Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – In response to “one of the most persistent and damaging waves of foot and mouth disease (FMD) the country has seen in decades”, the Department of Agriculture plans to vaccinate the entire national cattle herd, according to a press release on 26 November.FMD affects the leather value chain because ...more

Marondera, Zimbabwe – Eagle Italian Leather (Pvt) Ltd and Eagle Italian Shoes (Pvt) Ltd, which operate as a combined tanning and footwear manufacturing business and which were set up about 20 years ago to supply the Zimbabwean Government with military boots, are expecting to reopen, director Francesco Marconati said this month.He sa ...more

  Joins the footwear division of Feltex Industries – later R. Faulks & Co. – as a teenaged apprentice under the watchful eye of his father, Andy Patterson-Roberts, in about 1958. Studies via the SA Institute of the Boot & Shoe Industry and qualifies in 1965. Becomes a supervisor on the production floor in ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – In loving memory of my dad, Michele Di Lembo, born on August 17, 1939, in Campolieto, Italy, and who peacefully departed on 1st August 2023. He ventured to South Africa in 1961, as a highly skilled shoe creator and cobbler, and worked as the factory manager at an Italian factory, Curtolo Shoes. He did not ...more

 African Leather: What is interesting about the Barnini spray arm?The Barnini Robot system is the first multi-patented leather loading system in the world, that is capable of automatically loading leather from a stand, platform or chain.The robot system is also capable of finishing panels or whole skins, simulating production systems ...more

Magdeburg, Germany (01 March 2023) – Lines in natural gas grids must be maintained and serviced regularly. This entails using flares to vent the natural gas. With FlareSimulator, research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have developed an assistive tool that calculates the correct ...more

This is part of a series contributed by the International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) in Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA, summarising complicated research papers into short articles more readily comprehensible to a wider audience. ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - The Tribunal has approved, subject to employment and local procurement related conditions, the proposed merger whereby Foschini Retail Group (Pty) Ltd intends to acquire the business conducted under the Street Fever business name from BMT Street Fever (Pty) Ltd.      Post-merger, the ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Wholesaler Ismail Cassim & Sons cc has acquired the Arno men's footwear brand from Tego Footwear. Further information on its plans will follow.      Arno originally belonged to Villani Shoes, and was its principal leather moccasin, smart casual and sandal brand. From the 1990s ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Distribution of Sebago in southern Africa shifted to the Crick Group from Medicus at the beginning of 2022, in line with the change of ownership of the brand in 2017 from U.S.-based Wolverine World Wide to Italian company BasicNet S.p.A. ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Marco Di Lembo, the owner of Villani Shoes, died tragically on April 06, aged 47. Born in Johannesburg to Michele and Rosella Di Lembo, he went to Robertsham Primary Junior School before progressing to Sir John Adamson High School. While in high school, Marco matured and earned academic distinctions and partici ...more

'Inherently flame-resistant fabric provides unprecedented safety in electrical environments'. BBF Safety Group has launched its range of Bova arc flash protection garments. The range has been designed to provide a balance of inherent protection against the hazards of an arc flash, with lightweight, comfortable and durable garments. ...more

S&V has been a window onto the soul of the leather, footwear and leather goods industries for decades, and like them, has reinvented itself many times This is an anniversary year for S&V. An 85th anniversary. I very much doubt many other industries in South Africa have a trade publication which has published continuously for ...more

Cape Town, W Cape, SA – Former Bolton Footwear sales development manager Jody Henry has left Bolton Footwear to join The Basic Group.       Bolton group sales & creative executive Stuart Hopwood said no-one had taken over his specific portfolio as it had been restructured. The Jordan and Reneg ...more

Urgent call to SA visitors to APLFThe feasibility study on the formation of a Leather Research Institute will be officially handed over at the APLF fair in Hong Kong by the Institute for Creative Leather Technology (Northampton University) to the dti, Exotic Leather South Africa and SHALC. Interested industry stakeholders attending the AP ...more