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HS.P.1. - HIDES AND SKINS - PRODUCTION
HS.P.1.1. - History of hides and skins

Short story on hides and skins production
Contributed by: Mr. Arbeid, Ralph
International Consultant, Arcapelli
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:19:17 PM
Throughout the history of mankind hides and skins

have been an important part of each day’s life.
Prehistoric men hunted wild animals for their food
and used the hides and skins they retrieved from the
killed carcasses to cover themselves from the cold
and to protect their feet.
Some tribes used hides and skins to build their homes.
There was already a distinct notion to “process” hides.
There is proof that hides and skins were fleshed with
tools. Even today many tribes all over the world follow
the same prehistoric pattern.
Modern men raise animals to provide for their food and use the by-products for a variety of purposes.
Practically nothing is thrown away or wasted. The hides and skins, one of the many by-products of the meat
processing operation, are collected and treated for conservation. Apart from being an economical windfall,
collection of hides and skins is a necessity, because otherwise they would become a serious environmental
threat. Hides and skins mainly consist of water and protein, which like all protein products putrefies if not
properly treated. Burying or burning hides and skins is not an option because of the huge quantity that is
daily produced. Why should one destroy hides and skins anyway considering the fact that they have a great
economical and social value. In fact in many developing countries with few natural resources, the production
and export of hides and skins is an important foreign exchange earner. The better the quality of the hide and
skin, the better the price that can be fetched on the international market.
HS.P.1.2 - The raw material

Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:24:31 PM
PRODUCTION AREAS
Contrarily to other commodities, hides and skins are produced everywhere, in each village, town or metropolis, in each and
every country, all over the world, without exclusion. Each continent and all seas and oceans produce hides and skins.
Where there are people, independent from race, religion or political association, there is a production of hides and skins.
There isn’t a type of animal in the world, that doesn’t or hasn’t provided the basic material for the production of leather. The
list is far to long to report, but generically speaking mammals like bovines, goat, sheep, any sort of wildlife, reptiles, fish
and birds, all provide us with a hide or skin, that can be processed into leather. Each area has its own typical breed of
animals, which goes hand in hand with the local climate and habitat. Hides and skins are structurally different when
originating from hot or cold, from dry or humid climates. Generally speaking healthy animals provide for good quality hides
or skins, whereas animals from dry areas with little food produce low quality hides and skins. Animals that are well fed
produce thicker and better hides than their brothers or sisters that are just able to survive. Each production area is
characterised also by its environment and by the local laws or habits. Dry bushy areas with lots of insects will provide for
skins with scratch and insect bite scars. Countries where cattle or small ruminants are kept apart by barbed wire will
produce hides and skins with scars from wounds caused by the barbed wire. Hides and skins from life stock that has been
treated with pharmaceuticals against illnesses and parasites are better than hides from life stock that is untreated. Hides
from fallen animals that have died from natural causes and hence have not been bled, are different from hides that have
been produced by slaughter, because in a fallen animal the blood remains in the veins whereas in slaughtered animals the
veins are practically void of blood.
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
If hides within one country but from different areas distinguish one from another, it is obvious that hides from different
continents and different climates have significant differences. It is virtually impossible to list all the characteristics of each
origin and thus a table that highlights the differences between origins is impossible to develop. However to give an
example we can summarily and very generally compare a wetsalted cattle hide from the US east coast with a wetsalted
hide from a bovine of the same age, let us say 2 years old, from Bangladesh.
UNITED STATES BANGLADESH
Breed Western No hump Zebu/Brahman Hump
Farm/feedlot Yes Thick hide No Thin hide
Insect/parasite Yes Few scars No Many scars
protection
Average weight 20 kgs 15 kgs
Grain Coarse grain Fine grain
Split Good Not so good
Flaying marks and holes No Machine flay Yes Hand flay
Fibre structure Firm Loose
Brand marks Likely Unlikely or few
HIDES AND SKINS PECULIARITIES AND USE
The large majority of hides and skins that enter the market for transformation into leather originate from
slaughter animals that provide for meat, and hence their hide or skin is a by-product of the meat industry. The
percentage of leather produced from certain mammals, marsupials, reptiles and from fur animals (with the
exception of sheep), whose skins are the main product and the meat the by-product, is relatively very small, up
to the tune of a few percentage points of the worldwide leather output. Over the years some positions have
dramatically changed. Kangaroos were killed by farmers in Australia, because they destroyed crops and the
skin was buried together with the carcass or was just a way to make a few dollars. Today kangaroos are culled
in a predetermined number of head per year with licenses issued by the Australian government. The skins are
professionally sold for leather production and the meat is exported to Europe or transformed into pet food, or.
Ostriches were killed in the past exclusively for their skins and feathers, whereas presently ostrich meat is
served for human consumption worldwide as a delicacy. Likewise crocodiles and alligators were merely killed
for their skin, whereas now game restaurants serve croc or alligator meat.
Each type of hide and skin has its own peculiarities because of size, weight, thickness and grain characteristics
which distinguishes each category one from the other. Just by looking at the grain you can tell a bovine from a
buffalo, a goat, a sheep, a kangaroo, a pig, a horse, a camel, a deer, a fish etc.
Ostrich
Bufalo Goat Elephant
Crocodile Pig Lizard Anaconda

Kangaroo Sheep Deer
Bovine
Decorative hides and skins distinguish themselves one from another by the type of hair or wool, and the pattern
and colour scheme of the hair or wool.
Cattle hide Goatskin Hair-Sheepskin Sheepskin
The international contracts quoted in paragraph M6 specifically state that a seller does not guarantee whether purchased
hides and skins are suitable for a specific purpose. A buyer however buys a particular hide or skins because of its known
characteristics which he considers suitable for the product he wishes to transform the raw material into. Each and every
type of raw material can be used in general for each and every purpose. One type of raw material can be more suitable than
another for a specific end product, but in principle restrictions are extremely few. In the past this was different, but
technology and chemistry have evened the field.
CURRENT MARKET STRUCTURE AND TRENDS
When in the past the market was Europe-centred, currently the market is focussing on the Indian subcontinent
and in particular on the Far East, with the People’s Republic of China as the front runner.
There is a division in the market with Europe leading for the purchase and transformation of high quality raw
Materials, and the remaining markets concentrating on low and medium quality raw material.
Country/Continent Import 1988 Export 1988 Import 2003 Export 2003
Latin America 68.600 18.700 91.000 47.600

Africa 11.300 38.400 3.500 55.400
Kenya 200 1.400 200 4.500
Near East 29.800 20.300 43.300 21.100
Far East 554.000 102.500 1.125.900 150.300
P.R. of China 197.600 76.700 805.400 102.800
North America 41.000 765.200 88.400 744.700
Europe 1.019.600 698.800 811.100 829.100
Italy 382.700 19.300 347.200 61.400
Spain 59.900 14.600 39.700 59.800
Former USSR 1.300 78.700 64.100 115.200
(source FAO World Statistical Compendium for raw hides and skins 2005)
From the table above one can see the quantities of raw wetsalted bovine hides and skins (calf) that have been
imported and exported in a number of countries and continents. The difference between 1988 and 2003 both in
imports and exports indicates the trend of the manufacturing sites of leather.
The table below 3 actually gives the relative percentages and one can note, that in 1988 Latin America exported
72.74% raw hides less than it imported. In 2003 Latin America exported 47.69% less than it imported, hence the
export of raw hides has increased percentage wise. In 2003 Latin America imported 32.65% more hides than in
1988, but it exported 154.55% more hides and skins than in 1988. Kenya exported 600% of raw hides more in
1988 than it imported in the same year. In 2003 it exported 2150% more than it imported. Considering that
Kenya produced in 1988 25.200 tons, and in 2003 it produces 27.800 tons of wetsalted hides and skins this
means that the local tanneries have less raw hides available for processing than in 1988. Similar imbalances
are found all over the board except for the Far East where China imported in 2003 307.59% more hides than in
1988 and it exported 2.68% less hides in 2003 than in 1988. If one takes a closer and more detailed look at
these figures offered by FAO, one can deduct that the trend is, that the processing of hides and skins is shifting
to the Far East and to the People’s Republic of China in particular.
Percentages can be found in the following table:
COUNTRY/ IMBALANCE IMBALANCE IMBALANCE IMBALANCE EXP.

CONTINENT EXP/IMP 1988 EXP/IMP 2003 IMP.1988-2003 1988-2003
Latin America -72,74% -47,69% 32,65% 154,55%
Africa 239,82% 1482,86% -69,03% 44,27%
Kenya 600,00% 2150,00% 0,00% 221,43%
Near East -31,88% -51,27% 45,30% 3,94%
Far East -81,50% -86,65% 103,23% 46,63%
P.R. of China -61,18% -87,24% 307,59% 34,03%
North America 1766,34% 742,42% 115,61% -2,68%
Europe -31,46% 2,22% -20,45% 18,65%
Italy -94,96% -82,32% -9,28% 218,13%
Spain -75,63% 50,63% -33,72% 309,59%
Former USSR 5953,85% 79,72% 4830,77% 46,38%
In the first decade of the 21st century the trend will be that mass produced leathers of low and average quality in simple
basic colours will be produced in newly emerged countries like China, India, Pakistan. Sophisticated high quality leathers
specifically aimed at the high fashion market will be produced in Europe and particularly in Italy. Upholstery leathers will
probably be produced mainly in South Africa and South America. Most probably North Africa will emerge as competitors for
the tanning industry in the Indian subcontinent, whereas the Sub Saharan tanning industry will continue to suffer from the
unavailability of raw materials, which will continue to be exported towards the Far East rather than being processed in the
countries of origin.
In the long term one can envision that the big industrial flight in the tanning industry from the developed countries towards
the Far East will slow down and stop, and maybe partly reverse until a natural balance is found. At the same time there may
be a blossoming of the Sub Saharan tanning industry fulfilling a necessity of cheap unsophisticated leathers which neither
the developed countries nor China will be able to produce at competitive prices.
HS.P.1.3. - Flaying
In some cases skins are part of the food chain, and people actually eat hides or skins. In Indonesia people
eat pre-processed hides as krupuk. In Ghana people eat dried camel hides and in Mexico fried pork skin is a
local delicacy. In general however they are recovered from the slaughtered animal for purposes other than
food. After the animal is killed the first operation is to remove the hide or skin. This is called hot flaying,
because the carcass is still warm. This has both practical and hygienic reasons, even if in the USA many
carcasses are left unskinned when they have to travel over large distances in refrigerated railway wagons to
places where the value of the meat is higher than in other places. Removal of the hide in this case is called
cold flaying. Cold flaying requires more force and normally damages the hide or skin, or at best interferes
with the fibre structure of the hides. Flaying should be done as well as possible. Holes or deep cuts from
flaying knifes reduce the value of a hide or skin, hence in order to obtain the highest possible value for a hide
or a skin, the flaying should be done with care.
SLAUGTHER METHODS
Slaughter methods and situations are closely related to the flaying operation and subsequently the
quality of the hide. Depending on the slaughter method one can obtain a higher or lower quality of
flaying. There is a distinct difference between slaughter in an organised abattoir and a rural
slaughter slab. Much depends on government dispositions, that regulate slaughter mainly for
hygienic and public health reasons. Some countries have very strict laws that regulate meat
production, others have no laws at all and allow even backyard unsupervised slaughter. Without
exception well regulated slaughter provides for better flay quality in hides and skins. Unregulated
slaughter provides as a fist rule bad flay quality. Good flay quality goes hand in hand with well
regulated hygienic slaughter operations. When a community produces good quality meat, it almost
automatically produces also better flay quality for their hides and skins.
HAND FLAYING
Before mechanisation all flaying was done by

hand. The removal of the hide or skin is an
operation that is ruled in many areas by
tradition. In many countries small skins are
pulled by hand from a hanging carcass,
resulting in a skin that presents itself as a sort of
tube, which you can compare to a coverall.
Pulling a skin by hand produces a rather good
quality flay.
With large animals or small animals (calf) whose skin is

particularly firmly attached to the meat this sort of flaying
is not possible, and one has to resort to flaying with the
assistance of a knife. The knife is both a useful and a
dangerous tool. If a flayer gives little attention to what he
is doing, he can easily cause damage to the hide or skin
by making cuts or even holes. Each bad cut and each
hole reduce the value of a hide. Hides and skins with
more than 10 deep cuts and/or holes fetch such a low
price, if there is a demand at all, that it becomes
economically unfeasible to collect such material, and it
becomes then a total loss.
In order to make hand flaying a bit less risky, special flaying knives have been designed with a round rather
than a pointed edge, but unless used with a certain circumscription and professionalism, also these
particular knives do not guarantee a better flay quality.
Hand flaying is done simply by detaching the
hide with a knife from the fat or meat of the
carcass. The less fat or meat is attached to the
hide or skin, the better it is for the butcher who
sells the meat as it is obvious that the price per
kilo of a hide is far less than that of the meat.
The closer the flaying knife is held to the hide,
the more likable it becomes that flay damage is
done to the hide. Exception is made for game,
fur, reptile and other exotic hides and skins,
where the hide is the main product and the meat
the by-product.
A typical hand flay operation of a goat or sheep

takes about 5 minutes, whereas for large cattle a
hand flay operation takes somewhere between
10 and 15 minutes. Speed in flaying compares
inverse with flay quality. The slower the flaying
operation is executed, the better is the quality,
and hypothetically the higher is the price that can
be fetched for the hide. In abattoirs that process
a substantial quantity of cattle but not enough to
warrant a mechanical hide puller, hand flaying
can be done with specially designed knifes
(Jarvis knifes) that vibrate and thus do not easily
cause cuts or holes if properly operated.
MACHINE FLAYING
In large abattoirs machine flaying has taken over from hand flaying. Machine flaying is enormously faster
and at the same time gives an almost perfect flay quality, causing less fatigue. Machine flaying refers to the
most important part of a hide, the butt. Bellies and legs must be opened by knife, hence for a good flay
quality the flayer must pay attention to his job.
The big drawback of machine flaying is that the machine costs a large
amount of money, and needs some sort of power supply and is subject
to continuous maintenance. These factors are of little relevance for a
large city abattoir, but become an impossible hurdle for a small abattoir
with a low production. An abattoir that produces less than 100 head of
cattle per day rarely commits capital to buy such a machine.
There are several flay machines available, from rather basic to very
sophisticated running from Us$ 15’000 to Us$ 25’000 and more. All
produce hides without cuts or holes and take about one minute to pull
a hide from a carcass. The operation is executed in a rather brutal way
because the hide is pulled from the carcass using the weakest link
between hide and carcass namely the fat. Some fat remains on the
hide, some on the meat. Some meat will also remain attached to the
hide and in order to reduce the quantity of meat staying on the hide
one has either to hand-assist the flaying or by means of a Jarvis knife.
In developing areas the meat that remains on the hide is subject to
manual fleshing (see P1.1.6), which unfortunately causes cuts to
otherwise perfect hides.
HAND ASSISTED MECHANICAL FLAYING
When a small abattoir or slaughter slab wishes to

produce good quality hides, but cannot install for
production and economical reasons a mechanical
hide puller, there is a way in between. There are
Some devices are more sophisticated than others.
Some need maintenance, others don’t. Some need
power, others require only mechanical means like a
pulley block. The pulley block is the costliest piece of
equipment for this flay device. Its cost varies from
country to country, but lies around 250 dollars.
Experience has shown that cheap pulley blocks wear
easily, whereas sturdier more expensive blocks last far
longer.
The very existence of these devices means that virtually all abattoirs and slaughter slabs can produce good
quality hides. It is a matter of will, organisation and basic entrepreneur talent. The SFF ©, Static Flaying
Frame©, shown above has been backed by several EU and UN institutions amongst which the International
Trade Centre, who presented the SFF© with the collaboration of other institutions for the first time at the
Tunis Meet in Africa in 2002. A number of SFF© have been placed in a several developing countries as pilot
projects and the frame has demonstrated its validity and its capability to provide for machine flay quality
hides. Further information about the SFF© can be otained from the International trade Centre and from:
http://www.limeblast.org/
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL FLAYING
Whatever the method used, hand

flaying or hand assisted machine
flaying, there is a choice whether
to perform the operation, or part of
it, with the carcass lying on the
ground, or with the carcass
hanging vertically from a hook or
rail.
Experience and logic show that when a carcass is lying on the floor of a slaughter house or slaughter slab,
the quality of the flaying is lower than when the flaying operation is executed on a hanging carcass. The
flaying job on a hanging carcass is done easier, faster and with less fatigue. The fringe benefit of working on
a hanging carcass is also improved hygiene and better food safety to the benefit of public health.
FLESHING
Whether a hide is removed by hand or machine, there will always remain some meat and fat on the hide. On
an average this accounts for an estimated 20% of the green hide, and is undesired by the tanning industry.
Removing the fat and flesh before salting ensures that this sub product,
free of salt or other conserving agents, can be sold to other industries, like
the cosmetic or food industry. A properly green fleshed hide allows
furthermore for better and faster curing. Fleshing of green hides should be
done immediately after flaying. The operation requires a suitable fleshing
machine.
In developing countries the (unprofessional) fleshing of hides and skins after flaying constitutes a major
value reducing factor. Fat and fleshings are edible products with a relatively high commercial value. This
means that after flaying unskilled workers descend on a hide to remove the meat and fat. The more weight
they remove from the hide, including pieces of hide, the more money they get for recovered product. The
faster they work the earlier they can get their pay. As a result a perfectly flayed hide can lose its premium
value due to sloppy fleshing. As a matter of fact the great majority of machine flayed hides are ruined when
submitted to hand fleshing in developing countries, dramatically reducing the value of the hide and
neutralising the beneficial effect of careful flaying. Abattoirs or the owners of the hide in general
unfortunately don’t pay attention to this very important phenomenon. If the fleshing cannot be avoided in
order not to deprive people from making a living, then at least a proper workplace should be provided. This
consists of a flat cement floor, which avoids that while fleshing the knife encounters an obstacle causing a
cut.
HS.P.1.4. - Preserving
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:26:31 PM
After slaughter the hide becomes a

perishable commodity. Time and
temperature are crucial factors. Green
hides and skins should be treated for
proper conservation within a couple of
hours from slaughter. This period can be
longer in cold climates (< 20°C) and
shorter in hot humid climates. The
picture on the left clearly shows a freshly
slaughtered skin (right) and a skin (left)
that was left without treatment for a
couple of hours in the sun. Apart from
bacterial action a hide or skin can
consume itself in a process called
autolysis, which reduces the hide to
gelatine.
One sees in many abattoirs that after flaying the hides are
dropped in some corner in water and blood until the slaughter
operation is completely finished and the hide merchant comes to
pick up his hides. This careless treatment of the hides accelerates
the deterioration process and should be avoided. Hides and skins
must be kept out of the sun, whether fresh or during salting or
drying. The conservation treatment should start immediately by
storing the hides temporarily in a safe place where there is no risk
of water or blood contamination. Fresh hides should not be piled.
Due to piling before chilling fresh hides can reach quickly high
temperatures (40-45°C) that provoke a damaging bacterial action
within a relatively short time after slaughter. There are two major
methods of preservation. By drying, dehydration, or by salting.
There are abattoirs in the People’s Republic of China that freeze
their hides, but this is a rather uncommon method.
DRYING
The cheapest method of conservation is by dehydrating the
hide as fast and as gradually as possible after slaughter
before the process of deterioration takes hold of the hide or
skin. It is wrong to dry a hide or skin in the sun or on the
ground. In the sun a hide or skin more or less cooks in its
own fat, and the ground retains the humidity that evaporates
from the hide and delays complete dehydration, or worse,
the ground can be humid and can transfer the humidity to
the hide or skin. Ground drying delays the process and
causes bad conservation quality. Skins can be dried on
drying lines or poles, hides cannot because where the two
sides of the drying hide face each other, humidity
evaporates too slowly. Ideal is suspension drying where a
hide or skin is suspended under tension in a frame. This
increases the evaporation surface and the tension opens
the fibres of the hides allowing faster dehydration.
Hides should be suspended tails up, necks down. The butt is the most valuable part of a hide and by
keeping the butt up gravity helps the water in the butt to descend first rather than collecting the descending
water from the shoulder portion. Normally a goatskin dries in a warm ventilated climate within 24 hours, a
sheepskin in 36 hours and a hide in 3 days. It is recommended that hides and skins should be bone dry
before they are taken off the frame.Frames should be built in rows one parallel to the other with sufficient
room for workers to pas between them.
The positioning of the frames should be such,

that they are parallel to the prevailing wind
direction. Wind should be allowed to stream
easily between the hides as it blows away the
humidity that is created by the evaporation
process facilitating faster dehydration. Frames
should be shielded from the sun and rain under
a roof. In countries with a clear distinction
between the dry and wet season will have
generally a better hide quality in the dry season
and a lower quality in the wet season. The
slower hides and skins dry the bigger the
chance for conservation defects in the form of
putrefaction. It is absolutely imperative that
dried or drying hides and skins are not exposed
to water!
SALTING
Salting is a safer method of conservation than drying,

but it is costlier because you need to buy salt which in a
landlocked country without salt mines doesn’t come
cheap. The European Union requires 2% of sodium
carbonate to be mixed in the salt. Other additives like
naphthalene with boric acid and sodium fluoride are
used, but each have their draw-backs.
Freshly flayed hides should be salted within a couple of hours from flaying. The hides should be as clean as
possible, but it is not necessary to wash them. The salting room should be ventilated, but not excessively so
as drying should be avoided. If possible the floor of a salting room should be made on purpose. The areas
where a stack of hides is salted should be slightly bulging in order to allow water that evacuates the hide to
drain. This avoids the hide that touches the floor from lying in the salt water. Alternatively hides should be
laid on pallets for salting. A fist rule says that about a third of a hides’ weight should be the quantity of salt
used. The forming of water poodles on a hide is to be avoided.
Salting is done on a well spread hide carefully avoiding

folds to form. Hair down, flesh up. Once a hide is well
spread it should be covered with a layer of salt. No
parts may be uncovered!. Salt should be rubbed in
eventual folds of the legs. The next hide should be
spread flat on top of the previous hide, hair down, flesh
up. The flesh should be carefully covered with a layer
of salt, etc. The stacks that are thus formed should not
be too high., half the length of a normal person. Stacks
must be turned after a couple of days. The lower hides
must come on top and the top hides should go below.
This is important to avoid hides from “heating” in the
centre of the pack. One should not forget that the
bacteriological process is continuously at work and
hides in the middle of the stack would tend to heat due
to the bacterial action and cause heavy putrefaction
defects if their position is not changed.
In the first 20 days after slaughter and salting, the hide will lose some 20/22% of their weight. This is a sign
that hides are properly curing. Salt is partly diluted by the hides’ own water content which is drawn out by the
hygroscopic characteristics of salt and the thus formed salt solution penetrates the fibres resulting in proper
conservation. A wetsalted hide when it is properly cured will contain less than 50% humidity and the salt
saturation level of these 50% should be around 85%. In countries with high labour costs salting is done in
drums, which needs to be kept under strict control as the temperature of the hides must be kept below 25oC
to avoid. Drumming hides generates heat due to friction.
BRINE CURING
Brine curing is an industrial development of hand salting. Hides are dipped in a saturated salt/water solution.
The hides and the water should be kept in motion with paddles in order to obtain good penetration of the salt
in the fibres of the hides. This method is dubbed the raceway curing. The salt vat is an oval with an oval
island in its centre. Two rotating paddles keep the brine solution and the hides in motion.
With this method you can cure hides within a period of about 24 hours. After the 24 hour curing the hides
should taken out of the raceway and hung for draining. Proper draining is done in 15 days, but can be
accelerated by pulling the hides through a wringer.
Brine cured hides don’t look too good. They are usually dirty, but when you scrape off the dirt you generally
find under the dirt a beautifully white cured hide. This method is of course for a more industrial approach and
should be considered for operations that have a daily production of some 200/+ hides.
The salt content in the brine must be kept at saturation level.
DRYSALTING
A combination of wet salting and drying is dry salting. Hides that are wet salted can be dried afterwards and
be turned into a dry salted hide. Dry salted hides have a better quality than air dried hides, whereas wet
salted hides are of better quality than dry salted hides. Dry salted hides are found in countries with a hot
climate where wet salted hides would not maintain their natural moisture. What happens in hot climates is
that wetsalted hides slowly dry out at the edges when undergoing curing or while awaiting shipment. The
inner part of a hide would contain a high percentage of moisture whereas the outer edges would be bone dry.
Due to the temperature of the environment it is likely that the humid core of a pallet of wetsalted hides will
slowly deteriorate. Once a hide is dry contact with humidity should be avoided, unless for rehydration for
processing, as it will re-start bacterial growths and putrefy, whereas if the hide is completely dried, there will
be no bacterial growth.
STORING OF PRESERVED HIDES
Storing of preserved hides is of great importance.

All hides and skins, whatever their method of
conservation must be stored in the shade in an
as cool as possible environment with adequate
ventilation. The hides and skins should not touch
the warehouse floor, hence they should be kept
on pallets. Dried hides and skins should be
shielded against humidity in general and liquids
in particular. Water dripping on a dried hide or
skin will cause putrefaction, that will manifest
itself after re-hydration for tanning as a hole.
Dry hides and skins must be treated against insects and

parasites with insecticide and during storage it is
imperative to check the effectiveness of the insecticide. A
clean warehouse floor is not recommended. Some thin
dusting of the warehouse floor with insecticide will bar
insects and parasites from entering the warehouse or kill
them after they do gain access.
Wetsalted hides should maintain their natural moisture
and should not be allowed to dry. Since the loss of
moisture is a physical process that cannot be stopped
unless in a controlled environment it is recommended that
wetsalted material is shipped between 21 and 30 days
after slaughter. Wetsalted hides are mainly sold on a
weight basis, hence excessive loss of moisture, after
30/35 days, would unnecessarily damage the seller
economically. The ruling international hide and skin
contracts contains a moisture-loss table.
HS.P.1.5 - Grading
Although in several countries hides and skins are sold on a tannery run (TR) basis, or tel quel, meaning that
the lots are mixed independently of the quality of individual hides and skins, it is recommended to sell hides
and skins on a selected basis. Normally selling on a selected basis favours the shipper with a better price in
the international market, and buyers are generally happy to pay more for a selected hide, which gives them
some sort of a guarantee that the supplied material is suitable for the purpose they bought it.
There is a general basis of a global selection standard. It is based on natural defects, manmade defects,
size, shape and weight. The application of this general standard with the quantification of the defects per
grade depends on each individual country. Climatical and environmental conditions play an important role.
The better these conditions are the lower is the number of defects per grade.
For instance, if in a country there are no thorny bushes, no barbed wire, then these defects do not count in
qualifying a hide in a selection grade, whereas in areas with thorny bushes and/ or barbed wire, the damage
caused by these circumstances becomes relevant and is considered in the selection criteria. The same is
valid for brand marks. In Europe where brand marks are absent, they are not part of the selection criteria for
European hides, whereas in the USA where branding of cattle is still frequent, the number of the marks and
their size are part of the selection criteria. Hence each country or production area has its own selections
standard and reputed exporters or traders refine that standard with personal details in order to differentiate
themselves from the competition. Regional presence or absence of certain qualifying or disqualifying factors
determine the suitability of raw materials for the finished product. Regular buyers from specific areas know
what shipper has what standard quality and award him with a price that reflects his selection standard.
Price is related to overall quality and grading. The better the selection, the better the price that can be
demanded on the international market. It is fundamentally wrong to adjust the quality according to the price.
NATURAL DEFECTS
Natural defects is anything that is not caused by men. It can be monsoon damage manifesting itself in
putrefaction holes on the bellies of small animals in Asia, or scars made by horns, barbed wire, thorns, insect
bites, parasites, illnesses, manure, etc. Some natural defects can be avoid. Substituting barbed wire with
electrical fences, vaccinating animals against parasites are remedies which give positive results. Keeping
cattle clean from manure improves the hide quality.
MAN MADE DEFECTS
Man-made defects are totally unnecessary and with good

organisation can be avoided and eliminated. Branding cattle,
maltreatment damage the animal’s hide (haematomas and
worse) can be avoided when it is still alive, butcher cuts and
holes, bad shaping can all be avoided at the abattoir level.
Putrefaction defects can be avoided at the conservation and
transportation level. All these defects if present singularly or
accumulatively downgrade a hide or skin and thus its commercial
value. Proper preparation of hides for shipment is in the eye of the
buyer part of the manmade defects. If a lot presents itself well and
professionally prepared automatically it influences the state of
mind of the buyer upon arrival of a certain lot.
WEIGHT GRADING
The grading of hides and skins is not limited only to defects, but it is extended also to the separation of
weights. Some markets sell from calf to bull in the same parcel, but obtain because of this a limited price for
their material. The tannage of small skins is different from that of large skins. The treatment is different, the
chemical processing is different and the value of the hide or skin itself is different. For that reason there is an
unwritten global standard that specifies a weight separation. The ranges for cattle hides are more or less
-/2.5 kgs, 2.5/5 kgs, 5/8 kgs, 8/12 kgs, 12/16 kgs, 16/22 kgs, 22/28 kgs, 28/35 kgs, 35/+ give or take a kilo
here and there. Goat and sheepskins are less defined and are usually separated in small, medium and large
where the range is wide like in the USA, northern Africa or Pakistan, whereas in Sub Saharan Africa the width
of the range is small and skins are sold as they come. Dry skins are separated by weight.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
There is no such thing as a clearly defined international standard. An international standard or norm is
virtually impossible, because each region of origin has its own characteristics in terms of natural and
manmade defects, and in terms of the characteristics of the hide or skin themselves. Therefore you can
expect a certain standard only within a well defined area. Suppliers within a defined area can determine their
own standard as well, but that personalised standard more or less reflects the regions standard, and is
usually a refinement. The US National Hide Association published in 1979 a booklet “Hides and Skins”
prepared by their Education Committee. This booklet is an excellent guide laying down the general basic
rules for the production and preparation of cattle hides and calfskins in the United States. This guide can form
the basis for all wetsalted hides and skins all over the world if properly used with common sense and adapted
to regional requirements.
There is a general consensus on one basic rule: any defect presenting itself on a bovine hide within 10 cm
from the outer edge of the hide is not considered a defect. Any defect further than 10 cm from the outer edge
counts in full as a flaw.
UNIDO SELECTION STANDARDS
Unido have developed in collaboration with FAO a couple of years ago a very useful guideline for the
selection of East African hides and skins. This came under the Africa Regional Leather Programme
US/RAF88/100 and US/RAF/98/200. It deals mainly with dry hides and skins which are becoming less
common, but nevertheless the guidelines if used as such and with consideration and adapted to each region,
are an excellent selection basis for African origins.
The following link leads you to these selection standards: Unido H&S_Standards.pdf
QUALITY CERTIFICATION
There are several international agencies who provide a quality certification service. This sounds better than it
actually is. Having hides and skins certified by these agencies doesn’t mean by any means that the
contracted quality is met by the exporters and guaranteed by the certification agency. In fact the agency takes
no responsibility whatsoever neither for the quality, nor for the quantity shipped. Sometimes this quality
certification cannot be avoided as some countries require this service when equipment or commodities are
imported into their country.
Some countries require certificates that state the absence of certain chemicals. This certification is ruled by
bilateral agreements of the countries involved. Such certificates can be obtained by the exporters from their
local authorities or downloaded from Internet websites.
Wet salted hides are sold on a per kilo basis, hence the net weight is of vital importance. The weighing
provisions and certification requirements can be found in the ruling international contracts.
QUALITY CONTROL
A reliable exporter exercises quality control over the by him produced goods. This is part of the quality
standard a particular producer assumes. There is no other credible control.
HEALTH CERTIFICATION
Each country, or group of countries like the EU have their own veterinary regulations, that deal with the import
of raw hides and skins. These regulations are part of a bilateral agriculture agreement between exporting and
importing countries. It is the seller’s obligation to provide the buyer with the correct certification that is
required by the importing country. Veterinary or health certificates are available with the local veterinary
authorities or can be downloaded from the Internet. Some countries do not require particular forms and
accept any form as long as it properly states the required data.
The EU demands its own certificate to be used, called the “Official Declaration”. It is to be noted that contrary
to the general belief that the Official Declaration can be presented in any of the official EU languages, you
have to present the document in the language of the country in which the goods first land, as that is the point
of entry into the Union. Even if the final destination of a container of hides is for example Germany, if it lands
in Italy, the official declaration must contain the Italian language! In this case to avoid unnecessary
bureaucratic hassle, one best presents the certificate in German, Italian and English.
HS.P.1.6 - Packing
Salted and dried hides and skins
Last updated: 7/7/2006 10:24:10 AM
There is no standard export packing. Packing is both a practical matter as a matter of proper
conservation when you deal in raw materials. Palletized packing is a requirement that originates
from common sense. It facilitates loading and unloading of a container or truck.
Dry hides and skins are to be carefully treated

with insecticides before packing and loading.
Fumigation of a container before departure
from the premises of an exporter adds to the
safeguarding of the quality of the loaded hides
and skins. Dry raw hides and skins have an
inconvenient weight versus volume ratio, which
makes transport of this material rather
expensive. Just bundling dry material gives a
load factor of about 5-6’000 kilo’s per 20’
container, whereas if the material can be
pressed in bales, one can increase the load
factor up to 100% and fit 9-10’000 kgs in a
container for hides and up to 8-9’000 kilos for a
container of skins.
Pressing of dry hides and skins is a delicate matter. Pressing too little does not improve the load factor to the
required percentage, whereas pressing too much cracks the hides over the folding lines and causes thus
unnecessary damage.
Pressed bundles are held together with iron bands. To

safeguard the packed hides it is necessary to pack the hides
with the flesh out. Bales of skins are best wrapped in cloth
before they are encircled with the iron bands. The shipper
must ascertain that the container on which his hides and
skins are to be loaded is free of holes to avoid that rain or
sea water can find its way to the loaded dry material.
Choice of packaging
Contributed by: Pack-it - Export Product Module, International Trade Centre
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:29:04 PM
The following text has been extracted from the "Export Product Module Packit", a technical paper developped
by the International Trade Centre based in Geneva. For more information please go to:
http://www.intracen.org/ep/welcome2.htm?http&&&www.intracen.org/ep/packit/hides.htm
Among the requirements emphasised by the European tanning industry and importers of raw
hides, skins and semi-processed and finished leathers, are the need for raw product imports to be
of high and homogeneous quality, with regular grading, and for goods to be delivered within the
terms of contract.
Actual practices in developing countries reveal two things: that the transport of hides and skins
does not always occur under the best of conditions; and that there is a lack of information in the
leather sector on packaging materials and systems.
The choice of packaging material and packaging type is usually dictated by the nature of the
product and the mode of transport required for export.
For raw or semi-processed products, the change in the length of the trip from seller to buyer may
even change the weight of the goods. The expected loss of weight is usually accounted for per
day of delay in shipment by a formula. This is usually applied as part of contracting, and varies for
raw hides and skins depending on whether they are dry, dry salted or wet salted.
If wet salted hides and skins are tared, no less than 10% are check weighed; they are then buffed
once on each side on a clean surface, and reweighed. No sweeping of the hides and skins is
allowed other than to remove encrusted salt.
On dry and dry salted hides and skins, tare is to be allowed for packing and any other extraneous
matter. As previously mentioned, shipments can be examined on arrival at their destination. There
are usually agreements between seller and buyer as to sampling techniques. It is usual in the
case of wet-blue hides and skins, for example, that samples for analysis are taken from a
minimum of one package out of every five. An independent analysis may need to be carried out in
accordance with the official methods of analysis of the International Union of Leather
Technologists and Chemists Societies.
The availability of suitable packaging materials in a country of origin will always be another factor,
although packaging materials are commonly imported to many developing countries if necessary,
especially if for re-export.
Diseases and infections can have a major impact on hides and skins*. In some areas, parasite
damage is a serious problem. Sources of infestations can be difficult to identify, but large
movements of human and animal populations can spread disease and parasites. Climatic
conditions in many developing countries favour rapid decomposition, and thus make preservation
difficult.
Inadequate storage conditions and lack of preserving agents may lead to damage of grain and
texture through decay in particular areas of the leather.
To avoid some degree of deterioration during storage, as well as more substantial damage
attributable to infestation by insects, for example, the period of storage should be kept to a
minimum. For similar reasons, transportation procedures should be as rapid and direct as
possible. Prompt storage and transportation of hides and skins will also minimise the amount of
capital expenses deployed in the maintenance of large stocks of raw materials.
Appropriate storage and transportation procedures vary according to the method of preservation
that has been used.
* Committee On Commodity Problems; Intergovernmental Group On Meat; Sub-Group On Hides

And Skins.Trade Restrictions on Hides and Skins. Seventh Session, Rome, 4 - 6 June 2001.
(CCP: ME/HS 01/4).
PACKAGING - FRESH HIDES AND SKINS
To prevent handling damage during transportation from the slaughterhouse, or from the place of private
slaughtering, to the place of preliminary treatment, proceeding tanning is crucial for the ultimate production
of a quality hide or skin.
It is recommended that hides and skins should be transported in leak-proof plastic bins or containers, which
must be well-scoured and perfectly clean. These containers must have covers of the same material, or of
plain woven fabric.
The cleanliness of the containers and lids is essential in order to delay the onset of decay for as long as
possible. Transportation of hides and skins from places of slaughter should take place as immediately as
possible. It is recommended that the containered hides/skins are transported in a refrigerated environment.
In other methods of transportation, the small batch containers are replaced by fairly largecontainers.
Trolleys are fitted with leak-proof, ventilated, lidded recipient containers.
Below: Schematic diagram of a fresh hides/skins transport bucket and trolley
PACKAGING - PRESERVED RAW HIDES AND SKINS
Raw hides and skins are usually packaged in bulk. They are sorted first according to size.
Air-suspension dried material is compressed into rectangular form using a screw press or a hydraulic press,
after arranging the skins or folded hides in layers.
Below: Suspension dried cattle hides under the press.
Source: Arcapelli Sas
The packaged air-suspension dried material is shown in the figure above. The bale-packaged air suspension
dried hides and skins are shown below.
Suspension dried hides after pressing:
Air-suspension dried raw hides and skins are usually transported in sealed freight containers after applying
insecticides to the materials. This is because they are prone to attack from bacteria and moths unless
properly treated. Once on a pallet, the stacked, pressed load can be wrapped with woven or non-woven
polypropylene film. Some producers use shrink plastic wrapping. The general idea is to provide a waterproof
covering. Pallets are then placed in a 20ft container holding up to 20 pallets of 80x120cm - i.e. up to 40.000
hides.
Below: Bale-packaged air-suspension dried hides and skins.

Wet-salted hides are folded into bundles with the flesh side out, and are then tied with a string. They are
folded along the mid line (back bone), turning in the shanks.
It is to be noticed that, at this stage, pallets play an important part. If they are made from wood, it is
recommended that the wood be treated. Direct contact between the hides/skins and the wood of the pallet is
avoided by covering the pallet with a sheet of plastic film before stacking the hides/skins on it. The stacks
are best when between 1 and 1.5m high, and are usually covered with a plain cloth of natural fibre (usually
cotton or jute) to prevent insects from reaching the stacked hides/skins.
Cold storage is also recommended, at temperatures up to a maximum of 10°C at a relative humidity of 70%.
PACKAGING - PICKLED SKINS
Pickled skins require extra care and must have a low pH. They need to be handled with rubber gloves to
avoid acid burns. Skins are normally folded into a sausage roll and then packed in polythene bags in packs
of 12 pieces (see figure in previous section).
Below: Pickled skins in polythene sacks.
The PE bags/sacks help keep the pickled skin wet and with a low pH. The plastic in common use is clear
150-micron PE. The dimensions of the sack are approximately 900x100mm. The average weight contained
is approximately 30-40kg per package, constituting on average 80 dozen pieces. The sacks are sealed by
sewing.
Plastic sacks:
Sacks made of plastic film are usually single-wall sacks. The most common plastic used is polyethylene. The
various qualities used include LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE and PE or PP tape for woven sacks. The dimensions of
woven sacks are always given as width (W) x length (L) in millimetres.
PACKAGING - WET-BLUE HIDES AND SKINS
These hides and skins are packed on pallets and wrapped with polyethylene sheets to retain moisture
during storage.
The figure below sgows air dried goatskins pressed in bales ready for shipment.
Below we have Wet-blue hides and skins packed on wooden pallets, before and after strapping.
The figure below shows Wetblue skins wrapped and palletized under loading.
The wet-blue hides are folded and stacked on a pallet. The number of hides on the pallet varies depending
on the size of the hides. The wrapping is a cloth material.
Crust
That is an example of Crust leather (rolled).

After rolling, crust leather is shipped in bundles. The bundles are usually packed in a PE sack, but this
depends on the wishes of the customer. There are no set standards.
PACKAGING - SEMI-PROCESSED LEATHERS
The following are practical examples of semi-processed leathers packaged for export on wooden pallets
inside freight containers. All methods are applied in one or another of the 35 exporting countries. It is to be
noted that sometimes non-standard pallet sizes are used where the standard SI 200 size should be used
instead.
Goatskins/sheepskins: Wet-Blue Chrome
 No. of Pallets: 20
 Size of Pallet:1.1 x 1.1m
 No. of Pieces: 5.500 – 6.500 of assorted sizes
Hides:Wet-Blue Chrome
 Size of Pallet:2 x 0.9m
 Average No. of Pieces:1500 pieces in a container
 Average Size per Piece:24 sq. ft.
Hides: Crust
 Thickness of Material:1.8mm – 2mm

 Footage per Pallet:5000 sq. ft.

 Thickness of Material:1.6mm – 1.8mm

 Thickness of Material:1.4mm – 1.6mm

Packaging materials
Contributed by: Pack-it - Export Product Module, International Trade Centre
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:29:31 PM
Materials used for packaging hides and skins are made from:
 Wood, in the case of wooden pallets

 Hessian cloth, jute cloth, or cloth made from cotton
 Polyethylene or polypropylene film
PLASTIC WRAPPING / COVERING MATERIAL
The following terms and types of terms are used in relation to plastic material properties:
 Thickness of plastic films, commonly given in microns.

 "Tensile strength": this expresses the tensile force required to rupture a given area of material.
Tensile strength is usually expressed either in force per unit cross-sectional area, or in force per
unit width.
 "Permanence": this can be described as the general ability of the product to withstand changes in
environment without the loss of essential properties.
 "Moisture resistance": some products need protection from outside air moisture, and others require
that the moisture contained should not be allowed to evaporate through the package. Resistance is
given normally as the amount of water vapour that transmits through the material under certain test
conditions. It is called the water vapour transmission rate or moisture vapour transmission rate,
and is expressed in g/m2/24 hours.
Polypropylene (PP) is often coextruded with PE. Coextrusion is a method of combining two or more plastic
materials by extruding them through one common nozzle. The different layers stick to each other, giving
improved properties.
As wrapping films are usually sold by weight, the comparison of yield and thickness becomes essential.
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) has better barrier properties then LDPE and is also more rigid. It
withstands temperatures of 120° C.
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), the most widely-used plastic, is non-toxic, has good barrier properties
against moisture, and has reasonable grease resistance. LDPE has good heat-sealing properties and will
retain its flexibility at very low temperatures. The disadvantages of LDPE are its fairly high oxygen
permeability, its limited aroma barrier, and its rather low rigidity.
TEXTILE WRAPPING / COVERING MATERIAL
Hessian is the plain weave variety of jute. Other varieties are the double-warp tarpaulin, a cloth with double
warp yarn but single weft, plain-woven, and of fine construction; and twill, which is usually a double-warp
fabric with a diagonal line in the weave so that the cloth cannot unravel. Jute may be treated to become
waterproof, rot-resistant or fire-resistant.
PACKAGING SECURITY
Hides and skins packaged on pallets are secured with metal or plastic straps while the hessian sacks are
stitched (figure 16).
Below you can see products packed in hessian sacks

MARKING FOR PACKING IDENTIFICATION AND HANDLING
Markings for packaging identification and handling are usually in line with details contained in shipping
documents. Packages for raw hides and skins bear the following details:
a) Product/type, e.g. "sheepskin", "goatskin"

b) Origin, e.g. "India"
c) Weight category
d) Selection, e.g. quality grade
e) Batch number
f) Number of pieces
For wet-blue hides, information on area in square feet and on substance/thickness is added.
Marking requirements are usually mentioned in official contract forms. The most important are the following:
 Goods sold to be shipped: to be sorted into different grades, to be packed and marked separately
and each package to be clearly marked.
 Goods sold by area: the area to be marked on each item so as to be legible at destination.
 If goods of one size are to be bundled together, the size is to be stated on the bundle.
 If goods of different categories arrive insufficiently marked, re-opening charges thereby incurred are
to be for the seller's account.
 The "English" text should be the definitive text unless otherwise agreed with the buyer
PACKAGING FACTORS OF IMPORTANCE TO EXPORTERS

 All raw hides and skins are prone to attacks by pests, and therefore all packages should be stored
in warehouses and containers where they are safe from such attacks.
 Air-suspension dried raw hides and skins can easily crack if subjected to excessive force from the
press machine during packaging. The material should also be kept away from moisture to avoid
spoilage.
 Wet-salted hides are folded in such a manner that the flesh side is exposed to the air, and should
therefore be kept away from liquid contaminants.
 Pickled skins must be packaged in materials that withstand low pH, and should be kept away from
heat as they gelatinise at relatively low temperatures. Containers packed with pickled skins should
bear clear markings showing that the goods should be kept away from heat.
 Wet-blue leathers are packaged and tightly sealed with polyethylene materials to prevent loss of
moisture. Loss of moisture leads to deterioration in quality, as when the material becomes dry it
must be re-wet before further processing.
RECOMMENDED APPROACHES FOR EXPORTERS
Importers have often indicated that uniformity and reproducibility of raw products are essential requisites.
Irrespective of the stage of processing, goods delivered should correspond to what was ordered - i.e.
shipments should contain goods of uniform grade, finish, colour and thickness, made with the same
manufacturing process and identically packaged.
At the raw stage, hides and skins should be graded and trimmed according to the importer's specifications.
Uniformity is also essential in such aspects of finish as colour and grain. Delivered goods should be identical
to the samples on the basis of which the transaction was concluded, and should have identical properties
piece by piece.
Proven uniformity saves considerable time for the importing tannery by avoiding lengthy checks and
measurements of lots received. Uniformity in weight can be obtained by making batches of the same weight-
range and trimming them according to generally accepted standards. Uniformity in size is achieved by
machine measuring. Uniformity in thickness can be achieved by splitting leathers in layers as requested by
the buyer, or by sorting pieces into lots of the same thickness to meet the usual requirements of the market.
All these practices have an impact on packaging.
Reproducibility in process is important for those developing countries which export semi-finished and
finished leathers. This requires quality control in the factory so that successive partial shipments correspond
to the terms of the sales contract. Reproducibility in processing is achieved by using the same procedures,
chemicals, dyes and resins, so that exactly the same shades and finish are achieved.
Reproducibility of the mechanical and physical properties of the leather may be ensured by regular
laboratory testing of the batches as regards breaking point, stability under conditions of heat, cold resistance
to water, etc.*
It is necessary that the exporter fully understands the packaging requirements of the importer. Exporters
should have up-to-date knowledge of the availability of packaging materials in their particular country . The
cost implications of packaging materials and styles should be considered without prejudicing quality
requirements.
Essentially, packaging should help to prevent deterioration in quality of raw hides and skins and semi-
processed leathers. The quality at destination and through the distribution chain should be the same as at
the time of packaging.
The exporter must provide information on each package/pallet on his product specifications, indicating the
composition, quality grading and quantity. These also allow the tanning industry to differentiate between the
wide range of grades and sizes of raw hides and skins and semi-processed materials originating from
various animal and/or country sources.
Convenience in package handling is important. It is therefore recommended that packages are limited to
weights which are easily manipulated by hand or forklift, which are easily loaded, and which enable
maximum loading capacity to be exploited either in a vehicle or in a container.
Delivery on time is a requirement that more than any other applies to all processing stages. Exporters face a
number of difficulties, including distance, irregular means of transport, and such production problems as
power cuts, etc. Adherence to a time schedule based on the time required to produce, procure packaging
material, pack, transport to post or airport, clear customs, and load, helps to avoid untimely deliveries, which
can result in cancelled and unrepeated orders. In such situations buyers look for other suppliers until
confidence is reestablished.
It is recommended that prospective exporters of hides and skins contact the traders, agents and tanners in
target markets, giving details of their company, materials offered, selection of grades, quantities deliverable
per month, available packaging materials and styles, the exact quantities of each grade and their prices.
Offers should be clear and concise. As far as semitanned leather is concerned, the same procedures should
be followed. Effective communication between buyers and sellers is vital if good business relations are to be
developed.
Developing countries have difficulty obtaining the information needed effectively to export their commodities,
and buyers in developed countries increasingly need to find new sources of supply. Participating in trade
missions and trade fairs and the publication of trade information are ways in which contacts can be
established and information exchanged between buyers and sellers. The increasing availability of internet
technology is further overcoming the barriers to such exchanges. However, in this fragmented and diverse
industry, the limited availability of trade information remains a constraint to the effective development of
exports, particularly from African countries.
With increasing awareness of environmental issues, the leather processing industry must address the
concerns of environmentalists and consumers. The transfer of technology and training to developing country
producers in production/packaging is beneficial.
It is useful to each country's group of exporters of hides and skins to discuss amongst themselves such
issues as wastage of hides and skins, non collection and damage, statistical intelligence, restrictive trade
policies, environmental constraints and commercial trade information.
* Committee On Commodity Problems: Report of the Seventh Session of the Sub-Group on Hides and
Skins. Rome 4-5 June 2001. (CCP:GR-RI-ME-OF 01/6-Rev1)
HS.P.1.7 - Protecting endangered species

Last updated: 7/19/2006 6:58:56 PM
THE WASHINGTON CONVENTION
During the second half of the 20th century the hide and skin trade and the leather industry have become very
environment conscious and forerunners in the field of protection of endangered species and the ethical treatment
of animals. A lot has been done. A lot can still be done. The so-called endangered species are not indiscriminately
targeted anymore by the trade and industry. Poachers remain, but have rarely or no outlets in the regular trade or
industry. When in the past reptile skins originated from indiscriminately hunted animals, now they are supplied by
reptile farms. Kangaroos and deer are still hunted but local governments issue licenses for the number of animals
each hunter is allowed to kill per season. This number is based on scientific research by competent authorities,
which aims on culling the weak and old animals, making thus place for the younger to proliferate, keeping livestock
at steady levels. In 1973 the Washington Convention (CITES) established precise guidelines for the trade and
industry with the purpose to save certain species from extinction. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between Governments. Its aim is to
ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES
works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. All import, export, re-
export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a
licensing system. Roughly 5,000 species of animals (and 28,000 species of plants) are protected by CITES against
over-exploitation through international trade. In a large number of developed countries it is a criminal offence to
possess hides or skins or leather products made from protected hides and skins, unless accompanied by or
traceable to a CITES certificate. For more information go to http://www.cites.org/
HS.T.1. - HIDES AND SKINS - MARKETING
HS.T.1.1. - History of Hides and Skins marketing

Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:30:03 PM
Hides and skins have always been produced from pre-historic times to our day, and mankind will continue to
produce hides and skins also for all times to come. It has always been considered a pity not to utilise a hide
or skin. In ancient times the requirement for the consumption of food in general and meat in particular was
such that even in a small community a large number of hides and skins became available, exceeding the
necessity of that community for clothing, footwear and protection from the elements. That generated the
requirement to find buyers for hides and skins. A pyramidal system developed itself for the collection of hides
and skins wherever they were produced. This way a value chain developed.
HIDES AND SKINS COLLECTION

There are generally two types of producers in the value chain of
hides and skins. We have the small country butchers who produce a
relatively limited number of hides per week and you have abattoirs
which produce relatively larger quantities of hides and skins.
The relativity depends on the size of

community in which the butchers or the
abattoirs work, and whether they produce
also quantities of meat which are not
designated for local consumption. It is
obvious that abattoirs in large metropolis
produce more hides and skins than abattoirs
in provincial cities.
In the pyramidal collection system small collectors buy a couple of

hides and skins here and there from home slaughter, small butchers
or small abattoirs. That can be to the tune of even a piece at a time.
These small local collectors who store some 10/50 hides and some
100/500 skins at a time on their turn sell their collected quantities of
hides and skins to regional collectors who typically trade quantities
of 100/500 hides and 1000/5000 skins. At the end of this pyramid is
the big time collector who can act also as exporter, or in some cases
can be a local tannery. Due to the lack of financing through official
channels like government and banks, the collection system is
formed particularly in developing countries by the availability of
funds with the individual collectors. Very small collectors generally
work hand to mouth. They buy a couple of hides and skins with the
funds they have at their disposal, then sell them and with the
available money the whole circle starts again.
Larger collectors either work with their own funds or get a prepayment from the exporter or tannery who are
at the top of the pyramid. With the prepayment they buy hides and skins from their suppliers and reimburse
the prepayment with the delivery of the hides and skins. Once a prepayment has been reimbursed, it starts
all over again with a prepayment etc. It is therefore very often that the top of the pyramid finances both the
collection side of the trade and the sales/export side when buyers abroad buy at deferred payment terms,
something that will be elaborated in paragraph M4.
TRADING HOUSES
The larger the population of a country, the larger the quantity of meat that is consumed. Populated countries
and meat exporting countries are those that produce obviously the larger quantities of hides and skins. Until
fairly recently, the 1950’s, the leather industry was mainly concentrated in Europe with hundreds of tanneries
in England, France and Italy, hence, to give an example, skins produced in the Indian Subcontinent with a
population of a billion people which produced in the 1980’s some 75 million goat and kidskins plus 34 million
sheep- and lambskins were processed in Europe. Oceania, and South America with a small population but
with a large meat processing industry did not have a domestic tanning industry that could convert all the raw
materials into finished leathers, hence also their unprocessed materials went to Europe for tanning.
This huge trade of hides and skins from one continent to another required the establishment of trade
channels which led to the creation of important trading houses. Due to their colonies England and the
Netherlands hosted the most important trading houses for hides and skins, whereas French traders
concentrated mainly on the north African market. The trading houses operated both as brokers and
merchants and were extremely well organised with excellent communication channels, and a network of
agents both at the countries of origin and the countries of destination of the merchandise. These
brokers/traders provided also for some kind of guarantee, that ensured that the shipped material was also the
contracted material, and that shipped material would be correctly paid. Most of these trading houses had
their own offices at major export cities like Dhaka and Chennai, with personnel that checked the quality of
outgoing material.
Improved communications in the second half of the 20th century with telex becoming a common tool, IDD
phone service replacing operators at switchboards, telefax, e-mail and now internet phoning, steadily
replaced the traditional trading houses and developed direct negotiations between sellers and buyers even
without the intermediary of sales agents. Few trading houses are left and those that have remained needed
to adapt to the new market requirements and have become merchants who buy for their own account and
resell to the highest bidder.
TRADE FAIRS
When air travel was less popular and less accessible the leather trade convened once per year in Paris at the
Semaine International du Cuir. For a whole week operators from all over the world met, discussed and traded.
The fair was exactly that, a fair, and the most important meeting place in the trade. People arrived from all
over the world with large lists of stocks of hides and skins they wished to sell or buy and during the SIC large
quantities of hides and skins changed hands. The Semaine du Cuir was THE major event in the business and
set the trend and the prices of the trade. It was what we call today a benchmark. The need to meet, show
new products and discuss business, fashion, strategies and policies remain and in substitution of the
Semaine du Cuir a large number of fairs have emerged in practically all continents. The most important
international fairs are Léon (Mexico), Bologna (Italy) and Hong Kong. A host of other more regional fairs are
organised in all continents creating the possibility to both local and overseas producers and international
visitors to develop their business, gain visibility in the trade environment and update themselves on what’s
going on in the trade all over the world. Some fairs are specialised, others have a more open approach.
The international fair calendar can be found at: http://www.intracen.org/dbms/Leather/Events.asp
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
In 2000 with the big boom of on-line business a group of investors spent several tens of millions of dollars
and developed a business to business platform for the direct and on-line trading of hides and skins,
chemicals, leather, leather goods, accessories etc etc. Unfortunately but predictably the attempt failed. The
leather trade and hides and skin business in particular appear not suitable for on-line trading. The leather
trade is a commodity trade of a natural product that needs a hands-on approach since each and every
single lot that is traded, is more or less unique with its own characteristics. Once the stage of the fully
finished product, shoes, portfolio’s, garments, etc. is reached, the B2B becomes a possible alternative to
traditional trading. In fact today you can buy leather goods on line from a wide variety of virtual shops, but
you can’t buy a lot of hides via e-Bay or its competitors.
HS.T.1.2. - Marketing
Last updated: 7/13/2006 2:51:51 PM
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Established buyers and sellers of raw hides and skins have created their own marketing channels and have a
range of business partners. Producers in developing countries often have good business to offer, but are not aware
how they can enter the market and sell (or buy) their products. Too many times honest operators fall victim to
dishonest operators and lose money and the motivation to continue. The internet is maybe not the best or safest
first approach, unless one is capable to institute a dialogue with the to-be partner and separate the wheat from the
caf. It is important to try and find out what kind of a reputation the intended business partner has. Embassies and
Chambers of Commerce should be able to give a helping hand, although a good agent is better.
A large number of sales or purchase agents is involved in the raw hide and skin trade. Many of longstanding
existence and excellent reputation, who are capable of assisting an emerging business with expertise and
marketing experience. Good agents know to which customer they can direct a new producer in order to develop a
safe first approach into profitable business for all involved. A good agent is worth his commission!
HS.T.1.3. - Payment
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:30:26 PM
DIRECT INVOICING
The sellers ship goods and issue their invoice to the buyers, who are required to pay depending on the
agreement negotiated between the parties. This option has no guarantees to the sellers. The buyers enter in
possession of the goods and become thus the legal owners after clearing customs with only a moral
obligation of payment.
PAYMENT BY DRAFT
This form of payment provides the seller with a document in which either the buyer accepts his debt and
promises payment on an established date (D/A), or the bank accepts the to pay the buyer’s debt by
countersigning the draft (D/P). In the first case payment is not guaranteed as the buyer can refuse to honour
his acceptance of the draft, whereas in the latter case the buyer’s bank has made an engagement which in
fact guarantees payment as the buyer cannot withdraw his consensus for the draft acceptance, provided the
bank itself is of course reliable. Payment can be cash or after a predetermined delay, which is usually 30, 60
or 90 days, but can reach 120 or even 180 days from the delivery date, or the date of the bill of lading. The
draft, whether D/A or D/P is a legal instrument which gives the sellers the possibility to obtain satisfaction in
court in case of non-payment. The D/A draft does not protect the sellers from insolvent buyers, or buyers who
file for Chapter 11 or bankruptcy.
PAYMENT AGAINST DOCUMENTS
Instead of sending documents directly from seller to buyer, sellers can present the shipping documents
through banking channels, a practice required by law in certain countries. This means that the shipper
presents to his own bank a set of documents, which contains also the document of ownership (bill of lading),
as required by the buyers with the disposition to present the said documents to the bank of the buyers for
release of the documents in question against payment of the included invoice according to the clauses of the
contract between buyers and sellers. It is to be noted that buyers can refuse to pay the shipper’s documents
for any legitimate or illegitimate reason and the bank has no obligation towards the shippers for payment in
case of refusal of the documents. In case of refusal the bank must hold the documents at the disposal of the
sellers, but the sellers will be asked to pay for the service charges of the bank before the bank returns the
documents to the sellers or their bank. In case the buyers and shippers agree on a delayed payment, the
options are like in paragraph M4.2 with the same form of guarantee. According to the legal system in certain
countries, companies that file for bankruptcy and who have goods in arrival, even if not paid or with
documents still at the bank, become the legal owners of the goods in spite of the status of insolvency. The
goods can become part of the assets of the bankruptcy and can be claimed by creditors. In such a case the
shippers become one of the creditors.
LETTER OF CREDIT
This form of payment involves and engages the banking system in a more detailed way. The buyer
establishes through his bank an irrevocable means of payment in which the bank engages itself that payment
will be effected according to a number of clauses, provided that the by the shipper presented documents are
conform to the conditions expressed in the letter of credit. Once a letter of credit has been opened by the
buyer’s bank in favour of the shipper through the shipper’s bank, it can’t be revoked until its expiry date. If the
shipper presents the by the letter of credit demanded documents in perfect, I repeat “perfect”, condition, and
within the outlined time limits, then the buyer’s bank is obliged by international convention to effect payment
of the shippers documents. However if there is even one smallest discrepancy in the presentation of the
documents, automatically the buyer has the right of refusal of the documents and hence of payment. In one
way a letter of credit is a safe means of payment but it can boomerang on the shipper if the documents are
not in order. Documents are studied by banking experts and if there is a discrepancy, they’ll find it! In order to
safeguard oneself against unreliable banks, one can demand a confirmed letter of credit, which adds the
guarantee of the foreign banks correspondent, making the letter of credit more or less failsafe, but it does not
protect against discrepancies in documents. The letter of credit protects against a bankruptcy because it is
the buyer’s bank who guarantees payment, and it’s the buyer’s bank who become creditors towards their
client.
PREPAYMENT
As far as shippers are concerned prepayment of a contracted lot of hides and skins is the safest method of
delivery, but it does not safeguard the buyer in any way in case the shipper does not deliver or delivers bad
quality. The banking system provides for what is called a “red-clause” letter of credit which has all the
characteristics of a letter of credit, but grants a cash pre-payment to the shippers, who are obliged either to
ship the counter value of the payment or re-pay the pre-paid amount. This method is not failsafe, because in
case of bankruptcy of the shippers the bank does not cover the pre-paid amount to the buyers.
HS.T.1.4. - Incoterms
Last updated: 7/17/2006 3:46:11 PM
"Incoterms" is an abbreviation of International Commercial Terms, which were first published in 1936 by the
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Since that time there have been six different revisions and updates to
the Incoterms. The Incoterms provide a common set of rules for the most often used international terms of trade.
The goal of the Incoterms is to alleviate or reduce confusion over interpretations of shipping terms, by outlining
exactly who is obligated to take control of and/or insure goods at a particular point in the shipping process. Further,
the terms will outline the obligations for the clearance of the goods for export or import, and requirements on the
packing of items. The Incoterms are used quite frequently in international contracts, and a specific version of the
Incoterms should be referenced in the text of the contract.
Although the Incoterms are widely used and exceedingly handy, they are not meant for every type of contract.
Specifically, the terms used in a contract state exactly when the shipper unloads and relinquishes obligation, and
when the buyer takes over for carriage and insurance. The Incoterms are not meant to replace statements in a
contract of sale that outline transfers of ownership or title to goods. Therefore, the Incoterms may not be of use
when looking to resolve disputes that may arise regarding payment or ownership of goods.
What are some examples of Incoterms?

The 13 Incoterms fall into four different groups. These four groups are:
 Departure (E)
 Main Carriage Unpaid (F)
 Main Carriage Paid (C), and
 Arrival (D)
Each group's letter makes up the first letter of Incoterm. For example, if your agreement with a buyer calls for the
release of goods by the seller to occur at the seller's location, the Ex Works (EXW) Incoterm would be used. This
term states among other things that the buyer is to take over carriage and insurance responsibilities at the sellers
dock. Alternatively, if the seller were to deliver goods to the buyers dock, including all carriage and insurance, a
term from the Arrival group such as DDP would be appropriate. The DDP term stands for Delivered Duty Paid and
includes in its definition that the seller will deliver goods to the buyers dock with all carriage, insurance, and duties
paid. DDP represents the most obligations for the seller, whereas EXW represents the least.
Caution must be exercised when using Incoterms because the Incoterms relate to particular modes of
transportation. For example, some of the Incoterms deal solely with transport by sea. Terms such as FOB and CIF
can be used only for ocean bound freight. FOB, meaning Free on Board, translates to the shipper (seller) having
upheld his/her part of the agreement when the goods pass the ship's rails at the port of exit. The receiving party
(buyer) assumes risk and costs associated with the goods once they pass the ship's rail in the seller's home port.
Due to the specific mention of the ship's rails, an aircraft or other mode of transport could not be used with FOB.
For a shipment scheduled for delivery by air, rail, or some other form of transport with the same agreement as FOB
one would need to use the Incoterm FCA, or Free Carrier. FCA can include other modes of transportation such as
road, rail, interland waterway, and air. Whereas transfer under FOB takes place when the cargo passes the ship's
rails, transfer with FCA occurs when delivery of goods has been made at a destination previously outlined by the
buying party. (Source: US Government.
More information at: http://www.iccwbo.org/incoterms/id3045/index.html
HS.T.1.5. - Pricing
Last updated: 7/17/2006 3:50:05 PM
Hides and skins are a commodity, hence their prices are fixed by “the market”, or in better words by offer and
demand. The sellers try to get the very highest possible price for their commodity whereas the buyers try to get the
lowest possible price. This is obviously a conflict of interest that is resolved by bilateral negotiations. In today’s
“instant” world a price has a shelf time calculated in minutes when in the past, with the means of communications
that were at the disposal of operators, the shelf time lasted weeks, except during the Semaine du Cuir when
negotiations between parties were conducted in person. The prices of hides and skins react in exactly the same
way as any other commodity whether that is wood, oil, ore, rice, coffee, tea or whatever else. When the demand
rises or production reduces, prices increase. If demand drops or production increases, prices decrease.
There is a very large variety of prices for hides and skins, depending on a number of factors. The most important
factor is geography. Each country and in many cases each region of a country has its own characteristics of the
hides and skins it produces, resulting in a typical quality that is specific for that area, and the quality determines the
price of the commodity compared to hides and skins that are available from other origins. Hides and skins from
farmed animals command a different prices from hides and skins produced from roaming animals. The prices are
also determined by the age of the animal that provides the hide or skin. A calfskin fetches a higher price per kilo
than a bull or cow hide, a kidskin costs relatively more than a goat skin, etc. The flay is extremely important.
Properly flayed hides and skins without cuts or holes have a higher value than hides and skins with flay damage.
Another factor is the individual seller who applies his own grading and quality standard.
All the above factors, plus those that are not mentioned, compose a price, and this myriad of prices create a well
ordered and balanced overall widewide picture. This picture is totally interactive, because each change in one
market causes also changes in other markets. To keep track of this enormous quantity of data there are a number
of market reports. Some can be found in trade magazines, others can be obtained against a fee from suppliers.
HS.T.1.6. - Documents
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:30:45 PM
It is the seller’s obligation to provide for the appropriate and correct documents, which are required by the
country of destination. Each country, or group of countries like the EU have their own demands for the
presentation of the correct official documents like the health certificate and the certificate of origin.
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN
The certificate of origin is normally issued by the Chamber of Commerce of the country of origin. This
certificate must be signed and stamped by the competent authorities which may be only the Chamber of
Commerce alone or with the addition of customs or other institutions like the National Bank. There are
different certificates of origins for example for the EU for road transport (Eur1), or amongst Comesa
countries, hence when preparing the certificate of origin the shippers must take into account the country of
destination. Some countries consider an ocean bill of lading as an acceptable certification of the country of
origin. In this case the port of embarkation determines the country of origin, unless of course other
certification is at hand.
HEALTH CERTIFICATE
The Health Certificate is of vital importance and is based on veterinary regulations, that specifically deal with
the export and import of raw hides and skins. These regulations are part of a bilateral agriculture agreement
between exporting and importing countries. Veterinary or health certificates are available with the local
veterinary authorities or can be downloaded from the Internet. Some countries do not require particular forms
and accept any form as long as it properly states the required data. The EU demands its own certificate to be
used, called the “Official Declaration”. It is to be noted that contrary to the general belief that the Official
Declaration can be presented in any of the official EU languages, you have to present the document in the
language of the country in which the goods first land, as that is the point of entry into the Union. Even if the
final destination of a container of hides is for example Germany, if it lands in Italy, the official declaration must
contain the Italian language! In this case to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic hassle, one best presents the
certificate in German, Italian and English. Shippers must be aware that if they do not provide for the correct
documents, import of the by them shipped goods can and most probably will be refused and any expenses
deriving from delays or even refusal for entry, which could in extremis lead to the return or in some cases to
the destruction of the raw material, is 100% for the shipper’s account.
OTHER CERTIFICATION
Some countries importing countries demand special certification which may be confined to invoices and
packing lists to be placed inside a container for which the shipper has to issue a certificate that they have
absolved the demand, or in other cases that a full set of documents must be authenticated by the importing
country’s diplomatic mission in the country of origin. It is the buyer’s obligation to notify the shippers
beforehand of such particular demands. The authentication can cause complications when the importing
country has no diplomatic representation in the exporting country. One can then either seek an exemption of
the demand or revert to a by the importing country recognised diplomatic mission in the country of origin that
can do the authentication.
INSURANCE
In the contract between Buyers and Shippers there is a clause that stipulates which party will insure the
contracted goods during transport. Insurance is generally covered for 110% of the goods’ value. If the shipper
bears the obligation to cover insurance, he will have to submit together with all other documents also the
insurance certificate. It is important for both to evaluate in which country the insurance will be covered as this
may become of importance in case of damage. For practical reasons one should consider that insurance
cover in the country of destination is the most convenient for obvious reasons. Or if the insurance cover is
stipulated in another country than that of destination, that the insurance company has their own surveyors at
destination. An insurance cover is of vital importance in case of direct damage suffered by the goods, but
also for damage suffered by the shipping line or transport company. Many shippers and buyers don’t take
into consideration, that if a ship suffers damage, the owners of the ship can declare “General Average”, which
automatically attributes co-responsibility to the owners of the shipped goods pro-quota. In simple words this
means that if a ship burns or runs aground, not only can one lose his cargo, but can be called to pay a
percentage of the damage suffered by the ship/ship’s owners. These cases are extremely rare, but it can
happen and it has happened. Hence insurance cover is vital!
Covering insurance as early as possible is good practise and even I one is not in possession of important
details, insurance can be covered “quovis”, meaning that one covers the insurance for the value of the
goods, but reserves himself the right to communicate details like the name of a steamer, the number of a
container etc at a later stage, but of course before the goods land at the port of destination.
HS.T.1.7. - Contracts
INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS
Purchasing raw hides and skins is a result of bilateral negotiations between a buyer and a seller, which are
defined in a sales or purchase contract. Both parties involved exchange parameters of the goods that are
being sold and bought. Nevertheless there are a large number of matters that form part of a sales or
purchase operation that are not dealt with during negotiations, and which could generate misunderstandings
between contracting partners, as they are normally not specifically mentioned. These matters have been
attended to by the ruling international contracts, and form the basis of a solution in case of controversies. The
international contracts establish certain rules and parameters. Hereunder the ICSHLTA and UNIC contracts
are mentioned in alphabetical order. Both are copyrighted, hence their use is restricted. The ICSHLTA and
UNIC contracts are different but very similar. Both deal with the same issues but in different ways and seen
from a different point of view. There are other public and private contracts, but the aforementioned contracts
are by far and large the most important.
ICSHLTA
Click on the link provided at the end of this paragraph to download the complete text of the ICSHLTA
International Hide & Skins contract in English version in pdf format. This is the 1999 version of the contract.
Publication has been kindly permitted by courtesy of ICSHLTA, who are the copyright© owners of the
contract. Reproduction is not permitted and publication on this website is only for informative reasons.
Link: ICSHLTA Int Contract 6.pdf
UNIC - UNIONE NAZIONALE INDUSTRIA CONCIARIA
Click on the link provided at the end of this paragraph to download the complete text of the UNIC
International Hide & Skins contract in English-Italian version in pdf format. This is the 2002 version of the
contract. Publication has been kindly permitted by courtesy of UNIC, who are the copyright© owners of the
contract. Reproduction is not permitted and publication on this website is only for informative reasons.
Link: Unic International Hide & Skins Contract English-Italian version.pdf
ARBITRATION
Both above mentioned international contracts mention an arbitration clause. It is important to know that a
contract is valid for arbitration in case of a dispute only if the contract is signed by both parties, and if a place
of arbitration is mentioned. Legally a contract is valid based on the negotiations that precede the contract, but
the detailed clauses of the international contracts, which are never mentioned during negotiations do not
apply if a signature is missing or the place of arbitration is missing, and arbitration in such a case is not
possible. The disputing parties will have to revert in such a case to the normal courts. Arbitration awards are
binding but if parties are not prepared to give execution to the verdict, there is no way to implement the
arbitration award, other than by court order.
LP.1. - LEATHER PRODUCTION
LP.1.1. - Pre-tannage
Contributed by: Mr. Woodley, Michael
International Consultant,
Last updated: 8/23/2006 4:24:28 PM
The principal chemical component in leather is the protein collagen and the pre-tannage operations are
aimed to remove other proteins as required and to prepare the collagen chains for subsequent cross-linkage
by the various tannages.
The first stage in pre-tannage is to restore the original moisture to the skin, which will allow all the
subsequent processing to be done correctly. The alkaline chemical treatments, normally as lime, then clean
the hide structure by removing some types of proteins and giving a degree of swelling. There is a loosening,
or destruction, of the epidermis including the hair. The fibre structure is opened up and fats are partially
removed as soaps. After the hair is removed, the alkaline swelling is removed and there is a further opening-
up of the fibre structure by enzymes. The hide, or skin, is often call ‘pelt’ in these pre-tannage stages.
PREPARE INPUT LOAD
The variety of shapes and sizes of hides and skins reflect the history and health of the animals themselves. It
is a good practice to select similar weight, condition and sizes of the raw material so that the chemical and
physical processes can be more uniform and efficient. If this is not done, then some pieces will have too
much treatment and others will have too little.
SOAK
The object is to restore the hide to its natural moisture content and degree of swelling. There is also the
removal of dirt, soluble proteins and curing agents (mainly salt).
It may be either be done in pits (for pre-soaking dried material), paddle (for careful soaking of delicate skins
in long floats) or, more usually, in a drum. The drum speed is low and intermittent. Chemicals to aid re-
hydration, such as bio-degradable surfactants are often included and slight alkalinity helps to achieve a
limited swelling. The salt concentration should not be allowed to fall below 2° Beaumé.
Bactericide is needed to avoid any putrefaction damage. Ideal temperature is 26°C and pH 9-10
GREEN FLESH OPTION - with a waste by-product of green fleshings and residual fat
The mechanical operation of fleshing is an option, for hides, to cut away flesh tissue so that the chemicals in
the subsequent operations can penetrate easier. All chemicals penetrate faster from the flesh side of a hide
or skin, compared with the grain side.
UNHAIR (LIME) - with a waste by product of Hair or Wool
The object is to remove the hair and to open up the fibre structure. This is normally done by lime based,
sulphide containing, liquors, in drums or paddles. The drums are slow moving at 2-4 rpm, with intermittent
running and the hair structure is completely destroyed.
An alternative is to apply the chemicals on the surface painting; this is done on the flesh side, by hand or
machine, without damage to the main hair or wool. The chemicals attack the hair roots, allowing the hair to
be physically removed and obtaining a particularly smooth grain. A further advantage is a reduction in the
pollution of the effluent. This has meant that hair-saving is also done in drums as a step in Clean
Technology. Fats are made into soaps and there is strong swelling, or plumping, due to the high alkalinity
(about pH 12-13). Temperature of 26°C is ideal, but is not to be above 30°C. A thorough washing is needed
when liming is completed, with the temperature 4°C above the liming temperature. This allows better fleshing
and smoother necks.
Liming for heavy leather to be vegetable tanned has an extra day in a weak lime solution. This will increase
the opening-up of the structure to permit more filling of the larger vegetable tanning molecules.
Some sheepskins are not put into liquors for unhairing. They are kept in rooms to produce a controlled
bacterial attack. This ‘sweating’ is used to improve the quality of the wool but does not improve the leather
quality.
As this is the most polluting of all the tannery operations, a lot of efforts have been made to reduce the toxic
effects. This includes hair-saving instead of hair destruction, reduced sulphide dosages, recycling and
alternative chemicals. Enzyme unhairing is another option being developed to avoid sulphide but some
alkaline treatment is still needed to open the fibre structure.
FLESH - WASTE OF FLESHING
The limed pelts are in a swollen state and the cutting action of the fleshing machine is more effective here
than in the earlier green fleshing operation. Handling is difficult because of the slippery nature of the limed
hides and skins. If limed pelt is exposed to the atmosphere for several hours, there is the risk of damage to
the surface by the formation of lime-blast. This describes the formation of calcium carbonate films, when the
carbon dioxide in the air reacts with the calcium hydroxide of the lime solution. In practice, it can be
minimised.
TRIM - WASTE PIECES FOR GLUE
The cutting action of the fleshing machine blades on hides can cause strings of material which need to be
trimmed to give a clear shape. Skins are cleaner.
SPLIT OPTION - SPLITS FOR FURTHER PROCESSING OR GELATINE/GLUESTOCK
The object is to obtain a more even thickness for processing and a more uniform final leather. Hides are
much thicker than skins and need to be split either now, or later, in the tanned state. The grain (top) is
levelled by an endless band-knife to a few millimetres; the bottom layer, known as the ‘split’, is of irregular
shape and thickness. It is a skilled operation and needs experienced operators and a well maintained reliable
machine. Although, splitting at this stage is more difficult, and less accurate, than splitting in the tanned state,
the advantage is that the tanning chemicals penetrate easier and are absorbed more efficiently. Splits are
processed separately and can become an important contributor to profitability. Several layers can be
produced from an exceptionally thick hide, such as buffalo. However, the middle layers are weaker in
structure than the outer layers.
TRIM - WASTE FOR GLUESTOCK
The object is to produce an economic shape for sale or processing further. The grain layer (top split) needs to
have any ragged edge cut away to facilitate other machine work, whilst the lower flesh split has to be
trimmed to such a regular shape that can have a uniform thickness. Trimming should be to retain, or improve,
value. The quantity of trim should be controlled to see that it is not excessive, because it loses potential
leather to sell and represents profit. Hides can be kept as whole hides until after tannage, but there can be an
advantage if the hide is segmented for some specialised productions; the best quality butt can be processed
for one product and the shoulder and/ or belly pieces for other products. In this way, more value is added to
the one hide.
DELIME AND BATE
The object of deliming is to remove the strong alkalinity of the pelts by the use of weaker alkalis, and weak
acids, so that swelling is reduced. Bates are enzymes and the object of bating is to produce a smooth clean
grain and remove non-structured collagen and other proteins. It is done at specific conditions of temperature
and pH and continues the deliming. The enzyme action improves the softness, grain elasticity and colour
levelness of the leather. The work is normally done in a drum at a temperature of 28-30°C and pH to come
below 8.5. The drum speed is faster at 10-12 rpm. Maximum temperature is 35°C for deliming.
OPTION OF DEGREASE (SHEEPSKINS)
The object is to remove excess grease from the skins to allow proper processing. The percentage content of
natural fat depends on the type and origin of the raw hide or skin. Based on dry material, hides have 2-10%,
goats 5-10%, hair sheep 8-15%, wool sheep 20-30% and pigs 30-40%. Processing does remove some of the
lower levels and leathers need to have some fat for softness, which is also added later. Gloving and nappa
skins can tolerate 5% but the excess in wool sheepskins (and pigskins) needs to be degreased. Surfactants
to emulsify the fat have been used in combination with fat solvents, which produce satisfactory leathers but
are environmentally damaging. Kerosene has been used with solvent recovery, but is also not acceptable in
modern practice. Enzymes are being increasingly used for degreasing together with bio-degradable
surfactants. Temperature is 35-38°C.
The object is to remove excess grease from the skins to allow proper processing. The percentage content of
natural fat depends on the type and origin of the raw hide or skin. Based on dry material, hides have 2-10%,
goats 5-10%, hair sheep 8-15%, wool sheep 20-30% and pigs 30-40%. Processing does remove some of the
lower levels and leathers need to have some fat for softness, which is also added later. Gloving and nappa
skins can tolerate 5% but the excess in wool sheepskins (and pigskins) needs to be degreased. Surfactants
to emulsify the fat have been used in combination with fat solvents, which produce satisfactory leathers but
are environmentally damaging. Kerosene has been used with solvent recovery, but is also not acceptable in
modern practice. Enzymes are being increasingly used for degreasing together with bio-degradable
surfactants. Temperature is 35-38°C.
LP.1.2. - Tannage
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:31:41 PM
Tannage is the irreversible conversion of the natural fibre network of pelt into the material leather. The
collagen structure is permanently cross-linked. This makes it resistant to bacteria, putrefaction and higher
temperatures. When dry, it does not feel hard and can normally be rewetted.
PICKLE - OPTION TO EXPORT
The object is to prepare the pelt for tannage, or for export, by adjusting the level of acidity in salt solution.
This controlled acidity is needed to allow penetration of tanning materials through all the thickness uniformly
and to combine correctly. If this were not done, the tanning materials would react too strongly on the outer
layers, not penetrate deeper and the appearance of the surface would be damaged. The leather would also
not be tanned correctly.
The pickle is varied according to the type of tannage to be made, with less acid conditions being used for
vegetable tannage. However, salt concentrations are increased and essential to avoid any acid swelling. 6%
salt on the total volume of water is a safety level for the most acid conditions. Temperature must not exceed
28°C.
Vegetable tannage should start at pH 4, chrome at pH 3 and the export pickle needs to have a stronger
pickle in terms of acid content (absorbed by the pelt) and a preservative to prevent mould. This pH is below
2. Storage is good if the pickled pelts are kept cool, below 32°C air temperature.
TANNAGE
The object is to convert the pelt into leather by creating a more stable structure, which will not putrefy and
maintain an attractive appearance. The options are:
 Chrome tannage is the most widely used and most important tannage, in more than 80% of
leathers. This is used in the production of shoe upper, furniture upholstery, clothing, leathergoods
and gloving leathers. Basic chromium sulphate is the main chemical, penetrating at pH 3 in
controlled stages and being fixed at pH 3.8-4.0. Process starts at about 24°C to finish at 39°C for
better chrome exhaustion. The higher end temperature is achieved by increasing the drum speed
from 5 to10 rpm. The leather will have a shrinkage temperature of 95-100°C. The cross-linkage is
identified as being made with the carboxyl groups of the collagen. The process is done in a drum
and takes about 10 hours for hides; skins are tanned faster because they are thinner. The colour is
blue and it is often exported semi-finished as ‘wet blue’ with the use of preservative. Environmental
protection is limiting the amount of trivalent chrome salts in an effluent for discharge into a public
waterway, because the heavy metal affects the treatments in the waterworks. This has resulted in
many developments to reduce the levels of chrome in effluent by increasing chrome uptake in the
drums, and by various recycling methods. There are also ecological concerns that the trivalent blue
chromium salts in leather could be converted into the carcinogenic hexavalent state, with its danger
to health.
 Vegetable tannage uses material obtained from parts of certain plants. These may be the bark,
wood, fruit, root or leaf of the plant. The chemical compositions are complex and are mixtures of
natural polyphenolic compounds. The shrinkage temperature is 70-85°C. The characteristic colour
varies from pale yellow-brown to an intensive red-brown depending on the type of vegetable tanning
material or mixture of tanning materials used and the application conditions. The nature of the
materials limits the light fastness, and there is a considerable change in colour with time and
exposure to sunlight. They have high molecular weights and probably form linkages due to a
combination of hydrogen bonding and their size. The resultant leather is therefore, much fuller and
heavier, than chrome tanned leather. Vegetable is the original tanning method and used for heavier,
more compact leathers from hides – sole, strap, belt, bag, harness, upholstery – but it can make soft
light leathers such as linings and leathergoods - particularly from skins. The process is slow, with
limited mechanical action from pits or slower running drums. The time is about 4 days for lighter
weight leathers and 12 days for sole leathers. The temperature normally starts at about 20°C for
penetration, increasing later to 35°C. It has been largely replaced by chrome tannage, because it is
quicker and more economical.
 Alternative tannages now receive more attention because of environmental concerns. There have
been synthetic tannages in use for many years, known as syntans. These cover a wide range of
organic chemicals, such as phenols, naphthalene, glutaraldehyde and various polymers. This is a
drum process and takes about 10 hours, similar to chrome tannage, but at temperatures of 25-30°C
and pH 3.0-3.8. The shrinkage temperature of the leather produced is 70-80°C. It was originally
used to make speciality leathers, such as white, and to replace part of the established tannages.
The current interest is to replace chrome tannage and ‘wet blue’. There are ‘wet white’ tannages for
export and for further processing in the same tannery. These avoid the chromium but do not
produce an exactly identical leather character to full chrome leathers at present. However, the auto-
upholstery buyers are demanding ‘chrome-free’ leathers and such supplies are expected to
increase. The colour of the leathers is white, or yellowish, and they have very good light fastness.
These leathers are limited to drying temperatures of 40-50°C, compared with 70°C for chrome
tanned wet blue.
 There are many pre-tannages which are used following the pickle, and before the main tannage, so
that there is an improved uptake or performance from the tannage itself. Such examples are formate
before chrome tannage, phosphate before vegetable and syntans before ‘chrome-free’ tannage of
wet white.
After tannage, leathers contain a lot of surplus tan liquor. Consequently, they are normally allowed to drain,
from a pile on a horse or stacked on platforms, overnight. This allows further fixation of tanning material; the
drained liquid is collected, for recycling or for treatment in the effluent.
SAMM
The object is to remove the unbound water so that the hide can be packed, split or shaved, with consistent
uniform moisture content and an exact thickness. The natural differences in the structure of the hide mean
that the tanning material absorption and the liquid absorption also vary. Consequently, the leather is still not
the same thickness all over after tannage, even if it was already levelled by splitting in the pelt. It is first
sammed to reduce the water content from about 70% to about 60%. The hides are then squeezed between
the moist felt rollers of a samming machine, which also flattens the shape. A setting out action, to further
spread the hide, is often incorporated into the sequence on the machine, with extra rollers. The moist leather
is then sorted for export or for further production in the tannery.
SIDING
If the hides have not been cut into sides earlier, this can be done now. It is often done manually, with the use
of a cutting guide on a table. It needs to be accurately done down the backbone to produce the flatness in
that area.
SORT - OPTION TO EXPORT
The object is to grade the hides, and skins, according to their potential quality. Wet blue (or wet white) is
normally exported without splitting, so that the full hide thickness is available to the buyer. Quality is sorted on
an agreed basis. This will assess the degree of damage in the hide, or skin, and how it affects the cutting
value. Each quality has a different value.
Exports may specify particular grades. The wet leathers for export need to be carefully folded, and packed in
plastic sheeting so that the packing is completely waterproof. This is to prevent permanent creasing of the
leathers and any drying out in transit. The rewetting of such dried leathers is extremely difficult, and it is
advantageous if a very small amount of a hydrophilic compound (fat-liquor type) can be added to the
tannage, provided there is no effect on final quality. If it is not for export, a similar sorting is done for the
tannery’s own operations. This has the same assessments, and produces a range of qualities. Sorting also
decides whether it can be full grain leather, or whether the grain needs to be buffed away and corrected in
some way to disguise faults. The sorting figures are then compared with outstanding customer orders. Their
requirements will show thickness, quality and quantity. In this way, the actual customer orders start from here,
and should have a reliable completion date for a delivery schedule.
SPLIT OPTION - SPLIT FOR FURTHER PROCESSING AND TANNED WASTE
The object is to obtain a more even thickness for processing and more uniform final leather, if it were not
done in the limed condition. At this stage, the leather has a more stable structure. The tanned hide is less
swollen and so it is easier to handle. The actual levelling is more accurate. The thickness is determined by
the final product to be made. It will allow for some final adjustment by shaving. The machine and operators
are critical to a successful operation, from quality and profitability aspects. A good machine is a valuable
investment for the tannery.
TRIM - DAMP TANNED LEATHER WASTE
The object is to produce an economic shape for sale or processing further. The grain layer (top split) needs to
have any ragged edge cut away to facilitate other machine work, whilst the lower flesh split has to be
trimmed to such a regular shape that can have a uniform thickness. Trimming should be to retain, or improve,
value. The quantity of trim should be controlled to see that it is not excessive, because it loses profit. The
actual flesh split is larger that a flesh limed split.
SHAVE - TANNED SHAVING WASTE

The object is to make the final thickness adjustment and have an even cutting through leather with
consistent moisture. The moisture content should be 30-45% Splitting leather can never be accurate enough
and so a shaving machine is needed to refine the produced thickness and leave the flesh side smooth. The
shaved thickness is determined by the customer requirements, allowing for the loss in processing between
the semi-moist condition and the final despatch.
PREPARING LOADS FOR RETANNAGE AND DYE
The object is to plan the production of crust leather to meet the demands of the customers’ and sales
forecasts. Customer orders define the quantity and quality of finished leather. The tannery identifies the type
of retanned leather (the crust) which corresponds to the finished leather. If there is not sufficient quantity and
quality available in crust stock, there has to be more produced from the wet blue. In this way, the work tickets
from the wet blue are planned to supply the crust stock as required, from orders or sales forecasts. The loads
will be in standard sizes for the retanning drums and correspond to established processes.
LP.1.3. - Retannage
Last updated: 8/23/2006 4:25:46 PM
The objects are:
 a) To produce different types of leather from the semi-finished leather; ‘wet blue’ is considered here.
 b) To optimise the serviceability of the leather and adapt it to meet fashion requirements and the
demands of customers.
 c) To create the crust leather to allow satisfactory finishing of the leather surface.
The neutralization, retannage, dyeing and fat-liquoring wet operations are almost always carried out in that
order in one operation, with a total time of 3-7 hours. They are done in a drum, or sectioned dyeing vessel, at
a range of temperatures between 35-60° C. Drum speed is about 12 rpm. Re-tannage is often understood to
include all the four stages.
The individual stages of the operation influence each other, so there are adjustments needed to obtain
optimum effects for high-quality finished leather. The properties which can be influenced by the re-tannage
include fullness, grain tightness, softness, fat distribution, leather colour, levelness of the dyeing, light-
fastness, grain fineness, smoothness, buffing, dry-drumming, embossing, buffing, water repellence and
chemical and physical analytical results. It is obviously of great importance in determining the final quality.
Special treatments, such as water repellency, are an integral part of all leather process design but there will
be a part of the retannage which involves special chemicals. It has to be realised that such leathers have to
be designed from the initial wet work to minimise all hydrophilic chemicals.
NEUTRALISE
The object is to remove strong free acids from the leather by using milder chemicals. This weakens the
strong positive surface charge of the chrome leather so that anionic tanning materials, dyestuffs and fat-
liquors agents can penetrate and are not restricted to the surface. The leather is said to be ‘de-acidified’
because it does not usually reach the neutral point of pH 7. Surface pH is below 5.0 externally and 4.5
internally. If a deep neutralisation is needed to allow other chemicals to penetrate deeper, the external and
internal values are about 5.5. It controls the reactivity of wet blue leather and has to produce the same level
in all the pieces of leather in one retanning load. It is, therefore, important for treating a selection of wet blue
from different suppliers.
RETAN
The object is to control the properties of the resultant crust leather. It is the main use for the synthetic organic
tanning materials, but vegetable tannins, polymeric, resin and mineral tanning agents (chrome included) are
also used. The environmental concern for trivalent chrome has affected how this material is used.
The character of leather is determined by the first tanning operation, but the retannages are an adjustment to
that. There are 3 main types of result, depending on the crust required:
 a) Filling of the looser structure of wet blue by vegetable tannins, replacement syntans and resin
tanning materials with a selective filling effect. This leather is also designed to have good tightness,
buffing, embossing and finishing properties. This is for corrected grain leather, which is the lowest
quality of the wet blue selection.
 b) The full grain selection has the good grain and cutting value. It is important to retain that natural
elegance with a good break, full colour shades from dyeing and an attractive feel from a full handle,
even into the belly area, or flanks, of the hide. Softness and an attractive look are often more
important than the tightness of the lower grades.
 c) A compromise of the others, so that there can be further sorting in the crust to optimise quality,
value and profit for the tannery. It is a valuable option to have a versatile retannage, suitable for
finishing as either full grain or corrected grain.
DYE
The object is to colour the leather as required by the customer, or sales forecasts. This should be an even
colour and should cover any grain defects. If the leather will not have a covering finish, the colour should be
light fast, and wash fast. It is usually done in drums, or sectioned dyeing vessels, with different levels of float
and temperatures. Not all leathers are drum dyed. This may be done to leave more choice in deciding the
product to make from the crust and to save the cost. Dry crust leather can be dyed by through feed
continuous methods. At present, this does not produce the same qualities as the batch dyeing due to the
limitations of time, temperature and dyestuff type. There are many controls to affect the results and there is a
wide choice of dyestuffs, which are high cost materials. These are often in liquid form for easier, and
healthier, handling. Health concerns have also banned the use of dyes containing known carcinogenic
chemicals, and these are not produced by any reputable company.
Dyeing can be with anionic and cationic types but the whole retannage process needs to be designed
according to the dyeing conditions. Colour matching is an old established human art, being replaced by
instrumental colour measurement in larger tanneries.
Wet white leathers are often required to be dyed with dyes free of heavy metals, to meet the ecological
requirements.
FAT-LIQUOR
The object is to soften the leather, as required in the product, by lubricating the wet fibres so that they do not
stick together on drying. Without fat-liquors, the leather would dry hard and any mechanical action would
damage the fibre and limit the quality potential. It controls the feel of the dry leather. It is normally the last
operation in retannage and can be combined into that float. These emulsions of materials can have different
stabilities and care has to be taken that there is the required degree of penetration and fixation. Complete
penetration produces leather with a cloth-like feel, suitable for garments, compared with a surface effect,
which would feel greasy and be difficult to apply a top finish. Care and experience are needed to select the
correct balance of materials. The method of drying also needs to be considered when deciding on the fat-
liquors.
Fat-liquors, with suitable stability, are also applied during tannage to obtain a deeper coating of the fibres.
After the final wet operations (retannage etc.), the leather is generally horsed up or stacked on platforms
overnight. The water content is about 70-75%, on the leather weight.
SAMM AND SET OUT

The object is to reduce the water content and to spread the leather out by stretching it in all directions. The
helical blades spread the hide, or skin, into a flat shape and squeeze out the surplus water. Animal skin is
three dimensional to cover the animal shape, so this operation now starts to change that into two dimensions.
The shapes need to be positioned on the rollers to avoid any creases forming in the surface; this can be
difficult for the shanks. After setting out, the leather should be easier to handle for subsequent drying.
DRYING
The object is to take the moisture level finally down to about 8-14 % for mechanical softening. Water
evaporation from the surface is in two stages. The first is at constant rate when the surface is completely wet
and the water can migrate to the surface from the centre of the hide at the same speed that it evaporates.
This is unbound water and the heat of the drying does not affect the leather temperature.
The second stage, the falling rate stage, is when the surface is only partially wet and the temperature of the
leather itself will start to rise. This is a critical stage and can damage the leather if moisture is trapped in the
centre. Uncontrolled drying is not advisable. Shrinkage of the leather also occurs during drying and is a factor
in costing. Higher temperatures create higher shrinkage. However, this shrinkage should not be physically
restricted because the leather would become hard and unacceptable, with the fibres unable to reposition
themselves at different moisture levels. Slow drying, at a low temperature, produces the softest leather with
the lowest shrinkage, but this is not normally economical.
There are 4 main methods:
 a) Suspension, or hang, drying where the leather is simply hung up in the drying room or tunnel,
which has controlled conditions of heating, humidity and air circulation. The dried leather feels full
and round with good softness, but has the disadvantage that area and smoothness is lost. All such
leathers must be toggled after staking.
 b) Paste drying has the set out leathers pasted onto glass, or non-corrosive metal, plates with an
aqueous adhesive solution and then dried in the through-feed tunnel dryer for 5-8 hours. The
machines have 100-200 of these vertical plates and are 20-40 metres long. The leather passes
through a number of sections, which have well controlled drying conditions and allow the drying
rates to be progressively set to the different stages described above. The resultant leather needs
some softening, but is flat and has a better area yield that suspension drying. The residual paste
film means that full grain finishing is not really possible, but it is ideal for such buffed leathers as
corrected grain or splits.
 c) Vacuum drying is the best method for most full grain leathers, whilst it is also perfectly satisfactory
for corrected types. The set out leathers are laid flat, grain down, onto a stainless steel table, where
they are also be stretched out further by hand slickers as their shape dictates. The table top and
flattened leathers are then enveloped by a sealing hood. Reduced air pressure then allows drying to
take place a lower temperature, whilst the hide, or skin, is kept flat by applied pressure to reduce
shrinkage. The temperature is about 75°C, and even less. After a few minutes, the leather is
removed with the grain side dry and the flesh side slightly damp. It must not be dried out completely
to the lower limit, but hung to lose the final moisture freely. These driers have been developed into
multi-table machines and the most sophisticated systems have a conveyor delivery from the setting
out through vacuum driers, to staking and toggling operations. These have great potential for large
productions. Process time and labour content is significantly reduced.
 d) Toggle drying stretches the leather manually onto perforated metal sheets, with the shape being
retained by the toggling clips, which have pincer grips to hold the edge of the leather and a small
foot underneath to fit into the perforations. The drying conditions and control are as for hang drying.
The frames are sometimes assembled as a type of bookcase or, much better, as a form of conveyor
which has greatly improved this whole operation and reduced the handling. Toggling is used for
upholstery, side clothing, splits and lining leathers. It has 10% more area than hang drying but at the
expense of quality, because of the tension from preventing some shrinkage. It is better for vegetable
tanned light leathers, which shrink less, and for re-toggling damp leathers after mechanical
softening and dry milling. Here it keeps the leather soft and flatter.
LP.1.4. - Crust
Last updated: 8/23/2006 4:27:10 PM
The dried leathers have a series of mechanical operations for softness and general presentation so that
they can be sorted for final top finishing, or for export.
CONDITION
The object is to give the leather a moisture content of 18-22% to allow mechanical softening. The dried
leathers have different levels of moisture from drying to 8-14% because there of the different thickness and
conditions. In practice, leathers are dried to the lowest level at the first drying, so that subsequent
conditioning can produce a uniform moisture content and allow a uniform softening. Conditioning adds a
controlled amount of water to the leather, usually on the flesh side. This is normally a simple spray
application combined into a string conveyor, and a great improvement over the use of damp sawdust. The
moistened leathers are piled flat and stand for 24 hours to allow the moisture to reach equilibrium. They
should be covered with plastic sheets during this period.
STAKE
The object is to mechanically the leather, separating the fibres, which have become attached to each other
during drying. It is important that the moisture content is correct, in the 18-22% range. This is often
recognised by touch and handle better than a moisture meter. If the leather has too much moisture, there is
insufficient movement of the fibres and the resultant leather is not soft enough after drying out; if the leather
is too dry, less than 18-22%, the fibres are damaged by the mechanical action. The actual extent of the fibres
self-attachment varies with the wet processing, particularly fat-liquoring, and the drying conditions. The
conveyor driven vibrating staking machine is excellent for most leathers, and causes less damage than
earlier types. It also has an advantage that the operators need less training. The older jaw-type staking,
Slocomb, machine is still suitable for special softness provided there are skilled operators.
OPTION TO DRY DRUM (MILL)
This option of a fast revolving (20 rpm) dry drum is increasingly used to produce very soft leather with a
relaxed surface appearance. It could be for upholstery, garments, or casual shoes. There are degrees of
development, with dust extraction needed to clean any fibres from the atmosphere. It can be done on crust
leather without finish, split, suede or on finished leather, provided the finish film will withstand the mechanical
action. Several hours running are needed. The leather needs to have the toggling afterwards to restore the
flat surface and the area.
DRY SECOND TIME
The object is to dry out flat the softened leather, from the conditioned levels of 18-22% to the normal dry
leather, which contains 14%. This level of 14% is the norm for all natural fibres and the leather should not feel
damp at all. It can be stored in this condition, which is not the case for the conditioned leathers, which
become harder and can develop mould. Toggle, or vacuum, drying is used and the times are short for this
mild drying. The temperature used can be critical to prevent area loss. Yield is always better at as low a
temperature as possible, for example 18°C is better than 30°C and is feasible with a low amount of moisture
to remove and reasonable air circulation.
TRIM - DRY TANNED WASTE
After the second drying, the leather will be flat but there may be folds, pleats or ragged edges in some areas,
which either disfigure the appearance or will prevent further operations being done correctly. For example,
the leather would not be able to pass between some revolving cylinders in an even manner. As always, it is
important to control and supervise carefully trimming operations, because it is all too easy to trim away too
much leather, lose the sales value for the piece and profit for the tannery.
CRUST SORT - OPTION TO EXPORT
This is the second quality control point, after the wet blue sorting control. It is an important stage and sorters
need to have good experience and judgement, because so much of the grading is subjective. The surface is
assessed for potential cutting area and the extent to which defects and damages reduce that area and quality
value. The break of the leather is also checked together with the actual thickness (in tenths of millimetres)
and how the leather feels on handling. There will often be different dyeings, which have to be checked for
shade correctness in finishing.
A finishing load, or batch, starts here and is now going to be specifically for a certain type and colour of
finished leather, and usually for a specific customer. The best qualities are for full grain and have different
degrees of covering finish to improve their cutting value. The worst grades need to have a corrected finish,
where the grain is removed by buffing.
The crust stock is an important logistic asset because it can be the means of making quick deliveries to
customers, provided that there is the suitable crust leather available. This would mean the grades, thickness,
base dye colour and character.
Finishing can be the means to adjust the surface appearance.
LP.1.5. - Finishing
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:32:48 PM
FINISH - WASTE LIQUIDS AND SPRAY
The object of finishing leather is to improve its serviceability by protecting it from damage by
water, soil and mechanical action. At the same time, it is also improving the cutting area. It should
be seen that finishing adds value by improving the surface appearance so much that the leather
becomes so attractive to look at, and to feel, that any of the surface defects below the finish
cannot be seen or considered by the buyer, or the ultimate user of the leather product. Experience
and an appreciation of colour effects are needed to achieve the desired results. The technician
often has to be able to develop a finished look to match a competitive sample in a short time.
Finishing can modify the shade, gloss and handle of the leather, improve its physical properties
such as its light and rub fastness, and hide any defects or irregular appearance. It is applied to
corrected grain leathers and splits in order to imitate full grain leathers and often used to obtain
fashion effects on all leathers. The lowest grades of leather need the most finishing work,
compared with the minimum amount of finishing for the best grades. At the same time, the best
grades sell at the highest price and the lowest grades at the lowest price. With such a difference in
the finishing costs for these extremes of sales prices, it can be seen that the top quality
traditionally has a much higher profit margin than the bottom quality.
Aniline leather is considered the top quality because the finish does not cover any of the surface
full grain. Originally, it referred to leather without any finish, which had been drum dyed with aniline
dyestuffs and this was the only colouring it received. It should now mean that there are no
covering pigments used in the finishing films; therefore, the leather has to be almost without
defects. Most finishes for a classic appearance on leather have some covering property, but try to
produce the aniline effect by incorporating dyestuffs at some stage. The shortage of high quality
raw material means that a lot of progress has been made to upgrade the lower grades, by
improving the cutting value and surface appearance. The section on upgrading shows some
possibilities.
All the individual operations are options according to the finished article and the quality of the crust
to be finished. Normally, there are several layers of finish applied and the constitution varies
between the different coats - base coats, top coats and pigmented coats. Adhesion to the leather
and inter-coat adhesion is essential in wet and dry conditions. The flexibility of films has to match
the flexibility of the leather. For example, there is difference in leather for garment, glove, shoe or
upholstery. The lower films in a finish are more flexible with good adhesion to the base, compared
with the upper films, which provide the protective surface by being harder. The top coat needs to
be the most resistant to damage. The film properties are built up progressively in the finish, with
different formulations for base, intermediate and top coats.
The table gives a general scheme for better full grain grades with more pigment being used to
cover problem areas, assisted by some printing (embossing) with hair-cell to give an even grain
appearance. Corrected leathers have more finish coats and need attention to impregnate and seal
the buffed surface.
Finish Total
1 2 3 4 5 6
steps Steps
Grade
High Stain Top 2
Stain Polish Top 3
Stain Printed Basecoat Aniline Effect Top 5
Lowest Stain Printed Basecoat Spray to cover Aniline Effect Top 6
There is a large variety of finish formulations, which are mainly water based. There are different colouring
materials, including inorganic and organic pigments, dyestuffs and waxes, feel modifiers, matting agents,
fillers, polymers of all types, casein, dispersing agents, plasticisers, diluents. These are applied to the leather
in several coats; starting with higher rates such as 20 grams per square foot, and ending lighter as 5 grams.
Care had to be taken in handling the leather so that the surface is kept as flat as possible during all the finish
operations. Creases and folds reduce the finish effect and certainly lose value in the finished leather.
APPLICATION
Hand padding and spraying have been almost replaced by roller and curtain coaters and spraying machines
in all medium and large productions. There are exceptions for special leathers, developments and samples.
The costs of finishing small batches are high if the large amount of finish needed to prime the machines has
to be eventually discarded. Controls on spraying machines reduce waste and there is increased importance
to reduce and control toxic emissions from spray exhaust to prevent atmospheric pollution. Conveyor drying
and stacking machines are linked into the finishing lines.
UPGRADING
This includes the following possibilities:
 a) A complete film, with embossing or grain pattern, transferred from a previously coated release
papers. Ideal for splits and gives high abrasion resistance with a good appearance. They can be
used from shoes to leathergoods and smaller parts of car upholstery.
 b) Laminated film, glued to splits. Used for sport shoes and a wide range of fashion effects. A major
use is for leathergoods and belts.
 c) High coverage finishes. A thin film with reduced transparency gives a natural appearance and can
be used on full grain without the risk of overloading a sensitive grain.
 d) Stucco fillers. These are a type of plaster and are applied by hand, or roller coater after
impregnation and re-buffing. The surface becomes more even as the small scars and scratches are
physically filled. After application, leather is re-buffed and finished conventionally. Needs care to
avoid poor lasting and low flex resistance.
 e) Cationic products can give good base sealing because they are the opposite charge to the
subsequent normal anionic finishes. It prevents absorption and seals defects.
 f) Foam finishing. The foam is produced in a finishing mixture by a special pump and applied from
roller coaters. As the foam does not penetrate deeply, it maintains the softness of the leather. The
trapped air results in a thicker film, compared with a film of equivalent solids content from a roller
coater. Consequently, it covers well and has a natural appearance. It also embosses well with good
print retention and flexibility. The most common use is on splits and heavily buffed leathers.
 g) Fine buffing, polishing, the use of sandblast and hair cell grain embossing plates below the finish,
all are disguising the basic problem areas.
 h) Roller coaters are an important finishing machine, with an increasing variety of uses as both the
mechanical performance and the finish formulations are developed in different directions. The
leather has to be flat, and firm, enough to pass through the rollers without damage. Concentrated
finishes can be applied cleanly to low quality leathers. Like curtain coaters, the viscosity needs to be
regulated and polymer emulsions need to be mechanically stable.
 i) Reverse roller coating is especially good for white leathers because less coats are needed and it is
easier to keep the leather clean. Finishing white leather otherwise is a difficult.
 j) Synchro-roller coating, also known as direct forward coating, is for soft full grain side or on sheep
nappa. It applies a thick soft film, which does not firm the leather but does cover defects and seal
damaged grain.
 k) Gravure printing by engraved rollers and the surface tipping of embossed or milled leather
produces unique surface designs and disguises defects.
 l) Fashion effects such as rub off, oily pull up, semi-aniline (transparent coloured films on a covering
base film) and other optical effects are all used to distract the eye from the defective area.
 m) Dry milling breaks up the surface appearance and hides the defects underneath.
 n) Finishes with special properties command a special price, and needs a specific approach. The
special property becomes more critical than some natural defects. Such leathers would include scuff
resistant, water repellent, washable and dry cleanable finishes.
BUFF - DRY TANNED WASTE DUST
The object is to obtain a more even surface for finishing on low quality leather, where the grain has defects,
which cannot be covered uniformly. The grain surface is buffed off by a fast revolving cylinder, covered with
abrasive paper. This reveals an even surface with a suitable base for heavier finishing coats. Buffing papers
are graded by the size of the grit, so that 80-100 are very rough, and would only be used for the start of
producing a suede nap appearance. 150-220 grits are finer and suitable to start buffing a corrected grain
leather. Finer papers are 280,320 and 360. A buffing sequence is normally at least 2 different grades on the
grain- say 220 and 320. Buffing too deep gives too much absorbency and penetration of the finish, which
makes the grain open and the surface unable to be filled by the finish. The final buffed surface has to have
even absorption, so it is often necessary to buff the thinner belly areas with a separate cut, with a small width
machine or feeding in a different direction towards it. Normal buffing is done from butt to shoulder, but it is
also done in both directions. The flesh side of full and corrected grain is often buffed as required.
Buffing cylinders revolve at about 1000 rpm and the machines have to be connected to efficient dust
extraction systems.
The type of retannage affects the buffing properties, in that there has to surface filling of the grain to allow the
degree of buffing. Vegetable or replacement syntans are preferred.
DUST REMOVAL
After each buffing operation, the leather passes on the conveyor of an air-blast de-dusting machine
underneath a thin jet of compressed air which clears the dust by blowing it into the attached extraction
system. It is important that the surface is absolutely clean, and free of dust, for proper finishing and
appearance.
IMPREGNATE
This operation is an option and has the object to reduce the looseness of the leather structure by making it
tighter and firmer, and to improve the selection. It is used on leather which will not be suitable as full grain,
and has been buffed. This buffing needs to be done so that the whole surface has an even absorption. If
leather is given a relatively heavy finish coat, the appearance is often unsatisfactory because it does not look
natural and has a poor break. To avoid this, corrected grain leathers are sometimes impregnated with
penetrating dispersions. These must penetrate deeply and stick the looser layers of the structure together.
About 20-30 grams of mixture are applied per square foot, which has to be done by curtain coater, roller
machine or airless spray. After standing overnight to allow maximum penetration, the leather is dried flat,
preferably on a lower temperature vacuum machine. The surface is then either polished, if it is full grain, or
rebuffed, if corrected, with a fine 400 grit paper and de-dusted. The result is a smooth sealed surface ready
for further finishing.
DYE STAIN
Spray staining with liquid dye solutions is done to colour the surface of un-dyed leather and to level drum
dyed shades. It is used for all grades of leather.
POLISH
This is done with a fast revolving cylinder made stone, felt or resin roller and used on all types of hides and
skins. It flattens the grain and softens the leather, with applications before, and between finishing coats.
BASE COAT
This is the first and the most important coat of finish because it has to provide the adhesion of the whole film
to the actual leather. The composition is formulated to meet this priority. The polymers used are soft and
flexible. The formulation will usually include some covering pigments and fillers, to hide as many defects as
possible.
PIGMENT COAT
This is considered to be a main covering coat due to its pigment proportion at 100-150 grams per litre. It can
be applied by pad, roller or spray. Later coats have reduced pigment levels to improve the natural
appearance. Organic pigments are more natural than inorganic and can be used at 25 grams per litre, without
affecting the transparent look. It should always look as natural as possible.
CONTRAST COAT
This transparent coloured coat contains dyestuffs, which is slightly darker and contrasts with the colour of the
covering base coat. The effect of this colour contrast is to appear as an aniline finish, with the clear dyed film
disguising the pigmented look below it.
TOP COAT
The final coat has to protect the coloured film below and is important for the fastness properties of the film. It
determines the final look and handle of the finish. Traditionally, it may be in solvent or low-solvent solution.
Special cross-linking systems to cross-link acrylics and urethane films are now used to achieve the same
properties without solvent emission being a problem.
PRESS
Pressing and ironing are intermediate and final operations in building up the finish film. The straight through
heated rollers are preferable for productivity and maintaining leather softness. The hydraulic ram presses use
heavier pressure to compress the fibre structure, and are essential for obtaining an effective embossing print.
GLAZE
Classic glazed kid is made by the original design machine with a glazing jack, usually of glass, which rubs the
leather surface with a reciprocating action. The heat and pressure produced give a deep glaze effect, due to
the protein binders and dyes, and gives a true aniline appearance. The machine principle is unchanged for
many years and needs skilled operators. Although, there are safety concerns in the handling of the leathers, it
does produce a unique appearance. The wet fastness is a problem. A rotary ironing machine gives the
nearest alternative effect, and does not need the same amount of skill for operation. It is also used for hides.
DRY DRUM (MILL) AND TOGGLE
This option of a fast revolving (20 rpm) dry drum is increasingly used to produce very soft leather with a
relaxed surface appearance. It could be for upholstery, garments, or casual shoes. There are degrees of
development, with dust extraction needed to clean any fibres from the atmosphere, and moisturising spray
injection. It can be done on crust leather without finish, split, suede or on finished leather, provided the finish
film will withstand the mechanical action. Several hours running of the drum is often needed. The leather has
to be toggled afterwards to restore the flat surface and the area.
FINAL SORT, SOMETIMES WITH TRIM - DRY TANNED WASTE
Here is the final quality check and assessment of the leather value, sorting into different grades. There is a
limited amount of light trimming, where this improves the selection and allows an upgrade. This is another
skilled operation and determines the financial balance of each production lot and the impression it makes on
the customer. Any leather which does not meet the standard required has to be dealt with separately; in a
different grade, reworked or rejected.
MEASURE
The area of the sorted leathers is measured, usually electronically on a horizontal conveyor. The accuracy of
the machine needs to be checked on a daily basis with a template. The individual area of each piece can be
stamped on it, together with a suitable code to identify the production lot and permit it to be traced.
PACK
It is important to maintain the finished appearance in packing so that the leather can arrive in the customer’s
warehouse looking as attractive as it did when it was sorted in the tannery. It can be difficult to achieve this
when there is a lot of handling in shipment. This normally means that some finished leather, sensitive to
damage, is rolled with the grain surface on outside of the roll; others are placed grain to grain. Smaller skins
are folded. The outermost piece is covered with a protective wrapper, which is then fixed tightly with a non-
damaging tape or chord. It is important that the leathers are held tight to prevent any possible movement in
travel. If feasible, small leathers are packed flat onto small pallets. It is important that any packing for
individual rolls is permeable to avoid moisture being trapped during the time of shipment. Cartons provide the
best protection against the handling in transit, with several rolls or bundles in each carton. A container
shipment with cartons of leather packed by the tannery is ideal. It is essential that there should be no risk of
damage from the weather. Wet, cold and heat all affect finishes and leathers.
DESPATCH FOR SHIPMENT
The documents for shipment need to show all information to conform to the original order and the production
schedule of the tannery, to allow tracing and form the basis of future orders. These details also allow the
tannery to check the financial contribution made by this production lot.
LP.1.6. - Production chain

Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:33:12 PM
The industry process chain may be seen in 6 main production stages, and the product at each stage has the
potential to be traded internationally.
The un-tanned animal by-product is bio-degradable and so loses structure, and value, if it is not preserved
correctly and promptly; the production processing has also to be careful to avoid damaging process
conditions and operations.
1. Raw material: The raw material comes from cattle hides, or from the skins of other animals. After
slaughter of the animals, the hides and skins are normally preserved by salting or drying. They need
to be without putrefaction, cuts or damage and of good shape. In contrast to well developed quality
and market standards in the developed countries, this is the critical factor for developing countries,
which persist in primitive systems encouraging informal trade and preventing potential value to be
obtained. A proposed African scheme is well designed but not implemented yet. ESALIA/ CFC
sorting standards classify ground, ball and smoked dried hides and skins as rejects; the lowest of 4
skin selections has defects up to no more than 40% of skin area; > 40% are rejects to together with
untrimmed or poorly trimmed skins. Hides have 4 grades, with the lowest having defects on 50% of
the hide area or a spoiled hide; >50% are rejects. ‘Fallen’ hides and skins originate from animals
dying naturally and are considered as reject material, unsuitable for processing. After soaking and
hair removal, in alkaline liming, they are pickled.
2. Pickle: The pickled state is a wet, acidic condition and a preparation for tanning the leather. ‘Pickled’
leather is a traditional product, a commodity, for export shipment of skins and allows the importing
tanner the widest choice in tanning materials. All other semi-processed materials have already been
tanned and offer less flexibility in their potential final product.
3. Wet blue: Wet blue, or wet white, comes from the tanned state. Tanning gives permanence to the
protein and stops further putrefaction. The ‘blue’ refers to chromium tannage, compared with the
newer chrome-free white tannage. Vegetable tannage is an older process, and still used for some
upholstery, belts and sole leather. The natural colour is brown. ‘Wet blue’ leather is well established
as a commodity for international trading, because of the widespread use of chrome tanning. As such
it is price sensitive, provided the quality and reliability is established. As stated above, this form of
export is increasingly preferred by importers, because it arrives without risk of transmittable
diseases, as would be the case with unprocessed hides and skins. It also has the advantage that
the processes which cause the most damage to the environment have all been done in the
exporting country. A further advantage is that importers can specify the range of the quality selection
they need to buy, which conversely means the exporter has to consider the sale of these other
grades. ‘Wet white’ leather is of increasing interest where chromium is to be avoided, for example
for automotive upholstery. These FOC leathers (‘free of chrome’) are expected to have an
increasing demand in the future, as environmental legislation grows. After tanning, the wet hides
and skins are usually dyed and receive further softening chemicals. After drying, their condition is
known as the ‘crust’, and is the first time that they are actually dry.
4. Crust: Crust leather is dry and it is easier to ship. It is also easier to see the quality of the surface
appearance for grading and value judgements. It is ready for further processing, either for more wet
work (retanning and dyeing), or for direct dry finishing. It may be pure vegetable tanned crust, or a
combination of chrome, synthetic and vegetable tannage. It is a particular advantage to develop
such a product in relationship with a specific customer, because of the need to make it correctly.
Although some countries have decided that exports will only be allowed as ‘crust’, or at a later stage
(to add value), the results have often been negative. It is technically much more difficult to make
than ‘wet blue’ because it is much more difficult to alter the character of the leather at his later stage
of processing. Properties, such as tightness, softness and the response to finishing operations are
critical in making a good product. These can be done working with the customer, but are much more
difficult otherwise. The individual hides and skins from individual animals are each different, and
unique in appearance, reflecting the history of the animal. The selection of relative qualities is the
key operation in a tannery, and done at several stages. The whole profitability depends on using all
the grades for the appropriate products, and making an overall profit from all the raw material used.
There should be no inventory without a potential sale (‘dead stock’). After sorting for quality (surface
appearance, feel, thickness), finishing coats of colour are given to make the appearance more
attractive and serviceable. These qualities are all customer specific.
5. Finished leather: Finished leather has the potential to add even more value and to provide much
better earnings, but it also is much more difficult to achieve successfully. Compared with the
commodity of ‘wet blue’ leather, with its’ many options for a final product, the finished leather has to
be made in a specific type, colour and thickness for a specific product (and usually for a specific
customer). There is no room for error in achieving a profit and it is essential to develop finished
leathers for each grade of crust material. The semi-processed hides and skins, stages 2 to 4, are
taken from the normal production processing, according to the demands of the market. Specialist
processing equipment is involved through all the stages.
6. Finished leather products: Finished leather products are made from the different leathers into a wide
range of products. The major use of cattle hides is for the uppers of leather shoes, but there are
increasing demands for furniture and automotive upholstery. Leather clothing and gloves are made
from the finished skins. Large and small leather goods, from suitcases and golf bags to wallets and
briefcases, are made from both hides and skins. Each finished leather product has its own specific
leather requirement.
LT.1. - LEATHER - MARKETING
LT.1.1. - Marketing
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:33:32 PM
EXPORT STRATEGY
Originally, overseas sales started as business expanded from an established and successful domestic
business. For example, established shoe shops selling locally made shoes would be a good base. The
products could be assessed for competitiveness on the export market, and developed accordingly.
In the modern economy, a local shoe production is often impossible; it cannot survive financially due to the
intense competition and changes in the buyer-driven production chain of the current global market. A country
has to have a comparative advantage over others for a secure position in that chain and potential exporters
need to know if they also have a comparative advantage to allow them to be internationally competitive and
successful.
An example is China, which has the advantage of a huge population of potential workers and low labour
costs. They also have the advantage of an extraordinarily open economy, with an international trade in goods
and services being 75% of GDP. This compares with 25-30% for other economies such as EU15, US, Japan,
India and Brazil. However, it does not have a large enough livestock resource to make sufficient leather for its
production of leather products. It has only a limited area of land available for agriculture to feed the huge
population, and there are serious concerns of environmental protection for the future. Also, in the future,
wage costs will rise because the work force will become smaller as the ‘one child family’
matures.
Many developing countries would share some of the characteristics, from the low cost workers to the
environmental concerns. They may have a relatively more abundant national resource of livestock, which has
potential for more added value and trade, and they may have a more abundant work force.
In considering strategy, there are three main factors which influence the potential for developing a local
leather sector:
 The local meat industry. It is important to realise that the potential value of the by-product of hides
and skins depends on the actual state of development of the national meat industry. The animal
husbandry, which is good for meat production, gives healthier animals and better quality hides.
Careful slaughter and preservation reflect better managed facilities and give better value hides.
 The availability of the local water resource. It is estimated that by 2025 two out of every three people
in the world will live in water-stressed areas – where water consumption exceeds 10% of renewable
water resources. Leather production needs considerable quantities of water and should not conflict
with the national priorities of human and agricultural demands.
 The need to protect the environment from the effects of industrial pollution. Developing countries are
aware of the concerns and the need for all industries to be sustainable and non-damaging. This is
becoming established globally, together with the legislation to enforce treatment of polluting waste.
For tanneries, the waste water (effluent) from pre-tannage and the waste chrome tanning liquids
contain the most polluting chemicals and have an increased biological oxygen demand. Ecological
concerns affect almost every chemical used in leather production. Such properties need treatment
before the waters are discharged into the local environment, which is often important farm land. The
costs of effluent treatment are estimated at 5-10 % of production costs. The overall costs have to be
kept within acceptable economic parameters.
Market analysis shows the extent of trade and of the different product types involved. The exporter has to
decide which stage it is possible to trade in, and which product in the buyer-driven value chain can be
produced, within the current available production facilities and capacity. There needs to be a viable profit
margin. The available raw material is a major factor in the type of potential product. It is essential that a
personal assessment is made of the competition and the opportunities in a market. After product selection, a
target market (of customers) is selected, so that there is a limited start in the global market, with one step at a
time. The strategy should allow for expanding the business by increasing present production or by extending
further along the chain. This may mean that collaboration is made with larger, and better equipped, tanneries
or shoe factories. There are economies of scale in large units, which should be considered. This production
strategy may mean out-sourcing, a joint venture or direct sale to customers. Co-operation between
neighbouring countries can be envisaged for joint processing. Comparative advantage is the key to being
competitive.
Raw hides, and wet blue, can be stored for long periods provided the storage conditions are good for
preservation. A cool temperature and a good covering are needed to avoid any drying out of the semi-
processed wet hides and skins.
As the final sale price is quite volatile, it is advisable not to hold large quantities in the higher processed
value, and to avoid the risk of unexpected market changes. Ideally, there should not be large stock levels,
which are a handicap in negotiating prices.
EXPORT READINESS CHECK LIST
All customers need to have confidence in the supplier that the product quality will be consistent and uniform.
They need to be confident that the supplier is in control of all aspects and is reliable for quality and for
delivery. It is always important, but especially so for exports from an industry in a developing country, where a
good reputation has to be earned and maintained.
As explained in the overview, the natural resource of lower grade hides is having an increased demand as
the market looks for the lower price raw materials. The trend is also towards a semi-processed state (usually
as ‘wet blue’), which adds value but it also needs more experience and expertise to produce.
The facts to be checked are:
1. What are the needs of current and potential customers?

2. What type of leather is being traded internationally, based on a similar raw material to the local
supply?
3. Does the local tannery produce this type of leather?
4. If so, how does the local standard relate to the international products?
5. If it is inferior, does the tannery have the technical capacity to improve?
6. Is the raw material quality good enough? If it is sub-standard, there may be limits to extending the
trading.
7. Is the quality grading to the international standards?
8. Do the production facilities have all the facilities (personnel, equipment and technology) to process
the available raw material to the export standard?The quality and quantity need to be built up
progressively.
9. Will the supply be able to meet the market demands of quality, quantity and delivery time? All are
needed to become a reputable supplier. A good reputation takes time to establish, and is soon lost
by poor performance.
10. Logistics are most important for international customers, who have a wide choice of possible
suppliers and delivery routes.
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
The leather sector process chain adds value at each stage, and there are possibilities to trade at the
different stages described above (provided there is a customer demand). The priority is to supply what the
customer demands at a competitive price that allows a viable profit margin. The sector overview has
described trading developments, with the chain becoming buyer-driven and productions transferred
internationally to countries with the greatest comparative advantage to reduce costs.
Costs and quality are the important factors. The focus on costs requires all potential exporters to have
accurate costings and cost control to ensure their trading is profitable. Quality control is associated with
technical competence, which is also essential for the product development needed for successful marketing.
The whole profitability depends on using all the grades for the appropriate products, and making an overall
profit from all of the raw material used.
Semi-processed leather (wet blue, crust) should be without the ‘reject’ qualities, described for raw material.
It will have grades closer to the final cutting values. As all the grades have to be sold, the prices have to be
in proportion to that value of the grade.
Marketing a processed natural product means that there will be a variety of qualities corresponding to the
natural variety of the raw material. An original purchased quantity of hides, or skins, cannot all be converted
into one particular type of leather, because the quality range is too wide. The collaboration between sales
staff, with their marketing analysis, and the technical production staff, has to result in leather which
maximises the profit, and sales appeal, for all those original grades. Basically, this could cover a range of
products from full grain leather to a corrected grain, or embossed appearance. Sorting pieces of leather into
quality grades (selections) is the basis for sales value because they correspond to the comparative cutting
values for the final products. That value is a measure of the leather area suitable for the respective leather
product. It could vary between 60% and 95%, for example, between the lowest and the highest grades.
A production batch of leather will always have a variety of grades and it is necessary to sell all of them. This
is the reason for the different prices for each grade. It would be unusual for one particular customer to take
the whole range of original raw material qualities and so an alternative product has to be produced for sale,
from these other qualities. They can be the means of bargaining and pressure to reduce the overall prices;
consequently consistent and transparent sorting grades have to be established. The marketing operation is
not complete until all the variety of the original grades has been sold; some grades are always more difficult
to sell than others, and so are often sold below cost. (See costing and pricing).
It is an advantage if a producer can have an individual brand name, so that customers associate the name
with good performance and good value and it becomes a preferred brand. It may allow for an increased
profit margin on the sale. This is particularly the case for special leathers, such as a water resistant type.
This is the value of a ‘niche’ product.
Customer service is an essential part of the sales co-ordination role between the tannery production team
and the end user. This after-sale activity ensures that the product delivered is acceptable and provides the
base for a repeat order, which is the formula for a successful business.
Finished leather quality needs close liaison between supplier and customer.
The Quality Control system is an integral part of service, checking the standards of production for physical
and chemical specification, as well as ensuring that a particular colour in each delivery of finished leather is
identical to previous deliveries of the same colour.
The distribution system for leather is now world wide with the raw material from one country processed into
leather in a second country, and then made into the leather product in a third country. The logistics are
usually trans-continental. Coordination may be done by individual companies, who are not themselves
involved in any stage of production. They out-source the manufacture to reduce costs (and to optimise their
own profit) and to meet the demand of the final retailers. Ultimately, the retailer is the deciding factor if the
whole chain is successful. Their requirements are known to the chain of producers, who have to meet the
sample patterns provided in all respects at the different stages.
LT.1.2. - Quality
Managing quality
Last updated: 7/27/2006 4:19:44 PM
The dictionary definition of quality in any product is that it is the characteristic property of that product, and a
measure of its standard of excellence of the product.
Quality in a finished leather, or leather product, means an attractive appearance, a long lasting material and a
high standard of workmanship. It is related to price and a good quality relates to a higher price compared with
a lower standard of quality. The assessment of value, for a certain quality at a certain price, depends on the
customer. However, often they are not aware of differences in leather quality.
Leather production starts with a material which is already below the top quality standard in surface
appearance, in different degrees. All of the variables should be related to the raw material price. Processing
aims to improve the appearance, and so add value. This will involve more costs for the lower grades,
compared with the lower costs for the top quality raw material, because much more work is needed to
produce an acceptable appearance. For example, the top quality aniline leather has the thin, transparent
coloured finish film. Lower qualities need to have covering pigment films, which cover and disguise defects,
before they can have an approximately similar aniline appearance. The focus on upgrading the lower priced
material has been most successful in the supply of lower priced footwear and leathergoods. Of course, it still
does not really look like the top quality, but the lower price compensates for this and makes it attractive to the
customer from the value aspect. The customer market has to be selected for the particular raw material and
production potential available from the facilities.
MANAGING QUALITY - STANDARDS AND PROCESS CONTROLS
Leather needs to have a consistent appearance, with a consistent chemical and physical composition. It also
has to behave consistently in the manufacture of the product, for example in the lasting and shaping of a
shoe. Customers need to have confidence that the tannery is in control and will be a reliable supplier for
quality and delivery. It is always important, but especially for exports from an industry in a developing country,
where a good reputation has to be earned and maintained.
To manage quality, control of the relevant property is needed to make this reliable product from a variable
raw material. Many of the characteristics of leather are subjective (appearance, feel and softness) but some
are objective (thickness and colour). A quality standard does not truly refer to perfection but to an agreed
balance between the customer’s need and the supplier’s capability, which may be described in the sales
contract and may incorporate a sample pattern for colour, feel or type of appearance. It is also involves
mutual understanding and agreement. For raw hides and skins, the standard may be the proportion of
different grades of sound material, with grades based on the potential final value of the leather produced. The
customer needs to have the consistency and reliability of a uniform supply, within an agreed tolerance.
Once the different standards are established, plans are made to control these at different process stages, by
checks and inspections. It is known that process conditions need to be consistent to achieve reliability.
Consequently, recording systems are needed, depending on the product required, to achieve the desired
reproducibility. The whole manufacturing system can be developed to ensure that each employee plays a
part in ensuring that each operation done is a correct step to produce the standard required. The controls
need not be complicated but they should begin early in the processing and be maintained consistently. ISO
certification is costly and time consuming, but it can be used to show an international standard of production.
Quality Control is important for the After Sales service of marketing. It should ensure that the product
delivered is acceptable and can be the base for a repeat order, which is essential for successful trading in
any product.
Finished leather needs to be checked for production standards for physical and chemical specification to fit
the end use of the leather, as well as to ensure that each colour in a delivery of finished leather is identical to
previous deliveries of the same colour. Accurate record keeping is essential and a production manual should
cover all the details involved for each production type.
www.intracen.org/leatherline/technicalguidelines
Quality Control Guidelines

Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:34:58 PM
CRUST TO FINISHED
A production manual is needed to record the standard machine settings and process values for
particular products at each stage of production. Measuring equipment has to be accurate and to
have routine checks. Trained personnel, working within a clearly defined management structure,
are also an essential requirement in the Quality Control system. Quality losses in finishing are
accumulative and it is not reasonable to hope that the final correct result can all be achieved by
adjusting the last top spray coats.
Operation
1. CONDITION Object Controlled addition of moisture to the fibres, to
prepare for mechanical softening.
Control A moisture level 18-20%, relative to ‘dry’ leather having
a natural level of 14%. It is important to achieve
this by the process pattern being reliable and
controlled. Leather is normally held for 24h. to
achieve equilibrium, covered in plastic sheeting.
Problems/ Dry leather can easily become loose and damaged
Warning in staking. Wet leather (over 20%) is not effectively
softened or damaged, and eventually dries out hard.
2. STAKE/ Object Soften by separating the fibres which have become
SOFTEN attached to each other during drying.
Control Staking machine settings and operator experience. All
to be in the process manual.
Problems/ Excessive action will damage and loosen the leather
Warning and under-action leaves the leather hard.
3. TOGGLE Object Complete the drying, to 14%, and obtain the
optimum area by stretching the skin with toggles
(clips).
Control Experienced operatives. Skin to be flat but not so tight as
to damage the flanks. No folded areas.
Problems/ Excess stretching action leaves the leather too hard
Warning and the flanks empty, because of chrome leather
shrinkage.
4.CRUST SORT Object Examine quality and select different grades.
Control Experienced sorter and established consistent standards.
Problems/ Process damage is now seen and can be quantified.
Warning This % acts as control. Poor sorting standards result
in the final product being too high, or too low, in
quality.
5. TRIM Object Remove obtruding leather pieces to minimise

further process damage. Should be a positive step
for quality
Control Leather to be flat and minimum of trimmings; a
weight control is useful. Experienced operators and
sharp knives.
Problems/ Yield (profit) can be easily lost with over-
Warning trimming. Too little allows more machine damage:
loss of profit.
6. BUFF Object Abrade the grain surface of the lower grades.
Control Experienced operatives and correct use of
papers. Machine settings.
Problems/ Too coarse papers remove grain deeply and lose the
Warning surface quality; too fine does not correct the
quality.
7. FINISH Object Produce the colour and finish wanted by the
(roller, pad, customer. A very important area.
spray)
Control Reproducible formulas. Accurate control of
mixtures and colours, with pattern cards and samples.
Machine settings.
Problems/ The leather will not be acceptable to the customer
Warning and loses most of its sales value, producing a loss
8. PRESS Object Iron, or emboss the surface, with heat producing
thermoplastic flow.
Control Experienced operatives and controlled temperature/
pressures.
Problems/ Damaged surface and appearance from incorrect
Warning machine work.
9. MILL Object Use of a dry drum to soften thin leathers, such as
garment
Control Drum rpm and internal condition; leather moisture.
Problems/ Mechanical damage to leather fibres and finish can
Warning cause serious loss at a late production stage.
10. SORT Object Examine quality and allocate each finished piece to
a grade. Important that all pieces have a sales
outlet.
Control Experience and past records, samples. The final
quality check before the customer receives the
leather.
Problems/ Poor sorting loses money and loses the customer’s
Warning satisfaction/ future business.
11. PACK/ Object Ensure that the leather quality is maintained during
DESPATCH delivery
Control Experience and correct materials to prevent damage
from creasing and handling.
Problems/ Delivered leather is not acceptable to customer.
Warning
NOTE WELL: RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN PROCESS CHEMICALS
There are an increasing number of chemicals which are now either banned completely, or restricted to certain
limits, for leather production due to health or environmental considerations. These include hexavalent
chromium, pentachlorophenol(PCP), certain azo colorants which can lead to certain aromatic amines,
formaldehyde and, in some cases, heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, zirconium. It is recommended
that chemicals are selected with care to avoid problems later. This is a strong reason for using chemicals
from established and responsible chemical manufactures.
LABORATORY CONTROL
REMINDER that any banned chemical automatically means that a specific control test may be
required.
SHOE LEATHERS Quality requirements

1. Flexing endurance IUP 20 Dry Wet
Patent 20000 flexes 10000 flexes
Other types of leather 50000 10000
Laminated splits (over 0.15mm) 150000 30000

2. Adhesion of finish IUF 470 Dry Wet
Cattle hide leather, full grain & slightly corrected 3.0 Newtons/ cm 2.0 Newtons/ cm.
Cattle hide leather, deeply buffed 5.0 3.0
Fashionable leather(with thin finish coats 2.0

e.g.box calf, glazed kid, lamb skin leather)
3. Rub fastness IUF 450 Rub cycles Grey scale
Leather for street shoes 50 Minimum rating 3
Test fabric dry, leather dry 50 Minimum rating 4
Test fabric wet, leather dry 50 Minimum rating 3

Leather for shoes without lining 50
Inside: test fabric dry 50
Inside: test fabric wet 50
Inside: test fabric wetted with pH9
perspiration solution 20
Fashionable leather 20
Test fabric dry, leather dry
Test fabric wet, leather dry
Test fabric wetted with solvent-free polish,

leather dry
4. Fastness to hot plating IUF 458 Minimum 80C
Patent leather (hot air test with leather extended No cracks
and lacquer coat perforated)
5. Distension of grain IUP 9 Minimum 7.0
6. Split tear force IUP 8 Minimum 18 N
Minimum 25 N
Leather for lined shoes
Leather for unlined shoes

7. Extractable with dichloromethane IUC 4 Up to 9%
for one-component adhesive Up to 14%
for two-component adhesive Above 14%
for special polyurethane adhesive Up to 8%
for vulcanising Up to 15%
for PVC mould-on
8. Water resistance test (as required) Water penetration Water absorption

IUP10
Minimum 60 mins Maximum 35%
Upper leather for winter boots
Other shoe leathers
Waterproof leather
9. Light Fastness (as required) Minimum rating 3
Minimum rating 3
IUF 401 – daylight
IUF 402 – xenotest
10. Cold flexing endurance (as required) 30000 flexes
IUP 20
Special leathers at -20C
SHOE LINING LEATHER
Quality requirements
aniline leather finished leather
1. Rub fastness IUF 450 rub cycles test fabric stains
Leather dry/ test fabric dry 100 > rating 4 > rating 4
Leather dry/ test fabric wet 50 > rating 3 > rating 4
Leather wet/ test fabric dry 20 > rating 3 > rating 4
Leather dry/ test fabric wetted with 20 > rating 3 > rating 4
perspiration at pH 9
Leather dry/ test fabric wetted with 20 No staining
petrol (BP 80-110C)
2. Elongation at break IUP 6 minimum Minimum 25%
leather thickness >0.4mm
Minimum 30%
Skivers, unlaminated
Minimum 30%
Skivers, laminated
Other leathers
3. Soluble mineral salts IUC 6 Not over 1.5%
4. Extractable with dichloromethane IUC 4 Maximum 10%
maximum 8%
Lining leather
Lamb woolskin leather

5. pH value IUC 11 Not below 3.5
6. Split tear strength as required Only Lining leather for reinforcement.
IUP 8 Min. 15 N
FURNITURE LEATHER
Dry Wet Perspiration
1. Rub fastness IUF 450
50 rub cycles 20 rub cycles 20 rub cycles
Rough leather
Grey scale contrast Maximum rating 3
Smooth leather 500 rub cycles 80 rub cycles 50 rub cycles
Grey scale contrast Maximum rating 4
2. Light Fastness Minimum rating 3
3. Flexing endurance IUP 20 20000 flexes
4. Adhesion IUF 470 2.0 N/cm
5. Split Tear force IUP 8 20 N/mm thickness
6. pH value IUC 11 Minimum 3.8
NOTE: CAR Upholstery will have different specifications for individual companies and will include
fogging (volatiles at 75C or 100C) and abrasion tests.
CLOTHING LEATHER
Aniline nappa, suede nappa leather, finished
leather, nubuck
1. Light fastness Rating 4 Rating 4
Rating 3 Rating 3
IUF 401 – daylight
IUF 402 –xenotest

2. Rub fastness Rub cycles
IUF 450
Felt dry 20 50
Felt wet 10 20
Felt wetted with pH9 perspiration 10 20

3. Flexing IUP 20 - > 50000
endurance
4. Adhesion of finish IUF 470 > 2.5 N/cm
5. Split tear strength IUP 8 20 N/mm 30 N/mm
6.Tensile strength IUP 6 - 12 N/mm²
7. Wettability IUF 420 10 minutes 15 minutes
8. pH value IUC 11 Minimum 3.5 Minimum 3.5
LT.1.3. - Pricing
Last updated: 8/8/2006 7:35:51 PM
Leather production is a conversion process, starting with a raw material which may be in different forms. The
production chain, converting raw material to product, needs money to be spent at every stage. These
individual costs have to be known and controlled to obtain an accurate final cost price, ex factory, so that a
profitable sales price can be decided.
There is a viable minimum size for a tannery, related to the equipment being used for the full working day.
This corresponds to about 350 hides, or 2000 skins, per day for a single shift of 8 hours. Partly used
equipment is uneconomic because its costs, on unit allocation, are higher than equipment used longer. New
equipment costs for a tannery, producing 12,000 square feet of finished leather per day, is estimated at about
US$ 2.0 million; this compares with a wet blue operation, of the same input, costing about half this sum. Both
sums include chrome recovery and effluent pre-treatment plants estimated at US$ 280,000 (for sulphide
aeration, separation of solids by centrifuge, but not for any biological treatment). In addition, there should be
an allowance of 15% to cover initial spares, shipping and installation costs.
In comparison, new equipment for a skin tannery for finished leather, producing 10,000 square feet each day,
is estimated at US$1.3 million; wet blue production is US$ 560,000. Effluent treatment is estimated at
US$130,000. Again, there should be a similar 15% allowance.
Although the raw material price alters with market conditions, which are mainly outside the buyer’s control,
the conversion costs for the product are within the tanner’s control and need to be carefully monitored.
These conversion costs are allocated over the whole planned production, on a unit area basis (usually per
square foot), according to the work done. There are two classes:
 Variable costs, which alter in direct proportion to level of activity. These are chemicals, power, water,
effluent treatment, maintenance of equipment and buildings, distribution, delivery and labour. They
are calculated for each type of product, from the process details, and relate to all stages, wet blue,
crust or finished.
 Fixed costs, which remain unchanged despite changes in the level of activity, and are allocated over
the whole estimated production volume for a set time. These have to cover the depreciation of
investments in buildings and equipment, as well as loan repayments, and the costs of holding
stocks and work in progress. The forecast volumes for production, in the budget, need to be realistic
to ensure there is a complete recovery of all fixed costs.
The total conversion costs are then added to the raw material cost to give the estimated production cost of
each type of product If the total costs are only averaged over all products, the comparative actual costs for
each product are not related to the sales value. This can lead to sales, which are actually a loss to the
tannery, but are not recognised as such. If lower quality leather has to be sold below cost, it is important to
ensure that there is sufficient compensation for the loss, by selling better grades at a higher margin. The aim
is a net profit from all products and grades.
The most important fact is to appreciate how tannery costs vary.
RAW MATERIAL
Raw material market prices:
Supply and demand affects market price levels. Because the supply of raw hides and skins is fixed as a by-
product of the meat industry, there is no relation between the supply available and the actual leather demand.
This can result in great variations with the raw prices reflecting the changes in demand from tanneries for an
inelastic source. In the long term, leather prices rise and fall like all commodities. Fashion is a factor, for
example, with such demands as kid leather, suede for shoes or clothes and the value of splits.
Non-leather materials act as a cushion to rising leather prices by providing an alternative supply but they are
really also a strong competitor to replace leather altogether. However, the non-leather materials are based on
petrochemical and oil sources, and so they are not sustainable compared with natural by-products from
livestock resource, in the longer term.
There are trade cycles and major problems, such as droughts, floods, disease (BSE, Foot and Mouth) have
global effects.
Raw hides and skins are sold per piece, or by weight, but leather is sold by area. The relationship of the
respective areas produced from different raw materials is important to allow any true costing, and should be a
main cost control. Known as the ‘Yield’ it relates final sales area to the input weight.
An example is that of a wet salted hide, which costs $2.50 per kilo with weight of 12 kgs. and corresponds to
a purchase price of $30 per hide. If the final processed area is 24 sq.ft. the yield is 2.0 (24/12), which makes
the raw material cost $1.25 per sq.ft. However, if processing produces only 23 sq.ft., the yield would be 1.92
(23/12) and the cost of the raw material becomes $1.30 per sq.ft. Profit would be reduced by this amount
plus the fact that all other costs are increased when the size is that much smaller. This shows the importance
of yield control and the dangers of losing the planned area and profit. An operator can easily lose some of the
area on a hide, or skin, by damage or excessive trimming.
The split, taken when the levelling is done, can have be given a relatively small value of hide as a cost
allocation e.g. 15% of hide by weight becomes split, corresponding to 25% by area and takes 5% of the hide
cost. This reduces the raw cost for the grain split by 5% and is significant. Alternatively, the split may be
processed without any raw material cost allocation. This decision will depend on the state of the market for
split leathers, which is always below the cost of the actual hide.
More details of this critical yield control are shown below.
Each method of selling the raw has variables and it is important to have as uniform a selection of size, weight
or moisture content, as possible. Each weight category of hide, or skin, has a different thickness and so a
different yield calculation. Each individual skin has different characteristics.
Raw material prices have to be compared knowing the different yields, so that buying can be well informed.
The different shapes all have to be finished as flat pieces and sold on the basis of area.
Any change in the condition of the raw material or the processing affects the yield and, therefore, the
profitability. This means the chemical and physical treatment given. The yield is, normally, the area produced
from a unit weight. There are other yields, as suits the tannery for other productions. It always relates the
output unit of leather related to the input unit.
All calculations and costings need to have reliable yield information to give reliable costs before the sales
price can be known to be profitable. The example above shows how the cost is affected.
At least half the final cost of the leather is related to the purchase cost of the raw material, so a poor
purchase of raw hide can eliminate all potential profit from the leather. It is important to have the expected
yield figure relating to the type of material to know the expected raw cost per unit area, when buying raw.
Raw material quality:
All initial costing and evaluation is based on experience as to the average quality and value of leather made
from that type of raw material. In practice, no two hides or skins are the same because they reflect the
physical condition of individual animals. Every ‘100 pieces’ will contain a range of quality. The size and weight
is an indication of animal age, but it is not feasible to know the different grades in the raw, apart from obvious
cuts, holes and state of preservation. The purchase of raw material needs experience to assess
approximately the proportion of quality grades that will result from processing.
After unhairing and tanning, the surface grain can be seen more clearly for any damage, which explains the
value of wet blue sorting.
However, the marketing of the raw material quality must be done by offering reliable grades, related to
leather qualities.
The tannery sorts the ‘100 pieces’ several times, in the production process, to decide how to obtain the most
value and to meet the demands of the market. If the sale is in the wet blue, then there is only one sorting.
However, if there is to be further processing, then there will be a second sorting in the crust and then later, for
the finished leather. As grades are sorted, they are often processed differently to produce different types of
leather. Ideally, the decision as to the type of leather to be made from a particular piece of hide, or skin,
should be delayed as long as possible in the processing. It is more difficult to decide in the wet blue than in
the dried crust.
Area yield:
The control figure mentioned above can be made at different stages and on different conditions of material,
as shown in the example below.
FLESHED WEIGHT FINAL SALES AREA YIELD

Calf 2.5 kilos 6 square feet 2.4
Cows 20 40 2.0
Buffalo calf 3.2 8 4.0
Buffalo 30 40 1.34
Goat 1.0 4.0 4.0
Moisture content is variable in many processes, but the fleshed weight should represent a fully re-hydrated
hide or skin, consistent in moisture if weighed promptly and with comparable draining times. It often provides
the first opportunity to judge the actual useful material from a particular purchase and the start of a yield
control for production, to ensure that area is optimised.
Different drying methods have a large effect, e.g. hanging compared with a vacuum drier, as do different
levels of trimming. Vacuum gains up to 7% over hanging, and re-toggling an re-conditioned leather shows a
gain of 1.3% compared with a leather with no extra conditioning at all. Area is always affected by atmospheric
humidity.
Trimming of the overall shape, by a knife, may be to assist machine operations or to improve the sales
appearance by removing low grade areas; in all cases the area lost means that there is loss of sales income,
reducing profit. Odd shapes and pieces do not have any sales value because they have no cutting area; so
they are a loss to the customer, who would prefer the leather to be all a useful shape.
Final yield comes from the final sorting. This means that the hides and skins need to be traced to the original
purchase markets, to relate accurate costs. In practice the leather may be finished several weeks after the
raw was purchased.
Process costs of chemicals:
The process chemicals are calculated on the basis of the recipe, allowing for any possible loss or
spillage. The very detailed approach allows a much tighter control over chemical costs and allows
a more competitive sales price to be quoted with more confidence.
Such calculations also allow the correct evaluation of any process trials to improve quality. The
extra cost of an alternative process is calculated and compared to see if it is more than
reimbursed by the extra sales value of the leather.
a) Wet Blue tannage.

The following calculation is an example of the chemical cost for producing wet blue – including all
pre-tanning operations in a basic recipe.
The % offer of chemicals is based on the input weight of salted hide.
% CHEMICAL KGS. CHEMICAL US$ PER $ COST PER
PER 100 KGS KG. CHEMICAL 100 KGS. HIDE
0.5 sodium carbonate 0.5 0.05 0.25
0.05 preservative 0.05 5.80 0.29
3.0 Slaked lime 3.0 0.10 0.30
2.0 Sodium sulphide (66%) 2.0 1.20 2.40
2.0 Ammonium sulphate 2.0 0.16 0.32
0.5 Pancreatic bate 0.5 1.00 0.50
5.0 Sodium chloride 5.0 0.10 0.50
1.5 Sulphuric acid 1.5 0.25 0.38
8.0 Chrome powder 11/33 8.0 0.90 7.20
1.0 Sodium formate 1.0 0.60 0.60
0.5 Fungicide 0.5 5.80 2.90
0.3 Basifier as MO 0.3 1.00 0.30
TOTAL – no spillage 15.94
Spillage etc + 1% 0.16
TOTAL – with spillage 16.10
Each process stage has a specific yield related to the input weight. For the wet blue, we can use the yield
from the raw of 2.0sq.ft.per kilo. This would mean that 100kgs. Input hide yields 200sq.ft and the tanning to
wet blue costs 8.05 US cents per sq.ft.
The relative costs of the chrome and the fungicide are highlighted here. Fungicide is important and critical in
warm, humid countries for leather and leather products.
Note: If there were no spillage there would be a further contribution to profit of 0.08 cents per sq.ft. ($3.2 for a
40sq.ft. hide).
b) Retannage costs:
These chemicals are for a simple low cost process, based on shaved weight, and calculated for
processing 100 kg. shaved weight hides.
% CHEMICAL KGS. CHEMICAL US$ PER $ COST PER 100 KGS. HIDE
PER 100 KGS. KG.
1.0 sodium bicarbonate 1.0 0.40 0.40
2.0 Basic syntan 2.0 1.42 2.84
6.0 Mimosa 6.0 1.23 7.38
0.5 Formic acid 0.5 2.47 1.23
6.0 Fat liquor 6.0 2.47 14.82
TOTAL –no spill 26.67
Spillage etc + 1% 0.27
TOTAL – with spillage 26.94
This will have a different yield. For example, 1kg. of wet blue hide shaved to 2.0 mm, will yield
4.5sq.ft. Using this yield, a simple retannage cost will be 5.99 cents per sq.ft. Many retanning
chemicals are more expensive.
c) Finishing chemical costs.

These operations are on the dry leather and need to be calculated from the application rate, the
material used per square foot, not from the % basis of wet processing. Waste allowance is even
more important because of the practical fact that liquids are used and there are always residues to
be dealt with. (10% is calculated below.) Similarly, coating and spray machines have an extra
quantity lost in the machine, or wasted in overspray. The quantities are significant (25% used
below). There are economies possible for long colour runs and disadvantages from short runs and
samples, where wastage is higher.
Some examples of the costs for different operations, simple finish, are
OPERATION SOLUTION APPLICATION COST IN US CENTS COST WITH
COST GMS. /SQ.FT. PER SQUARE FOOT 10% WASTE
US$ PER LITRE
Impregnation 0.51 25 1.27 1.40
Pigment – coat 1 1.01 10 1.01 1.11
Pigment – coat 2 1.01 6 0.60 0.66
Pigment spray 1 0.54 4 0.22 0.27
Pigment spray 2 0.54 4 0.22 0.27
Top coat 1.80 5 0.90 1.13
TOTAL 4.84
Cost comparison of all above operations per sq.ft. finished leather.
d) Operation cost comparison:
OPERATION COST IN US CENTS YIELD

Tannage 8.05 2.0
Retannage 5.93 4.5
Finishing 4.84
TOTAL 18.82
In practice, the retannage and finishing costs are usually more than tannage cost.
Process costs of personnel:

Total costs of all personnel are spread over the whole production, unless there are certain sections
producing more than others; for example, when wet blue is the main output and finishing the minor
output. Low labour costs have promoted the concentration of most manufacturing, including the
leather sector, to Asia and particularly China. The entry into the world economy of China, India and
the former Soviet Union has doubled the global labour force. China is responsible for 50% of the
extra personnel. This has promoted out-sourcing and will continue to do so.
However, low labour costs do not mean low production costs if the productivity is low. Mass
production tanners have a good productivity of 40-50 sq.ft. per man-hour, but a varied production
generally has about 20 sq.ft. of leather produced per man-hour.
The European minimum wage level of $16 per hour would mean $0.80 labour cost per sq.ft. of
leather; this is uneconomic for leather which has to sell at $1.50 per sq.ft.
Some minimum rates of pay are shown below with their comparative labour costs per sq.ft.,
calculated with a productivity of 20 sq.ft. per man-hour. It is unlikely that superior productivity can
make production in Eastern Europe viable as a producer; Romania is exceptionally low for Europe
and Shanghai is the most expensive city in China. High labour costs can only be justified by high
added values, as in the top quality niche leathers.
COUNTRY $ HOURLY RATE $ COST PER SQ.FT % OF LEATHER COST, IF $1.50
East Europe 1.50 0.075 5.0
Romania 0.50 0.025 1.7
Shanghai and Bulgaria 0.38 0.019 1.3
At $1 per 8 hour day 0.13 0.0065 0.4
Economist June 2005, based on gross wages for 2003. Sources: IMF, China Daily.
The skill required varies with the machine. It is very important for quality because damage is easily caused
and the value lost. Rates of pay should reflect the relative levels of skill - unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled -
from drum hands to splitting master, considering the potential for damaging the material and the loss of value.
Limited repairs are possible to most damaged leathers but there is always some loss incurred.
The value of a finished hide is about $50 and a finished skin is about $8; this is more important than
minimising the labour cost. There is a need for all workers to understand the worth of the material and not to
treat it as waste.
Process costs of overheads:
Fixed overheads will have to cover the depreciation of investments in buildings and equipment, as well as
loan repayments, and the costs of holding stocks and work in progress.
Variable overheads, related to a variation in production level are power, water, effluent treatment,
maintenance of equipment and buildings, distribution and delivery.
Basic planning data is that 1 tonne (1,000kgs.) wet salted hide processed to finished leather needs;
 Area of 500m², with 350m² for production and 150m² for non-production (including stores, offices
and maintenance workshop).
 Process water of 40-60m³, reducing to about 20m³ with best practice. 70% is for processing up to
the wet-blue stage. 70% of the total becomes effluent, after allowing for evaporation.
 Steam of 2,000 kg., which is mostly this is for production of retanned dry leather in colder countries.
 Power of 700 kWh electricity. One third is estimated for wet blue, crust and finishing respectively.
Selling all the quality grades:
When production is completed to a particular stage for selling, a variety of raw material grades have been
manufactured into a variety of different products, or at least a variety of grades of the same product. Each
grade carries its own intrinsic worth, to which the production costs have to be allocated. The sales prices
have to be balanced to reflect the different cutting values of the grades and their costs, so that the overall
sums show a profit for the original 100% input or raw material.
A possible scheme for original sorting, best done in the crust, could be:
 Grade 1: Only 10% of grain damaged – suitable for transparent (aniline) finish,
 Grade 2: 10-30% defects – suitable for semi-covering finish,
 Grade 3: 30-50% defects – full cover, pigment finish,
 Grade 4: Over 50% defects – corrected grain, embossed or special upgrading covering finish,
 Grade 5: Rejected due to putrefaction or extensive damage.
The grading is related to the good cutting area of finished leather, provided the leather has the
right thickness, colour, feel and finish appearance. Quality is assessed by the clear cutting area
available on the surface of the leather and the grades are evaluated in proportion. The target for
good marketing, and product development, is to develop a profitable product from each grade, or
mixture of grades. This demands good technical competence for such development.
Consequently, a large pattern for shoes or large bags is more demanding than smaller items like
wallets. Pattern cutting dictates the profit potential for the finished leather buyer and so influences
buyers for semi-processed leather also.
As the tanner sorts the different pieces several times, the lower qualities are all priced below the
average, whereas the higher are above the average. The difference in quality grades is related to
the varying amounts of each grade in the 100 pieces (for example 10%, 40%, 40%, 10%). The
overall result has to give the profit margin based on the total grades and prices. Lower grades
often have higher tannery production costs and so are not sought after in normal business. Any
loss due to substandard material has to be covered by the profit on other grades. If the lowest
grades are unsold they become a continued loss on the stock values of the tannery and cannot be
ignored. The upgrading of lower grades receives a lot of attention.
The example in the table shows how the profit contribution varies with each grade and the value of
quality at all stages.
GRADE 1 2 3 4 MEAN FOR 100
% cutting value 90 80 70 60 79.00
% production in each selection 25 50 15 10 100
Sales price scale 100 89 77 67 87.75
% profit – on overall cost of 70 43 27 10 -4 25.35
Profit contributed pro-rata for 100 10.75 13.5 1.50 -0.4 25.35
The lowest grades may not be wanted in the export market, but can have a useful outlet in the local small
scale productions of leather goods and leather footwear.
The alternative is that they have to be sold below the processing cost. The higher profit margin on the better
grades compensates for the lower prices (and profit) on the lower grades, as shown above.
In this way, the struggle to raise quality can always be assessed as to whether extra production costs are
more than covered by increases sales income.
The marketing target is to sell each product from a specific grade of raw material at a profit, or at least, to sell
the total combined grades, originating from the raw, at a total net profit overall.
Financing and risk management:
Trading and working with such a natural material, which will rapidly deteriorate outside narrow process
conditions until it is tanned, needs a lot of care and experience. Such risks ought to be accompanied by
generous trading margins, but competition is so severe in the bulk market that margins are usually narrow.
This shows the need for good control of costs.
Two classes of entrepreneur can start a business with some reduced risk:
 A raw hide trader has a reduced risk if he enters the sector because he has knowledge of the raw
market and respective values. He knows when to buy and when not to buy.
 A competent leather technologist with established customer contacts for his products has a reduced
risk provided he can obtain a margin on the costs.
Although, raw hides and skins are a by-product of the meat industry, the raw price is affected by demand for
leather related to the available supply. The supply volume is only dependent on the meat market. Price levels
do change. This volatility is a serious risk when there are large stocks, including work in process.
Production processes can be measured in days; wet blue production is about 5 days and finished leathers
about 3 weeks. Strong efforts are being made to reduce such process times and to reduce the time for stock
turnover. Bank facilities are important to finance the stock.
Long credit times are prevalent and tanneries are caught between the need to pay, often in advance, to
secure the raw material whilst they are waiting to receive payment from their customers. The raw material
purchase is critical to a profit and there are many successful tanneries which have been established from
hide dealers. Credit may be based on the value of the raw material.
The actual surface quality of a raw hide and skin (the ‘grain’) cannot be seen until the hair has been removed
in process. Consequently, only experience can allow for this unseen factor, accepting that a variety of grades
will result. Wet blue has the advantage that the surface can be clearly seen, although the effect of the
processing is not known.
Buying semi-processed material is a risk unless the actual condition is known, from experience. Incorrect
processing could cause severe problems with looseness and general appearance. In practice, this risk is
minimised by evaluating a sample on a trial basis.
The main risk to producers is the inability to sell the lowest grades of material reasonably, such that the
composite of all grades cannot reach a profit. The essential object of any successful marketing is to sell each
grade of material at a profit and, certainly to have a net profit on the ‘100 pieces’ of original material.

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Leather Guidebook

HS.P.1. - HIDES AND SKINS - PRODUCTION

HS.P.1.1. - History of hides and skins

Throughout the history of mankind hides and skins

HS.P.1.2 - The raw material

HIDES AND SKINS PECULIARITIES AND USE

Crocodile Pig Lizard Anaconda

Cattle hide Goatskin Hair-Sheepskin Sheepskin

CURRENT MARKET STRUCTURE AND TRENDS

Country/Continent Import 1988 Export 1988 Import 2003 Export 2003

Latin America 68.600 18.700 91.000 47.600

Percentages can be found in the following table:

COUNTRY/ IMBALANCE IMBALANCE IMBALANCE IMBALANCE EXP.

Before mechanisation all flaying was done by

With large animals or small animals (calf) whose skin is

A typical hand flay operation of a goat or sheep

HAND ASSISTED MECHANICAL FLAYING

When a small abattoir or slaughter slab wishes to

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL FLAYING

Whatever the method used, hand

After slaughter the hide becomes a

The positioning of the frames should be such,

Salting is a safer method of conservation than drying,

Salting is done on a well spread hide carefully avoiding

STORING OF PRESERVED HIDES

Storing of preserved hides is of great importance.

Dry hides and skins must be treated against insects and

MAN MADE DEFECTS

Man-made defects are totally unnecessary and with good

UNIDO SELECTION STANDARDS

Dry hides and skins are to be carefully treated

Pressed bundles are held together with iron bands. To

* Committee On Commodity Problems; Intergovernmental Group On Meat; Sub-Group On Hides

PACKAGING - FRESH HIDES AND SKINS

PACKAGING - PRESERVED RAW HIDES AND SKINS

Below: Suspension dried cattle hides under the press.

Source: Arcapelli Sas

Suspension dried hides after pressing:

Source: Arcapelli Sas

Below: Bale-packaged air-suspension dried hides and skins.

PACKAGING - PICKLED SKINS

Below: Pickled skins in polythene sacks.

PACKAGING - WET-BLUE HIDES AND SKINS

Source: Arcapelli Sas

That is an example of Crust leather (rolled).

PACKAGING - SEMI-PROCESSED LEATHERS

Goatskins/sheepskins: Wet-Blue Chrome

 Thickness of Material:1.8mm – 2mm

 Footage per Pallet:5000 sq. ft.

 Footage per Pallet:5000 sq. ft.

 Footage per Pallet:5000 sq. ft.

 Wood, in the case of wooden pallets

 Polyethylene or polypropylene film

PLASTIC WRAPPING / COVERING MATERIAL

 Thickness of plastic films, commonly given in microns.

TEXTILE WRAPPING / COVERING MATERIAL

Below you can see products packed in hessian sacks

a) Product/type, e.g. "sheepskin", "goatskin"

PACKAGING FACTORS OF IMPORTANCE TO EXPORTERS

HS.P.1.7 - Protecting endangered species

THE WASHINGTON CONVENTION

HS.T.1. - HIDES AND SKINS - MARKETING

HS.T.1.1. - History of Hides and Skins marketing