Södra invests in sustainable tanning
Södra, Sweden's leading forest owners association and international forest industry group, is investing in a new production line at Värö to create a vegetable tanning agent from bark.
According to the company's announcement, this innovative tannin aims to process leather in a more environmentally friendly way and is scheduled for commissioning in 2026. The project has been approved by Södra's Board of Directors and is expected to produce tanning material sufficient for producing millions of square metres of leather.
Catrin Gustavsson, Business Area Manager at Södra Innovation said: “With this new patented process, we can now make a product from an, until now, unused resource. A product that can be used in a completely different industry and support the leather industry in its transition to more sustainable tanning methods".
Södra is an economic association of 53,000 forest owners in southern Sweden, owning over half of the privately owned forest in the area. They also own successful companies in Swedish and international markets, employing 3,100 people in forestry management, product development, and production of sawn timber, paper pulp, biofuel, and electricity
