S&V African Leather Magazine Vol18 No11 November 2024
Click the advert links for more info. • Download PDF
IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
04 Upfront
- Rolfes Leather: New owners give it entrée to more African markets.
- Agency company changes: TST and Bosch Technical Services.
- Newald Groenewalt rejoins OPSA.
06 Forecast
- Steady at a lower level: Hide demand steady amid growing global supply, gelatine plants absorbing higher number of lower grades, writes Cape Produce Company’s Benjy Lapiner.
08 An Eclectic View
- LULUC: Explaining the link between deforestation and the leather industry, writes correspondent H. Procter.
11 Decoding Tanning Science
- A cost-effective method of reducing loose grain damage during the bating process: The ISTT’s, Dr Clive Jackson-Moss summarises a JALCA paper entitled “Preventing Enzymatic Damage to Hides by Timely Inhibition of Trypsin Activity with Soybean Flour during Bating Process”.
13 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.
15 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- The power of partnership…the Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor announces the beginning of a new programme funded by the Leather & Hide Council of America.
16 Agriculture
- Update on FMD in SA: 4 provinces declared free from foot and mouth disease outbreaks.
Advertisers in this Issue
Asia Pacific Leather Fair (APLF)/Informa (02), Authenticae (10), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (14), Mimosa (05), Rolfes Leather Division (07), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (09), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (11), Sustainable Leather Foundation (03), Stahl (OFC).
The Next Issue
- The July issue of S&V African Leather will be out on 20 November. The deadline for contributions is 15 November.
- Groenewald returns to OPSA
Oudtshoorn, W. Cape, SA – Newald Groenewald rejoined Ostrich Products SA (OPSA) in September as tannery manager.He started at the then Klein Karoo International in 1991 before joining OPSA as tannery manager in 2015. He joined Le Croc as tannery manager in 2021, and left there earlier this year. ...moreHide demand steady amid growing global supply, gelatine plants absorbing higher number of lower grades
The picture I get of the leather industry globally is that it is losing share in all its markets for a variety of reasons. In South Africa, the situation is compounded by cash-strapped consumers choosing cheaper alternatives. Cape Produce Company is at the beginning of the leather process, and it supplies all leather markets in SA and internationally. I asked CEO Benjy Lapiner if the picture is as bleak as I’m told. No, he said, but… ...moreLULUC: Explaining the link between deforestation and the leather industry
Land use and land use change (LULUC) refers to the study area in general – that is the study of how global land use change (commonly through human intervention) results in increased atmospheric emissions. The obvious emission is that if the forest is burnt, the emissions are directly released into the atmosphere. However, the change ...moreA cost-effective method of reducing loose grain damage during the bating process
IntroductionEnzymatic bating is an important part of the leather making process. Bating enzymes help remove unwanted skin components from the hide structure, as well as any scud present on the grain layer. Good bating leads to clean, soft leather. Under bating results in poor removal of unwanted skin components, and a firmer crust leather ...moreThe power of partnership…
This month we are delighted to announce the beginning of a new programme, being funded by the Leather & Hide Council of America as part of the US Regional Agricultural Programme. ...moreUpdate on FMD in SA: 4 provinces declared free from foot and mouth disease outbreaks
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (25 October 2024) – The Department of Agriculture has announced that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, which occurred during 2021-2022, has been successfully resolved in the North West, Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga Provinces. These provinces, which were initially impacted by the outbreak, have n ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': For readers who need some wry medicinal humourIt’s the middle-class market, not the rich, where the real money isAlthough I fully realise that luxury is a very important factor for the leather industry, I believe that we focus too much on this particular sector, and forget the day-to-day use of leather. There aren’t too many people who can afford a €100 000 bag, a &e ...moreRolfes Leather: New owners give it entrée to more African marketsBoksburg, Gauteng, SA – Rolfes Leather and the other 4 divisions which collectively make up the Rolfes Group have been acquired by the Solevo Group, a pan-African distributor of specialty chemicals.In a statement, Solevo said it had bought 100% of Rolfes Group in a deal backed by Solevo’s owner, London-based Development Partne ...moreAgency company changesCape Town, W. Cape, SA – Gert Bosch and Arné Husselman left TST Agencies earlier this year.Bosch started Bosch Technical Services (Pty) Ltd (BTS), which began trading on 01 March, servicing the tanning industry. He represents a number of principals including some formerly represented by TST.Husselman has left the industry and ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- ‘We can grow this industry’ – new SAFLIA director brings a strong legal and business background
Durban, KZN, SA – Zamani Oliphant has been appointed as the incoming executive director of the Southern African Footwear & Leather Industries Association (SAFLIA). She will start on 01 February 2026, and will work alongside outgoing executive director Jirka Vymĕtal for a handover period.An attorney, she joins from LexisNexis, w ...moreModway voted ‘best shoe store’ in its area
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – Modway Shoes (Pty) Ltd was voted the best shoe store in the 2025 ‘Best of Pmb & Midlands’ by readers of The Witness and other KZN newspapers in the Caxton Group.Modway has one bricks-and-mortar store and an online store.Shoe Street Brookside and Sole Base Hayfields were second and third.&l ...moreSkechers goes private amid rising tariffs
As U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports climb to 125%, Skechers is stepping away from public markets to rethink its strategy. ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SA ostrich leather exporters still seeking solutions to U.S. tariffsCape Town/Oudtshoorn, W. Cape, SA – Thurling Investments MD Vidrik Thurling said his business and its manufacturing partner, Ostriland Import Export, were “still negotiating with clients” over how to cope with the tariffs. “30% is a huge number,” he said. “There isn’t a simple solution.”Arno ...moreEU LEGISLATION UPDATE
There are a number of legal instruments working their way through the European Union’s (EU) parliament. Like many EU instruments, these statutory guides have a way of working their way into legislation that the rest of the world adopts. Like US legislation, especially the California Proposition 65 legal example, these laws sometimes ...moreA land of opportunities, a land of contrasts, but it needs global brands to invest
Reg Hankey, executive chairman of Pittards Group Ltd., is well qualified to write about the leather industry in Ethiopia. As an investor, he knows the opportunities and the pitfalls. He is also passionate about the country and its people. ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Hong Kong residential towers fire: Spotlight will fall on bamboo scaffolding
The fire in Hong Kong which affected 8 32-storey residential towers in November will lead to scrutiny of the bamboo scaffolding which encased the buildings.There will be pressure to ban it, or at least modify it perhaps to the point where it loses the properties that have made it an attractive option for so long.Bamboo scaffolding is wide ...moreNew stent with the potential to lower thrombosis risk
Stents are used to remove narrowings (stenosis) in blood vessels, stabilize the vessels and thus prevent heart attacks or strokes. However, the implantation process damages the inner wall of blood vessel, and in addition a foreign body material is inserted into the blood vessel wall. Both factors can contribute to restenosis of the affect ...more
© S&V Publications
