribery in the local agro-industry. JBS’sentanglement in Lava Jato has been showingits effects quite quickly. Wesley Batista wascompelled to resign both as chairman andmember of JBS’s board of directors. Samegoes for his brother Joesley, member of JBS’s

management as well. J&F, the holding com-pany through which Batista and his familycontrol JBS, agreed upon the payment, in 25years, of 10,3 billion real (about 3 billion euros)for plea bargaining. Analysts wonder howsuch endeavour will affect the group’s finan-cial autonomy. Apparently JBS has charged amerchant bank with looking for buyers withregard to some of its assets (including Alpar-gatas footwear factory group). Evidenceenough that they need money. According tosome revelations coming from the Brazilianpress, JBS’s industry is under pressure. Sup-pliers are asked to deal with delayed pay-ments of amount due: as a counteroffer, theylook for new business, as much as one can.Likewise Brazilian customers are worried asthey fear negative consequences on their bu-siness due to boycott campaign launched bysome consumer associations. As for interna-tional clients (important French and USbrands , such as Carrefour and Walmart, areamong them), they are concerned as JBS’s si-tuation clashes with their own moral princi-ples. JBS has over 230,000 employees, it’s incharge of 20 manufacturing plants in 20countries and sells its products in 150 coun-tries.The group’s companies represent thewhole meat supply industry. JBS Couros (a di-vision of Mercosul) runs 24 tanneries: 16 ofthem are placed in Brazil, the others are inEurope (in Italy too), America, Oceania andAsia. Italian leather entrepreneurs have seen,so far, that Brazilian butcherings have beenslowing down and prices are beneficial owingto currency issues. They wait and see then,wondering about the effects of the goings-onin the industry.

CLeAR CLOSE TO TARGETFASHION NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS GATHER IN MILAN AT UNIC MEETING.FOCUS ON CLEARNESS OVER CHEMICAL TESTS AND RESULTS: REPORT IS COMING SOON

It has been presented the early versionof the guidelines for chemical analysisand results. Attendees at CLeAR (Con-

fidence in Leather Analysis Results), theleather meeting promoted by UNIC (Natio-nal Union of Tanning Industries), along withthe fashion industry players (tanneries,suppliers, Italian and international brands)have discussed it during the last workshopsession, in Milan, on May 3. As a result ofthe talks, some additions to the text havearisen: an appendix about data which mustbe provided by chemical analytical labora-tories to be accredited, as well as a docu-ment about recommendation, potentiallyhanded out by tanneries to their ownclients, over leather conservation. The pro-vision of tanneries’ liability, to which extentit is to be limited, is the major topic: the gistis to pinpoint how much or, better, how longthe company, which has provided a brandwith materials, enclosing warranties andcertification over their chemical properties,is to be accountable for the same materials

following conditions. Next appointment forCLeAR is scheduled after summer. Hope-fully a final version of the guidelines will beissued shortly. That would be the very firstaccomplishment achieved by the workinggroup. As a matter of fact, the main playersof the fashion system would be providedwith one definite guidance tool to find theirbearings in the complicated world of lea-ther chemical analysis: in fact, somewheretrial methods are controlled, somewhereelse instead there is no control standard.That’s why common aims are necessary, asmuch as the fashion industry needs clear-ness over information that must be givenout by chemical analytical laboratoriesabout their method, over margins of errorand procedures (such as sampling andsample consignment, for example), in or-der to avoid disturbance. This is not the on-ly goal though. In fact CLeAR, which startedits work in spring 2016 aiming to deliverclearness over laboratory tests, applies tobecome a permanent working group fortanneries and leather companies to ad-dress chemical problems. Many issues areon the agenda, some of which have alreadybeen discussed during the last meeting.For example, the ring test: UNIC is goingto arrange it in collaboration with the Na-tional Chamber of Italian Fashion. Suchoperation has never been carried out befo-re: it consists in a round system that sub-mits the same sample to a number of la-boratories, then assessing if the test me-thod can be replicated and looking into ac-ceptable margins of error, with regard tosome leather standards, such as PFOS.Not to mention the upcoming registrationof chemicals at REACh project, implemen-ted in 2007 and close to the end. Quite toworry about that.

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17CLEARNESS OVER TESTS

22

The leather working subgroup will be led by UNIC.Over 50 agencies and companies, from the leatherindustry, take part in the international ZDHC (ZeroDischarge of Hazardous Chemicals) project. The aim, asthe name says, is to reduce and eventually remove fromtextile and footwear industry the employment of anumber of chemicals which are considered to behazardous. To achieve this goal, whose deadline will be1 January 2020, they are going to implement a systemof chemical management (potentially it will turn to anISO regulation) to apply to all sectors of the fashionsystem. As for its application in each sector, someGuidelines are about to be put into effect. We’ll seeresults gradually. Meanwhile, inside the ZDHC project(UNIC joined it last autumn) the working groups focus onthe arrangement of a number of audits, to beconducted in the companies, over waste water and thesystem of chemical management, in order to set up a

best practice protocol for companies with regard tochemistry. As for the textile industry, audits have beenconducted, so far, just out of Europe. Leatherwise fewaudits have been performed in non-European countries,and still results are not known. Some important topicsare on the table: access to information and accreditationfor chemical analytical laboratories and, in addition tothat, the staff training. In other words, inspectors needto be qualified as chemists, management systemexperts and sector specialists.

THE ZDHC PROJECT

Acque del Chiampo are planning to build up a newpurifier in Arzignano. The company in charge of thepurification plant is looking for private partnership tocarry out the implementation of a new purifier. Itsdevelopment will be based on a project financingscheme. According to sole administrator AlbertoSerafin (in the picture) that would “make things faster”,thus meeting, in a timely manner, the needs of thetanning industry: in fact - emphasizes the manager- theycan’t afford to wait too long, as they would instead witha normal public tender. The prototype of the newpurification plant will cost 15 million Euros: 10 millionswill be wired thanks to the project agreement, Acque

del Chiampo will pay 5 millions. Things have to be donequickly for an additional reason as well: “Arzignanodump does not represent a good solution forenvironmental sludge any longer”. In fact, 26,000 tonsof waste products currently go into the dump every year;yet such solution is not considered to be “ideal”,according to European directions, for which sludge heattreatment is required. In the meantime Serafin hasannounced, on his participation at greenLife concludingmeeting, that “Acque del Chiampo are going to start upa feasibility study over the preservation of bristles afterprocessing”, in order to turn a waste product intosomething useful and valuable.

ACQUE DEL CHIAMPO

PROJECT FINANCING FOR THE NEW PURIFIER

UNIC TAKES CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE LEATHER WORKING SUBGROUP

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17NEWS

24

In the hides treatment, duringthe dyeing process somechemicals are added in order toprovide leather with someproperties, such as colour anduniformity, on its surface. Wastewaters will therefore containsome dyestuff, which hardlycan be treated in conventionalpurification plants. Out ofseveral methods suitable forcolour processing, adsorbing isby all means one of the mostimportant ones. A persistentdemand for effective and cheaptreatment techniques drove toresearch for alternativeadsorbents. One of them is haircoming from conservativeunhairing, in the liming stage,which has been tested in orderto assess its capability to removedyestuff, given differentconcentration and pH. SomeBrazilian researchers havediscussed it at IUCLTS worldConference, as they presentedtheir own research entitled:Characterization of Cattle HairWaste as Adsorbent for LeatherDyes. The best results werecarried out at acidic pH: from asolution at pH 2, containing100mg/l of dyestuff and 1 gramof retrieved bovine hair, theyremoved a relevant amount ofdyestuff (93% to 98%). Usingsuch materials is advantageousfor several reasons: pollutionresulting from liming is reduced,waste product is retrieved,colour is removed from waters.Still it’s not crystal clear what’sgoing to happen next withregard to waste water. How tohandle a liquid waste, at pH 2,that must be processed, beforeits draining, till it comes to asuitable pH for treatment in apurification plant?

HAIR AS ALTERNATIVEADSORBENT. YET…

The final draft of PEFCR, Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules,that is, rules to work out leather environmental footprint, has been submittedto the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission at thebeginning of 2017. The document raises a number of improvements, carriedout on the basis of remarks coming from a public consultation, held in 2016mid-year, as much as of the ones taken by a board of review, composed by anenvironmental evaluation expert, a tanning sector specialist and arepresentative of an NGO. The leather pilot technical secretariat has brilliantlyworked out problems about the shaping of the main chemicals for tanning,formerly mentioned in the article published on 28 June 2016, thanks toprofitable cooperation with some of the major suppliers. In 2017 early monthstechnical secretariat has also planned and experimented communicationsmedia (such as labels, websites, reports and so on) that will be employed tobroadcast leather environmental footprint. A report over the results of thetests has been submitted to the European Commission: at this point, takinginto account further results coming from the other project pilots, the EC willdecide what instruments are most appropriate and suitable forcommunicating the product environmental footprint. At the moment theEuropean Commission is striving for data remodelling. In other words, they aresupposed to recast the project information according to adjustments to PEFCRoutlined in 2016.The end of the pilot stage is due in November 2017, as thefinal version of PEFCR is going to be published as well.

PEFCR, THE TRIAL PHASE IS GOING TO BE OVER IN NOVEMBER

In the tanning industry biocides are employed in order to prevent hidesdeterioration due to microorganisms, which may lead to a number ofnegative effects with regard to the final product: stains,roughness, anoverall decrease of leather mechanical properties. Biocides, such asTCMTB, namely 2- (Thiocyanomethylthio) benzthiazol, are applied atdifferent stages of the tanning process as an alternative option tochlorinated phenolic compounds (for example Pentachlorophenol).Biocides undergo just a partial degradation through sewage normaltreatment. Moreover, a considerable concentration of them mayjeopardize the efficiency of biological treatment. TCMTB can be removedby direct photolysis, as verified whilst monitoring a decreasedconcentration of the chemical in the water that had undergone thetreatment. At regular intervals, in a 7 hour time frame, samples have beentaken and analysed by using high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). All samples of water (with TCMTB concentration between 20mg/land 80mg/l) highlighted the full degradation of biocides in the first 30minutes while undergoing photolysis treatment. Such results evidence thatTCMTB is a fully photodegradable compound and, therefore, whollyremovable from sewage.

TCMTB, PHOTODEGRADABLE AND REMOVABLE

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 25

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17

RESEARCH AND AROUNDIn cooperation with Lineapelle / Environment and Sustainability

RMG’S MINIBONDMessage is clear as it meets one soleneed: innovation. Rino MastrottoGroup, the tanning giant based in Arzi-

gnano, has issued a 12 million euro mini-bond, “in order to support his investment

plan, aiming to makehis leadership in themarkets even stron-ger”. His “call” is ta-ken by a group of 10investors, amongwhom some founda-tions, pension trustsand banks. The is-sued bond, whosemanagement hasbeen assigned to Fi-nint Bank, will expi-re at the end of2023: amortisationis planned startingfrom 2020. RMG’sdecision expandshorizons with regard

to access to credit. RMG (800 employeesor so and approximately a 250 million euroturnover in 2016) points out: “Our last sea-sons suggested that we were cautious, but

now we are entitled to face future pro-spects more optimistically: therefore wehave to speed up and make investments.That require financial means”. Why a mini-bond? “Nowadays banking- replies thegroup from Vicenza- is different from whatit used to be, that’s why we need to expandand diversify lines of credit. We have madethis decision, thus going far from traditio-nal channels: such choice enables us tocome up to financial supporters, who didnot know us, and understand thereforehow they look at us from an “outside stan-dpoint”. Moreover, this will enhance ourwork from several points of view”. The mi-nibond will give financial support to RMG’snew development plan, for the next threeyears (2017-2020), focused on the expan-sion and the reorganization of manufactu-ring plants. “Paying of course attention tosolutions connected to the Industry 4.0Plan, for which we have been revising allof our manufacturing processes”. Let’s goone step further: our aim is also to upgra-de the globalization process, especially inthe European, American and Asian mar-kets. Investments for innovation then. Tokeep growing.

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1712 MILLION EUROS

26

by Luca Fumagalli

RINO MASTROTTO GROUP “EXPANDS HIS LINES OF CREDIT”, ISSUES A BOND TO “SUPPORT HIS 2017-2020 INVE-STMENT PLAN” AND GATHERS 10 INVESTORS

Rino M

astro

tto

BUZZIN THE DISTANCE

On LVMH press release, along with2017 first term astonishing profits,achieved by the group, attention is

drawn by a statement of paramount im-portance about the current situation of fa-shion high quality items: “This trend (+15%on annual basis, from the editor’s note) ca-n’t be reasonably projected on the wholeyear”. In other words, let’s rejoice, with nocomplacency though. Why? The answercan be found in the annual balance sheetover 2016, which was as well an excellentyear (+5%) for the group led by Bernard Ar-nault: “Although worldwide demand isconsiderable, geopolitical and financial in-stability may seriously affect the businessin the first part of 2017. Reasonably globaleconomy might not be able to prevent the

risk of a serious crisis in the next monthsor years, owing to a variety of precariousevents to be dealt with”.Okay, perhaps Arnault’s prediction aboutluxury fashion’s business trend is not fullyreliable. Yet comment given by François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief execu-tive officer of Kering luxury group, aboutthe first-term profits of his holding, are notthat different: our outcomes (+31,2%) “areextremely positive”, still they are facing“persistent geopolitical and macroecono-mic instability”. Same opinion then. Wewere writing about it last February. The lu-xury crisis (though some observers pointout that it was rather a slowdown) is overbehind us. Conditions for growth and de-velopment are back again. Pace is slow(roughly +2% average, according to officialsources), still steady, thanks to US custo-mers, who are spending again, as well asthe Chinese ones. And the European mar-ket is lively, as it can benefit from the cur-rency exchange and from the liveliness ofthe local clientele, according toBain&Company forecast. What looms overthe sector, in other words the buzz in thedistance that is messing things up, whilethe luxury industry is looking for a new se-tup to get in line with digital economy andmeet the upcoming new clientele worldwi-de, is not coming from the fashion systemitself then. Are winds of war blowing fromthe Middle East or from the Pacific area?How is Europe going to cope with Brexit ef-fects? What kind of terrorist retaliation isto be expected in Europe? Such questionsmay,and will, affect the stock market andthe trade output. Still waiting for properanswers.

PROFITS COMING FROM HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS KEEP SPEEDING UP CONSIDERABLY. YET EXPERTS RECOMMEND CAUTION. INSTABILITY ARISES FROM GEOPOLITICAL SITUATIONS

THAT AFFECT A SECTOR BEING LIVELY OTHERWISE

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 27

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LUXURY

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17LUXURY

28

by Roberto Procaccini

FAIR LEATHER,CHANGEABLE WEATHER

A SECTOR (LUXURY) IN CRISIS. SO THEY SAID. A MARKET SEGMENT UNABLE TO GROW AND IMPROVE, UNLESS VERY SLOWLY THOUGH. YET 2017 FIRST QUARTER SHOWS VERY GOOD PROFITS FOR HIGH QUALITY

PRODUCTS. AS LONG AS THEY STRIVE FOR THEM. ONLY OUTSIDE FACTORS MAY STOP THIS RUN

Comparing current profits to the negativeprevious term, it’s much easier to celebra-te a victory. Better than losing repeatedly

anyway. Glancing at the beginning of 2017, atthe end of the first term a vast majority of lu-xury top brands speed up. Not to mention Bot-tega Veneta, back to positive business trend.After a 18 month recession, CEO Claus-Die-trich Lahrs’s therapy is getting effective: in fact,from January till March the brand’s profits ha-ve increased (+4,7%).With regard to newly run-ning fashion brands, Hugo Boss gets goodmarks as well. Prior to publication of 2016 fi-nancial report (sales have gone down even-tually, -6,8%),the German group has announ-ced that they are about to implement a corpo-rate restructuring solid plan, aiming to reno-vate the brand identity. Thus taking the brandfar away from the luxury segment and bringingit back to its natural playground, namely thepremium one. As a result of it, sales have goneslightly up (+1%): comforting messages then.

How about Burberry? The British brand, who-se financial reports are recorded differently,has concluded the fiscal year 2015-2016 basi-cally in balance (0,3%); yet their sales in thequarter, closing on March 31, have increased(+3%) in the same business area. In otherwords, apparently the recent recession is be-hind, even for the brands most affected by theoverall slowdown. By the time we are writingabout it, we wonder about Prada, the big sickin the Italian luxury industry, and their outco-mes in the early beginning of 2017. As far aswe know, figures about last year are not posi-tive at all (profits have been decreasing, -10%,yet going slightly better in the very last part ofthe year), offset by investments in the new fac-tory, based in Tuscany and Marche, and by abelated opening to digital technology.Talking about Italian top brands, let’s move onto Kering group again. Gucci keeps pushing atfull speed, thanks to the effective therapy han-ded out by fashion designer Alessandro Mi-

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

+13.5%

+7.5%

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

+51.4%

+12.7%

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

+4.7%

-8.7%

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 29

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LUXURY

chele and CEO Marco Bizzarri. Profitsare stunningly good: +51,4%, as allmanufacture segments (including ac-cessories and footwear) boast reve-nues in double figures. In the luxuryindustry no company can match sucha brilliant performance. Not even YvesSaint Laurent, another fashion brandof Kering group. After a turbulent go-odbye to Hedi Slimane, creative designhas been put into the hands of Antho-ny Vaccarello: in the first quarter pro-fits have gone up, +33,4%, driven bywoman’s footwear. Looking at theother luxury brands of the French hol-ding (including collections by Balen-ciaga and Brioni), the Couture & Lea-ther Goods division has achieved, in

the same period, good outcomes:+11,1%. Not that much apparently, yetactually well done.As a matter of fact, the business trendis just too good. Salvatore Ferraga-mo’s revenues have increased at theend of 2016: +1% (1,4 billions), +14%net profits. Likewise the new year hasstarted extremely well, but we can’tprovide details: “We are working, andwe have chosen not to give out any in-formation about our quarterly busi-ness”, points out briefly CEO EraldoPoletto. Since he doesn’t spin off figu-res about the fashion brands compri-sed in the group, we may look at theaggregate ones: fair enough to seethat the new year has begun very well

for LVMH (Fendi, Loro Piana and LouisVuitton are some of the owned fashionbrands) as well. The holding’s overallturnover amounts to 9,8 billion euros,showing a 15% increase. Same goesfor the Fashion & Leather Goods divi-sion (3,4 billion euros: 2,9 one yearago).Very good performance for Chri-stian Dior Couture as well: the subsi-diary brand, who is a parent companyof LVMH (by which it might be whollyowned shortly), has achieved in thefirst quarter 518 million euros reve-nues, that is, +18%. Not too bad, isn’tit? Wasn’t the sector in crisis lately?Wondering if such amazing trend willgo on for a long time. Or,conversely, itwill be disrupted by outside factors.

Source / data provided by companies

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

+35.4%

+25.2%

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

+15%

+3%

I°Quarter 2017

Year2016

/

-10%Fashion&Leather Goods division

A LUXURY HOLDING?

The turnover will mostly affect the USfashion industry, and won’t engage thatmuch the European one. Furthermore,

the operation basically aims to settle thelow segment rather than calling out thehigh quality one. Two weak-profile partiesjoin together: let’s see how things go then.When Coach announced, last May, on the8th, that they had acquired Kate Spade (2,4billion dollars), the same US brand talkedfirst about the creation of “the luxury groupbased in New York”. Many observers andexperts kept up with it. For instance, theNew York Times put together, in an articlewritten by their Fashion Director, VanessaFriedman, a double definition, as they tal-ked about “a conglomerate that may be acompetitor for the European luxury hol-dings” and “an empire of fashion” as well.

There is a big difference between themthough. Marco Pozzi, senior advisor atContactlab (a consulting company) speakshis mind: what is about to take off is “anAmerican hub for premium products, notfor the luxury ones, therefore it won’t be acompetitor of the European giants: in otherwords a challenge to VF Corp, rather thanLVMH”. Why? “Because luxury does not re-present the core of US fashion: former at-tempts did not work. And both brands abo-ve mentioned do not belong to that. Not atall”. According to Pozzi, the strategic aim ofsuch acquisition is to enhance then. “Co-ach and Spade are not complementarybrands, conversely they tend to overlap intheir offer - points out -. Spade’s contribu-tion is its larger popularity among Millen-nials, and, above all, lower start and me-dium prices”. This is the main reason whythe analyst from Contactlab believes thatCoach’s real aim is to safeguard its busi-ness from lower-ranking brands “such asKors, Burch and- why not?- the mass-mar-ket ones (for example Mango)”. Coach willprovide “a valuable digital platform whichenables the company, according to our re-ports, to perform, with regard to sales, asone of the 5 best brands in New York and inthe Chinese market”: good to boost Spa-de’s business potentially. Yet good tips endhere. Points out Pozzi: “Coach has not beenincreasing its profits for three years, andSpade is not a booming brand. As far as Iknow, since both brands are in difficultiesthey are unlikely to get over it together”.Their first steps, in fact, leave perplexed.“They have announced that they are aboutto cut costs (50 millions). That is, 1% oftheir turnover: we expected something mo-re remarkable”.

MANY OBSERVERS CONSIDER IT TO BE THE US RESPONSE TO LVMH, KERING AND RICHEMONT. OVEROPTIMISTIC STATEMENT THOUGH. IN FACT, THE ACQUISITION ENHANCES THE PREMIUM SECTOR

RATHER THAN AIMING AT HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 31

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THE COACH - SPADE AFFAIR

BETTER THAN EXPECTEDITALIAN LEATHER GOODS INDUSTRY STANDS UP IN 2016. BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE FOR LEATHER ACCESSORIES:

+1,4%. GOOD PROSPECTS FROM ASIA. BREXIT SLOWS DOWN UK TREND

“Although the overall situation is difficultas it keeps being precarious, we are op-timistic about the future. Italian leather

goods industry is one of the best performingsectors: over the last 10 years it withstood anumber of crisis as it is solidly built”. Ric-cardo Braccialini, president of AIMPES, gi-ves a picture of the situation as he hints at2016 economic trends during the annualMeeting that took place in Bologna on May6. Leather bags show a positive trend again.Quite unexpected. Figures about last yearare remarkable: an overall turnover of morethan 7 billion euros, 6,6 billion euros co-ming from export, a trade surplus of 4 bil-lions. Leather goods turnover (which repre-sents a 5 billion euro share) is going up:+1,4%; conversely imports, especially fromSlovenia, Romania and Bulgaria are slightlydecreasing, -0,2%. As for key markets, Fran-ce and Germany confirm their stability, whe-reas discrepant messages come from theUSA, the United Arab Emirates and China.Great Britain starts being affected by Brexit,that - says AIMPES - “has been causing aturnaround for the UK trend, which had beenquite lively in the latest period. As for thenew markets, Poland is gaining ground”. Di-rect sales are increasing in Japan, HongKong and South Korea.

ELGA: the European AllianceThe acronym recalls a person’s forename and it pinpoints“an important landmark for the leather goods industry,thus filling a gap which had been going on for a longtime. In fact, for many years the leather industry had norepresentative body, in Europe, striving to safeguard theinterests of the same industry before the EU

institutions”. Hence ELGA, recently founded in Brusselson April 27: European Alliance for the Leather GoodsIndustry. It represents the federal leather associations of 4countries: France (FFM, whose president, ArnaudHaefelin, takes the leadership), Spain (ASEFMA), GreatBritain (BTAA) and Italy (AIMPES).

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17ROSE-COLORED GLASSES FOR LEATHER BAGS

32

by Luca Fumagalli

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 33

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THE WEAKNESS OF FOOTWEAR

Italian footwear industry looks over 2016balance estimated figures and confirmspartial report over the first nine months.

“The situation is not that brilliant - says Asso-calzaturifici (association of footwear factories) -; closing figures are slightly negative, with re-gard to volumes, in the main headings”. Manu-facturing: -2% in volumes, +0,3% in value. Ex-ports: -0,9% as for pair of shoes, +2,6% in value,which gets close to 9,2 billion euros. The num-ber of firms gets lower (-2%, 4,839 companies)as well as the number of employees (-0,4%),who amount to 76,744 workers. France is themajor market for Italian footwear; it shows an

alarming trend though, as value decreases(-0,6%) and volumes slump (-5%). Switzerlandplaces second in the rankings, thus reaffirminga structural trade triangulation, showing “oneof a kind” totally positive trend: +15,1% in value,+3,3% as for pair of shoes. Surprise comes fromthe third place in the ranking, as Germany(+3,4%) outdoes the USA (-4,8%). Good perfor-mance for Spain (+10,2%) and South Korea(+16,7%). Russia shows a countertrend, as theybuy higher volumes, though quality is much lo-wer: +13,6% and -4%. Conversely, “domesticmarket recovery - point out shoe manufactu-rers - after losing ground consistently for 8 ye-ars, has still to come: as a matter of fact, sta-gnation of volumes on the whole has gone handin hand with a decline in sales (-2,4%), as evi-dence that buyers still pay close attention to pri-ces”. Expectations for the first six months of2017, with regard to demand, are pretty muchthe same. According to Assocalzaturifici’s sur-vey, “demand is stable for 66% of the domesticmarket and for 56% of the foreign one. Some in-terviewees (25% of them) expect export to goup”; more pessimism instead for 22% of them.

The Marche plod along, as they can’t offset Russiandownturn. Emilia Romagna is booming. Export bestperformer is still Veneto, as its sales, which represent aremarkable share (27,1%) of the Italian turnover, haveincreased (+3%) in 2016. Positive trend for Venice(+5,2%), negative for Verona (-8,8%), stable for Padua(+1,6%), good stride for Vicenza (+9,9%). Emilia Romagnarecovers from 2015 setback as it goes up considerably

(+14,4%). Good performance for Puglia as well (+2%),while Campania and Tuscany are stable (+0,5% and +0,8%respectively). Further bad downturn for the Marche: -6,7%.In the last quarter of 2016 trends are in line with thecurrent ones: +12,2% for Emilia Romagna, compared toOctober-December 2015, +8,2% for Lombardy, +6,1% forCampania, +3,3% for Veneto. Tuscany goes down (-1,6%).The Marche slump: -11,7%.

Veneto is leading

THE LEADERSHIP OF SELLING PRICES

ITALIAN FOOTWEAR PERFORMANCE WAS “NOT THAT BRILLIANT” IN 2016. RISING AVERAGE PRICES, PER PAIR OF SHOES, HELP EXPORT (+2,6%), STILL PENALIZE DOMESTIC MARKET AGAIN.

RUSSIA SHOWS A COUNTERTREND, AND PURCHASE QUALITY GOES DOWN

WAITING FOR WINTER BOOTNOT A GREAT DEAL OF QUIRKINESS IS EXPECTED NEXT WINTER.

NEW YORK BUYERS FOCUS ON BOOTWEAR AND COMBAT BOOTS. STILL BEING FOND OF MINI BAGS

What American buyers want is pretty much clear. Nextwinter shoes will be snug and comfortable. On the otherhand bags are still going to be small sized, for price rea-

sons as well. Quite a trend confirmation, not much of sur-prise, that enables operators to focus their attention on fo-otwear style innovations. Although they are showing elegan-ce in their trend, such innovations look tangible as a matterof fact. Linda Fargo, purchasing manager at Bergdorf Go-odman, points that out on an interview granted to WWD, theprestigious magazine: “At first I was puzzled about so muchseriousness. I was afraid that samples would not “kick butt”.I feel optimistic today though. How about bootwear? Abso-lutely amazing. I am confident that all materials, from velvetto fur, will be able to drive sales”. How about leather goods?“I do believe that most attention, previously given to bags,has been aroused by footwear, as I have seen no highlightsabout it. Likewise Lisa Aiken, fashion director of the Net-a-Porter portal, believes that” next season will be driven byboots, thanks to their relevant variety and their prominentcolours, as important as ever, especially white and red”. Cle-ar fashion appeal then, yet much attention, stylewise, to fo-otwear conditions of use, not to mention combat boots aswell, presented in their various forms by a vast majority offashion brands. What about bags? Looks like their fortuneis see-sawing. In fact, fashion shows exhibit on runway largesized shoes, American clients buy very few though. Minibags again next winter then.

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17WHAT THE USA WANT

34

Tough times. According to a report, provided by NPD, inthe USA, from February 2016 till February 2017, footwearsales have decreased (-1% on the whole). Despitesneakers’ good performance, as they have been going up(+3%), more refined footwear slumps (-6%). Same goes forbags and leather accessories: -7%. Looking at figures andprofits, over 12 months footwear sales have amounted to65 billion dollars, whereas handbag sales are remarkablylower, as they have reached just 7,3 billion dollars. NPDassessment goes straight to the point:” For the time being,in the USA fashion does not take priority”.

Yet sales go down

Isabel Marant presents her boots winter collection: a must - say footwear American buyers

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 35

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US HOME FURNISHINGS

AMERICANS KEEP UPVALUABLE APPRECIATION FOR LEATHER CHAIR SEAT, PRESENTED AT HIGH POINT MARKET.

YET FABRIC GAINS GROUND AND MARKET SHARES (MUCH LIKE IT DID AT THE FURNITURE EXHIBITION IN MILAN).TEPID EXPECTATIONS, A LOT OF CHINESE VISITORS AROUND STANDS,

AND BRIGHT HOPES COMING FROM MILLENNIALS

warm and optimistic hopes in the end.Americans keep up, by and large. SaysRocco Finco, from Adelaide, the Venetiantannery: “We can be happy about this fair:despite the fact that we are not on the pe-ak time, stands and pavilions were bu-stling. We have come across many buyers,coming from China, as well as many visi-tors from Asia”. Further on: “Very good vi-brations about the domestic market aswell”, adds Finco. This is evidence of thevery important moment of the Americanestate market, driving obvious positive ef-fects on the décor one. Such good effects,according to most operators, are to beascribed to Millennials and their role inthe market. According to Armistead & Ep-person, Mann financial analysts, “Millen-nials represent a fantastic opportunity, astheir growing attitude towards shoppingand purchase might make 2017 the bestyear over the last decade in the Americanhome furnishings business”. American re-tailers second that. According to HighPoint forecast, 37% of Millennials willspend, in 2017, roughly 27 billion dollarsfor furnishings (US retailers hope that willcome true). Upholstered furnishings ofcourse, still with an eye to fabric. Pointsout Finco: “Stylewise, at High Point youcould clearly spot very lively trends, bothfor samples and colours. As for leatherconditions of use, I could appreciate crea-tivity insights and tips, both for pigmentsand printed leather. Yet, fabrics have beena great deal appreciated and used even byformer leather lovers, thus confirmingclues that came up at Milan FurnitureExhibition”.

Very first impression from North Ca-rolina: in the past the Americanupholstered home furnishings market

was pretty much independent; now, con-versely, it is affected by trends global in-fluence. With regard to style and goods aswell. As a result of it, at High Point market(on the agenda on April 22-23-24-25-26)leather has taken enticing and creativeground. Still, in the same way as it cameup at the very latest Milan Furniture Exhi-bition, fabric stands out as a valid alterna-tive option that keeps gaining ground andmarket shares, as for top-class items aswell. Second impression: market is aliveand kicking, and that enables to nourish

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17AUTOMOTIVE

36

by Luca Fumagalli

HAND IN HANDWITH DEVELOPMENT

CAR INTERIOR KEEP PUSHING AND RISING. LEAR, ADIENT AND FAURECIA’S PROFITS CONFIRM SUCH TREND. INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY SPEED UP AS WELL,

AS “AUTOMATION AND COMPUTERIZATION ENABLE FLEXIBILITY”

Lectra’s new generation cutting surface

A vast majority of luxury fashion brandsshow off outstanding revenues and re-markably increasing profits. Excellent

news for the fashion industry then. Likewisethe automotive sector, which has been con-sistently drawing our attention, keeps pu-shing, quick-paced and even, thus endor-sing, one more time, the Italian tanningleadership. It’s no coincidence that in Eu-

rope car interior industry has been and willbe the major topic of two important “confe-rence” events. The former took place inBordeaux, on April 19-20: organized byLectra, manufacturer of new generationcutting surfaces, it paid close attention toIndustry 4.0 and its effects. The latter, onthe agenda in Munich on May 22, arrangedby ILM, will focus on sustainability. Report:

THE LEATHER MONTHLY MAGAZINE 37

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AUTOMOTIVE

due to its total innovation and consi-stently growing market, automotivesector is not an easy playground, asit demands (especially from tanne-ries) a different management of pro-duction and a new dealing withclients. Achieving brilliant goalsthough. Perfect example is given bytanneries based in Vicenza’s provin-ce: over the last years they have beengaining market shares, thus overco-ming their historical competitors,namely German and Austrian tanne-ries. Focusing their efforts on theiritems and manufacturing technolo-gical quality as well. Says AlbertoSilvagni, in charge of the AutomotiveDivision at Mastrotto Group, fromBordeaux: “We need a very flexibleattitude to compete in a supply chainso well connected as car interior in-dustry is. We have computerized cut-ting surfaces now. We are aiming to

boost processing automation furtheron, in order to deal with operationaldetails in real time”.Let’s move back to balance reports.Car interior industry’s financial situa-tion is by all means sound and weal-thy. Evidence is provided by the topthree companies in the sector: Lear,Adient, Faurecia. 2016 was positivefor all of them, as much as the begin-ning of 2017, very good indeed. Adient, Johnson Controls’ recent spinoff, have signed an agreement withBoeing, thus expanding their turno-ver in the seating supply industry forcommercial air transport. In the lastfour months their profits went up toabout 2,1 billion dollars, +18% on aquarterly basis. Meanwhile, Adientaims to foster and increase its pro-duction in China, as they are planningto start up a new 90,000 sqm factorybased in Changshu. Lear is not around to witness though.+2% in 2016; 5 billion dollars reve-nues, that is +7% in total, in 2017 firstterm. Even better for the Seating &E-Systems division: between +8%and +9%. Compared to 2016, sameperiod, share profits have increased

remarkably: +26%. Such a good per-formance allowed CEO Matt Simon-cini to say that “the company celebra-tes its hundredth anniversary, sinceits foundation, while settling in sucha strong and solid position which wasnever achieved before. Never been sooptimistic about the future”. Fore-cast for 2017: 19,5 billion dollars inrevenues coming from sales, net pro-fit 1,1 billion. Last but not least, in thesame period they have carried out thepurchase of Spanish Antolin Group:12 manufacturing factories, 2 te-chnology labs, 2,000 employees, 300million euros business turnover. Tra-ding figures: 286 million dollars.Let’s have a glance at Faurecia, inthe end. +2,6% in 2016; +9,8%, 4,2billion euros business turnover, in2017 first term (3,8 billion one yearago). Even better for the Seating Di-vision (6,6 billion euros profits in2016, +9%), which goes up (+13,1%,1,7 billion euros profits), thanks tothe new commercial agreementswith BMW and Ford. The Frenchgiant, held by Peugeot/Citroengroup, opened a new factory in Ro-mania at the end of 2016.

Last to be mentioned, merely for time reasons, is Pasubio. On 20 April 2017Pasubio, a tannery based in Vicenza, specialized in leather for the automotivesector, announced their next opening in the Balkans. To be more precise inSabac, in Serbia. They have successfully carried out the acquisition of a 5,000sqm hangar where about one hundred employees, to begin with, will start upthe work. Goals are ambitious as they prove how rewarding medium/long termprojects can be for leather tanners operating in the automotive sector. As amatter of fact Pasubio aims to double the number of employees after the firstyear of activity: according to their development plan, 500 employees areexpected to be hired in the next 5 years. The factory based in Sabac will focuson one sole task: leather cut for car interior.

Leather cut takes place in Serbia (too).Pasubio, for example …

TANNERY RELOCATIONS, BETWEEN EGYPT AND KANPUR(TWO WORKERS HAVE DIED OVER THERE)Dramatic events in India. At the time that in Kanpur they are planning to move400 tanneries, currently working, a tragic event, for the umpteenth time, occurs inone of them. Two workers (20 and 21 years old) died while cleansing the sewagegutter, as they got intoxicated by gaseous emissions. Another worker, who tried torescue them, was taken to hospital. His conditions are serious. This is not the firsttime that such tragic accidents take place in this tanning district, where about twomillion people are employed at work. Its situation is pending now, since theNational Court for Environment has granted a proxy to Yogi Adityanath, the newPrime Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and member of the Hindu national party. The aimis to pinpoint a new production site, “as leather manufacturing, more than otherState industries, is mostly accountable for pollution of the Indian sacred river:the Ganges”. Conversely, things are running more smoothly in Egypt: HelwanCompany for Metallic Appliance (the company is held by Department ofDefense) has signed an agreement with the Company for Urban and IndustrialDevelopment, based in Cairo, (the company is held by the Ministry of Productionand Economic Development) in order to move all leather goods enterprises

(tanneries, workshops andcompanies) from the capitalcity to Al-Robeky City,which is an industrial area.Meanwhile the Egyptiangovernment has announcedthat the first ten tanneries“have been given financialsupport for their businessrelocation”; 5 more havealready moved and they willstart working at full speedat the end of May.

ON STRIKE?Cambodia, 1 May. Labor Day turnsparadoxical. Footwear industry is thetopic. On one side stands theGovernment, which has invited over1,000 union representatives of theworkers - over 700,000- employed inshoe factories, to one of the severalofficial celebrations. On the other side, atthe same time trade unions themselveshave gathered in the squares, in front ofthe Parliament, footwear workers,claiming a new pay raise: from 153dollars per month, approved in October2016, up to 207. Government keepsquiet for the moment. Trade unions,after celebrations and demonstrations,as well.

CAMBODIAON THE WAY TO SAFETY

CICEG, the Mexican footwearassociation based in the province ofGuanajuato, has announced that “theyhave implemented new regulationsaiming to improve safety standards forpeople working in shoe factories“. Weare talking about closer and more“modern” protocols with regard tomanagement of chemicals, noise levelsinside the plant, suitable lighting andfurther measures to prevent accidentsand on-the-job injury. On top of that,CICEG has “found out” that improvingworkers’ safety and health conditions,as well as the environmental impact ofshoe factories, ”is a competitiveelement”. Better late than never.

MEXICO

FROM EGYPT TO INDIAEVERY YEAR 800,000 BOVINESFROM AUSTRALIA TO CHINATwo parties have signed theagreement.The former is GinaRinehart, owner of HancockProspecting multinational corporation:thanks to her personal assets, whichamount to 19 billion dollars, she is alsothe richest woman in Australia. Thelatter is New Hope Group, a Chinesecompany: according to Canberra’spress, the Chinese holding is planningto invest in Australia 1 billion dollarsuntil 2020. At the time that we arewriting about it, they have come to anagreement, still they have not signed ityet. According to the deal, every yearKidman & Co, the meat-processingcompany of which Rinehart has beenthe owner (in alliance with ChineseShanghai CRED Real Estate Stock, atthe price of 365 million dollars) sincelast autumn, will supply the Chinesepartner with 800,000 live bovines. Sucha stock of animals will be butchered inBeijing; hides as well will be kept by theChinese buyer. The Australian bovineindustry is therefore coming close to acontract that would enhance Chineseinfluence on its balance of trade.Somehow paradoxical, since theAustralian government, whilenegotiating Kidman’s transfer ofproperty, strongly interfered to preventa deal with foreign buyers, especiallyChinese. Sticking to Canberra’s events,the estimated number of goats living inthe country is shrouded in mystery.According to FAO (UN Food andAgriculture Organization) they shouldbe approximately 5 millions.Conversely, according to Meat &Livestock Australia (MLA) they are likelyto be 5,8 millions, including wildlivestock.

AUSTRALIA

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17FRONTIERS

38