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
- Wayne's Phambili range: Practical boots from non-safety to full protection
Roodepoort, Gauteng, SA – Wayne's Phambili range combines everyday comfort, dependable durability and clearly defined levels of protection in a practical range of PVC work boots. Developed for demanding working environments, the 3-boot lineup makes it easy to choose the protection best suited to the job while delivering the comfort ...moreKen Riches: Reflections on an extraordinary life: Those who can, do – those who can do it even better, teach
It’s been 18 years this month since Ken Riches died. Here is a glimpse into what lay under that fairly protective exterior.Ken Riches, one of our country’s true footwear experts, passed peacefully on to that final production line in the sky on 11 August 2008. He had lived through the rapidly changing times from just after the ...moreManufacturer-buyer event: Among the manufacturer comments
The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- When communication moves faster than truth: Why credible, evidence-based information matters more than ever.We have never had more information at our fingertips. We have also never had to work quite so hard to determine which information we should trust. Communication today moves at extraordinary speed. Social media platforms, digital news, corporate communications, industry reports and, increasingly, artificial intelligence allow information t ...moreThe leather value chain offers opportunities for all SADC countriesThe Southern African Regional Leather Network (SARLEN) and the SADC Leather Forum present a great opportunity for the development of the leather value chains (LVCs) in all or most SADC states, whose LVCs are at different stages of development.in Zimbabwe we already have a well-structured LVC coordinated by an apex body, the Zimbabwe Leath ...moreBeyond the data trap: Why better decisions matter more than just more data
On 1st July 2026 I presented at the FILK Leather Days conference and asked the delegates to consider “Sustainability through a new lens: resetting how we view impacts in the leather value chain”. This month’s article therefore explores this idea a little more with a focus on how we view data and whether it can blind us t ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurement
RealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...morePremier Workwear: Engineered protection for Africa’s industrial workforce
In high-risk industrial environments, protective clothing is far more than a uniform requirement — it is a critical component of workplace safety, operational reliability and regulatory compliance. For procurement professionals, safety managers and operational leaders, selecting the right supplier means finding a partner capable of ...moreRealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurementRealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...more
© S&V Publications
