INDIA: Promoting the leather industry in Jammu and Kashmir
Four of the main Indian companies in the Chennai region have announced
that they plan to establish units in Jammu and Kashmir. This commitment
is the result of a joint effort by both regional governments, which want
to promote the leather industry and establish productive units in their
respective regions. The various projects include the construction of two
tannery districts, each one with an effluent treatment plant. Government
officials stated that both Jammu and Kashmir have abundant raw materials
and that the state will offer incentives to industrialists until March
2015. Two training institutes will be inaugurated and leather technology
will be instituted as a career in the state universities.
VIETNAM makes plans for 2010
The Vietnamese footwear sector has set itself the goal of exporting 410 million pairs of shoes in 2005, increasing to 640 million by 2010. Even though production has risen from 206 to 303 million pairs, it will have to face fierce competition from China when the country joins the WTO. Vietnam has capacity to produce around 400 million pairs and the value of annual exports is currently US$1.5 billion. 65% of pairs exported go to the European Union (EU), followed by the US, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Despite scarce publicity about its products and its heavy dependence on imported materials, approximately 80% of Vietnamese companies recently signed contracts with large overseas corporations.
Indonesia suffering from illegal imports
The Indonesian Association of Footwear Producers considers that illegal footwear imports have triggered a decline in production of 15-20% in the first half of 2004. Ten factories closed down in recent years and more could do so in the future. The Association added that annual production was 780 million when installed capacity amounted to 1,100 million pairs.
Thailand: strike for improved wages
Workers at clothing factories in Bangkok recently went on strike in order to protest about low wages and long working hours.
Turkey, hides and leather
The Turrkish State Statistics Institute revealed that the import of raw hides and skins reached US$255 million in the first five months of 2004. Leather exports, on the other hand, managed US$32,6 millio, some US$3.9 million more than in the same period of 2003.
According to the Interfax News Agency, the Russian State Statistics Committee informed that as of 1st April this year, the number of cattle on farms in Russia was 25.9 million head, 6.2% less compared to the same period last year
Etiopía
Figures published recently indicated that Ethiopia is consolidating its position as one of the main hide and skin producing countries. This African country has 35 million head of bovine cattle, 23 million sheep and 18 million goats.
American Chemical in China
The Uruguayan based chemical company, American Chemical, has signed a
reciprocal agreement covering plans for sales and growth with the Chinese
company Kei Tat Chemical Ltd. The contract includes all speciality chemicals
for the leather industry and has a duration of five years. Company Director,
Walter Rodríguez, explained that the agreement is set within a commercial
and legal framework and the details of the working plans are still being
defined. Both companies want to establish a solid working team to successfully
penetrate the Chinese tanning market. "We have positive expectations and
broad projects. We hope this will be an important success for American
Chemical. We want to participate in the Chinese market and achieve recognition
of the quality and prestige of chemical products made in South America",
stated Mr. Rodríguez.
Problems in Spain
The situation concerns two tanneries in Valencia. The management of the Tenerías Argent tannery, part of the Lederval group, based in Canals Valencia, has launched the idea of the relocation of a maximum of 25 workers in companies of the same Incusa group, based in Silla, as well as in Inpelsa, whose installations are also in Canals. Representatives of the management of the company, trade union delegates and a delegate from the Labour Ministry have met to start negotiations. Another Canals tannery, Rodrigo Sancho S.A. will merge both plants that the company has in Canals as part of a restructuring process. The company wants to reduce its personnel of 255 people at the plant by 30% and has developed a plan to reorganize the production plants due to an agreement to import crust from China. Annual turnover at Rodrigo Sancho, which produces high quality leathers, amounts to 20 million euros.
Rohm and Haas
The chemical company, Rohm and Haas, has named Gary O'Brian as Director of Investor Relations, replacing Mike Hamilton who was promoted to Asia Pacific Regional Director. O'Brian has been with the company for 20 years both in the finance and business divisions.
Benetton to invest again in Patagonia, Argentina
The Italian textile group, Benetton, will invest US$15 million in a sheep processing plant and a tannery in Patagonia, where the company already owns almost one million hectares of land. The plant will be installed in the outskirts of Comodoro Rivadavia, a city located on the Atlantic coast. The new slaughtering facility will have a processing capacity of 200 sheep per hour, with annual capacity reaching 600,000 animals. The aim of the Italian group is that the programme will come on stream in time for the 2006/2007 season. According to Carlo Benetton, "These projects will generate around 250 direct and 150 indirect jobs".
Clariant improved results in the first half 2004
The Swiss chemical company, Clariant International, published its results for the first half of 2004, which revealed a good performance and the re-establishment of a sound financial base. The company managed to reduce its net debt burden by half and expects to continue reducing it during the remainder of this year. Assets were also reduced and sales increased. Thanks to a programme started a year ago, sales rose to US$3.5 billion and net income leaped from 74 to 129 million Swiss francs, compared to the previous year.
Furore in US for anti-cellulite sports shoes
Strange sports shoes inspired by the African Masai tribe, have caused a furore in the US. The shoes sparked enthusiasm amongst Britons and Germans before they even landed in the US, where they retail for US$234. Called MBT - Masai Barefoot Technology - the shoes were created ten years ago by Karl Muller, a Swiss engineer who spent six years designing the product with the idea of alleviating painful back, knee and Achilles tendon problems. Muller discovered that walking on uneven surfaces was, in fact, good for the body, and things could have stayed there if it had not been for a British journalist whose enthusiasm for the shoes resulted in her writing an article entitled "Cellulite Destroyers", in which she explained how her "orange skin cellulite" had vanished thanks to using MBT!
Saucony Shoe could be sold
The Saucony Shoe Inc. has contracted an investment bank to analyze its options and has not discarded the idea of selling the company. The company, which manufactures sports shoes, raised its profits by 36% to US$3 million in the quarter that ended on 2nd July.
The German manufacturer of sporting goods, Puma, has announced that its profits rose by 41% and its sales by 17% in the second quarter. The footwear business in particular grew by 13.3% to 229 million euros, or US$359 million. Some analysts consider that Puma managed to reposition itself with a model that also takes fashion into account.
The Luigi Pavone Healing Footwear Company has launched a new type of shoe whose sole is injected with a gel made from the inert gas helium. This type of athletic shoe is designed specifically for runners. In the manufacture of these shoes, technology is used to incorporate a gel made from helium into the sole, so as protect athletes from the constant blows suffered by their joints on different running surfaces. In the mechanism developed by Luigi Pavone, a tube is connected to the outer sole containing a valve, and the helium gel is introduced through the valve from an aluminium container where the gel is stored. The helium gel changes the thickness and firmness of the sole which has been inflated by three cavities in its outer part. One of these is in the heel area, one mid foot near the arch and one below the metatarsal bone. The cavities ensure that the support is both softer and more comfortable, which is an important factor when road running on an asphalt surface.
The manufacturer of sports shoes and clothing Columbia Sportswear Company has widened its worldwide distribution strategy to countries in the south of Africa and the Philippines. It has signed contracts with the Foschini Retail Group which operates in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, as well as with the Filipino company, International Distributor Corporation (KIDC).
Chai Watana Tannery group gets ready for No. 1 spot
The Chai Watana Group of Companies, the largest supplier of upholstery for car seats in Thailand, plans to invest around US$2 million in the next year to improve its production capacity, according to Executive Vice President, Weerapon Chaiteerath. The company claims that this measure will convert it into one of the largest suppliers in Asia and is already negotiating in advance with two strategic clients already in the market, Summit Auto Seat and Thai Rung Union Cars. Both companies are already customers of the Chai Watana Group, but it is expected that the volume of business will increase in the future. Chai Watana already has established customers in the sector such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Kia, Chevrolet and GMC
New executive at Natuzzi
Daniele Tranchini has joined the Italian upholstery producer, Natuzzi, as head of sales and as part of the marketing team.
DL Leather Corp Bhd, a leather upholstery manufacturer for the automotive sector, plans to increase its sales to the US by up to US$4.5 million. With ten years experience in the market, DL Leather Corp Bhd has established itself as one of the most important Malaysian companies in the manufacture of upholstery leathers. Its current clients include Perodua, Volvo, Hyundai, Ford, Honda and Kia. The company also operates at a retail level selling seat, steering wheel and gear stick covers.
Coming soon, another round of
MICAM vs, GDS
The competition between two of the main shoe fairs will become even more
fierce than usual when they clash both in September and in spring next
year. Dusseldorf's GDS and Milan's MICAM fairs will overlap by two days
making the lives of both exhibitors and visitors somewhat more complicated.
The next edition of GDS International Shoe Fair will take place from 16th
- 19th September and MICAM's dates are from 18th - 21st in the same month.
In the same way, MICAM's organizer ANCI has already taken the decision
to hold the next edition on its normal dates of 19th - 22nd March, whereas
GDS will open its doors from 17th -20th in the same month.
Turkey; poor sales at Aymod
The
Turkish footwear fair Aymod which ran from 8th - 11th July in Istanbul
was considered a flop. Many exhibitors confirmed that the volume of business
was very low. "Not one pair of shoes was sold", was the bitter observation
from one exhibitor. For others, the holding of a fair with Aymod's characteristics
in July is too late if the objective is to obtain orders for the 2005
summer season.
PLW
to take place in October, in Germany
The German leather fair PLW will exhibit the trends
for autumn/winter 2005/2006, and will take place on 12th and 13th October
in Pirmasens with more then 200 national and foreign companies exhibiting.
IFLS
in Colombia
A group of international buyers who visited the
10th edition of IFLS (International Footwear and Leather Show) in Bogotá
from 10th - 13th August reported purchases of around US$2 million.
These buyers were invited by the government export office, Proexport.
According to Claritza Rojas, Proexport's manager of the clothing and leather
sector, this is just a preliminary figure since only 30% of the buyers
were surveyed. 90% of purchases were footwear and the balance leather
goods. In the first five months of 2004, footwear exports reached US$13.2
million, equivalent to a 37% increase compared to the same period of 2003.
Special report
LANXESS: current situation and plans in South America
After
the decision of the Bayer group to formalize the separation of its chemical
products division from the company, LANXESS functions as an independent
entity and operates in more than 20 countries with more than 40 distribution
subsidiaries around the world.
Rudolf
Bühler
Leather
Press had the opportunity to interview Rudolf Bühler, Regional Manager
of the Leather Business Unit for South America. With a workforce of approximately
20,000 people worldwide, LANXESS's sales reach an estimated 5.8 billion
euros.
The company has 17 business units, and products for the leather sector
represent around 12% of global sales. LANXESS S.A. of Argentina functions
as a regional business centre for the leather sector in South America.
The production facilities are located in Zárate in the province of Buenos
Aires, employ 300 workers and produces 95% of the product range for the
leather industry, which are commercialized throughout the South American
region. The Zárate plant is one of two in the world that exclusively produces
chemicals for the leather industry and is just behind the South African
plant in terms of production volume.
Ursula Passauer, Rudolf
Bühler, Paula Freire y Anton van der Meijden
Both
the LANXESS plants in Argentina and South Africa report directly to the
World Director of the Leather Business Unit and President of LANXESS Leather
Entities, Dr. Bernhard Wehling. Regarding the immediate future, Bühler
stated that the Brazilian market is one of the most interesting for the
company: "we consider that it is one of the markets with most growth potential
after China".
Within LANXESS's short term plans, he confirmed, is the opening of an
important laboratory in Brazil, a country with large tanneries and companies
requiring medium product volumes, which in other countries would be considered
enormous".
Rudolf Bühler y Anton van
der Meijden
Regarding sales in the region, Bühler explained that LANXESS's main operations in South America are centered around Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay: "nowadays, in Zárate, 80% of production is destined for Mercosur countries with the rest being divided up between Central American countries, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela", he concluded.
