In an interview R M Uthayaraja, Chief Operating Officer (LC), Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd with Chemical Today magazine extensively delves into the changing dynamics of the leather industry. He also talks about the latest trends in the leather chemicals market which will drive the industry in the future.
What are the global trends in leather chemicals and leather processing industry?
The leather chemicals market is segmented into three types: tanning & dyeing, beam house chemicals and finishing chemicals. Leather chemicals market is growing at a CAGR 7.64 percent globally and will reach $7,963 million by 2019. Tanning and dyeing chemicals hold a major share in the leather chemicals volume and the trend is projected to continue till 2019.
In terms of value, the market size of finishing chemicals is the largest for the leather chemicals. Asia Pacific is dominating the leather chemicals market and it is projected to hold the major market size by value by 2019. As Chinese economy is not showing an encouraging trend, India will lead in the leather chemical market in future.
Discuss the latest advancement in leather chemicals.
The present trend is that of eco-friendly chemicals and green chemicals adhering the REACh norms. Fatliquor has excellent light fastness, antifogging, good weather ability and low fat loading. Beam house is the alternative to lime & salt, with reduction of water in the process, pickle free tanning, metal free tanning, new tanning method through THPS (TetraHydrokisPhosphoniumSulphate) tanning.
In re-tanning and dyeing, there is more modified vegetable-based tanning and a low percentage of dye loading. In finishing the process, water-based finishing, low film thickness, low VOC and NPM free polyurethane are the major trends.
Which sectors have growth potential in emerging markets?
There is a potential; market in:
• Vegetable based fat liquor, low percentage of fat loading in the Leather with a high degree of light fastness property.
• Modified vegetable based syntan.
• Pickle free Tanning
• Metal free tanning
• Low TDS syntan
Mention the key market drivers for the growth of the leather chemicals market.
The major factors that will drive the market are:
• Ecofriendly & green chemicals reducing the pollution load and reducing the usage of water, and
• Quality products with competitive pricing.
In what ways are regulations and policies impacting the growth of leather chemicals industry?
In today’s scenario, the leather chemical industry must have a sustainable business model with innovative technology products to face the stringent Eco and ReaCh norms. The leather industry is a byproduct of the meat industry. Because of the leather industry, meat industries, environmental norms are controlled. Since it is a byproduct industry, it has its own environmental issues. Overall, we need to find ways to come up with new products to reduce the environmental issues.
Also, the industry needs some more industry-friendly policies like Make in India campaign which is showing some rays of hope for this industry to grow.
What are the challenges in the leather chemicals industry?
This industry has all categories of manufacturers- small, medium and large. Hence, different categories have different issues. For small industries, consistency in quality products, while for medium and large manufacturers, a cost is a major issue. As leather chemical business is performance oriented, companies have to invest in technical service centres and customer friendly technical service to cater to their immediate needs.
Another major and common issue for all categories is the handling of effluents. Reduction of TDS, alternative to chrome tanning, economical way for the preservation of hides and skins and reduction of the usage of water in the process are the other necessities that the industry requires.
Give us an overview about Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd.
Balmer Lawrie is one of the premier corporate entities in India since 1867. BL is a 150 years old company with highly diversified multi-locational conglomerate with its corporate headquarters in Kolkata. It is a public sector unit under the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. BL has two verticals -manufacturing and service businesses. Balmer Lawrie had entered into the Leather Chemicals business in 1983 with the technology of Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai. Over the years, many new products and formulations were added with the help our in-house R&D team. We have huge product basket comprising of many varieties of synthetic Fat liquors and synthetic tanning agents, beam house and finishing chemicals.
The company is certified by BVQI for ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:1999. Apart from this, it is registered as a member in Leather working group (LWG), UK. It is the first leather chemical industry operating with the state of art zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant. Balmer Lawrie is looking at continuously expanding its product range and improving its service network through innovative research, sensitivity to the customers’ requirements and concern for the society and environment. The company is committed to its role of a “Responsible Partner” in the new age leather industry.
Elaborate on your focus regarding R&D and innovation related to the leather chemicals.
We extensively work on fat liquor based on renewable source, metal free tanning, more eco-friendly syntans like modified vegetable, developing new surfactants that can enhance fat liquor performance, etc.
We are in the process of technology up gradation with our engineering consultancy team to improve the existing products reaction efficiency.
Tell us about your new product development.
We are putting in more focus on developing green chemicals like Fat liquor on vegetable base with less loading & maximum light fastness. In syntan, formaldehyde free syntan and more modified vegetable based syntan are being worked upon. We are also working on metal free tanning process.
What is the future growth strategy for Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd?
We want to become a full-fledged leather chemical company with the addition of finishing chemicals and a complete range of beam house chemicals in our product basket.
In future, we will focus more on our export to Asia Pacific, African and Latin American countries.
There is a growing inclination towards sustainability in the chemical industry. How are you focusing on sustainability in your business?
We focus on green chemicals for sustainability and are trying to reduce the total quantity of chemicals required in leather processing with a lesser usage of water & emphasis on carbon footprints.
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