Leather processing
- 2. LEATHER • It is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal raw hide and skin, primarily cattle hide. • It is animal skin that has been processed to retain its flexibility, toughness, and waterproof nature.
- 3. LEATHER • The natural surface of leather is similar to wood grain, each has its own distinct characteristics. These unique features exude authenticity and accentuate the landscape of each individual hide.
- 4. TYPES OF LEATHER Full-grain Top-grain Corrected-grain Split
- 5. HISTORY • Prehistoric people wrapped animal skins around their bodies for warmth. • Romans used leather for shoes and tunics as well as for breastplates and shields. In fact, the first recorded tanning guild was formed in the Roman Empire.
- 6. HISTORY • Ancient Hebrews are credited with inventing the first tanning process using oak bark. The American Indians used fish oil for the same purpose. American colonists found that plants such as the hemlock and chest-nut trees could also be used for tanning.
- 7. HISTORY • In the 19th century, machines were developed to perform these processes and an American chemist developed a tanning method using chromium salts that cut the processing time from weeks or months to just a few hours.
- 8. COMPANIES Company Name: GENUINELEATHER Business Type: Distributor/Wholesaler Product/Service: Leather Address: San Roque, Marikina Company Name: J.J. Agustin Trading Business Type: Distributor/Wholesaler, Other Product/Service: Wet Salted Raw Hide & Skins, Water Buffalo Horns Address: Mandurriao, Iloilo CIty Company Name: Golden Fortune Prime Source, Inc. Business Type: Manufacturer, Distributor/Wholesaler Product/Service: Stingray and exotic skin furniture, etc. Address: Quezon City
- 9. RAW MATERIALS • SKIN/HIDES – from cows, pigs, goats, and sheep; – exotic animals such as alligators, ostriches, and kangaroos
- 10. RAW MATERIALS • TANNING MATERIALS – Vegetable - extracts from the bark and wood of trees (oak, wattle etc.). – Mineral - in the main, trivalent chromium sulphate. – Aldehydes - formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde or oxazolidine – Synthetic replacements
- 11. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT • the impact of livestock • the heavy use of polluting chemicals in the tanning process • air pollution due to the transformation process • Leather biodegrades slowly
- 14. MANUFACTURE • Dehairing, reliming, deliming
- 15. MANUFACTURE • Bating and Pickling - serves to prepare the hide for the actual base tannage
- 16. MANUFACTURE • The Tanning process – Chrome Tanning
- 17. MANUFACTURE • Neutralizing – removes unwanted acids
- 18. MANUFACTURE • Wringing/Siding Wet blue hides after tanning and being wrung
- 21. MANUFACTURE • Retanning (Vegetable Tanning) Wet blue hides after receiving a vegetable retannage - now "natural" in color.
- 22. MANUFACTURE • Fat liquioring/hot stuffing A stuffing mill about to be pulled - the drum is made of wood and the door has been removed to allow the leather to cool enough to be handled.
- 23. MANUFACTURE • Fat liquoring/hot stuffing
- 25. MANUFACTURE • Finishing Hand "swabbing" dye coats.
- 26. MANUFACTURE • Finishing Leather in the "stick dryer" after receiving dye coats.
- 27. MANUFACTURE • For the most part, the leather is complete at this point, and it’s ready to be sorted, graded, packed, and shipped.