Clariant to target synthetics market for growth
09/06/2011
Mathias Lütgendorf, member of the executive committee for a range of business units, including leather, said at a media event in London on June 8 to present the company’s growth strategy, confirmed that the specialty chemicals company will aim to supply manufacturers that make synthetic substitutes for leather, but said its commitment to the leather industry would continue.
He said: “We have a lot of polymer and coatings knowledge and we want to leverage that. Growth in the global leather industry is limited by growth in the availability of raw hides, which is averaging around 1% per year. We think this might make it too tight for the leather industry to supply enough material for sectors such as the car industry in Asia.” Mr Lütgendorf said consumers in Asia love to have leather upholstery in their cars, but suggested that synthetic substitutes will continue to be part of the material mix.
“It would be a complete misunderstanding to interpret from this that we are moving away from leather,” he added. “It’s a unique material. But, as we look at it, we see that the automotive industry will continue to include synthetic material, so why not make use of our technical abilities to serve those manufacturers as well? From my perspective, it would be a mistake not to look at that.”
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