Formed in 1996 from the merger of Ciba Geigy’s leather business unit and the leather departments of Röhm and Stockhausen – both member firms of the Degussa Hüls Group – the Germany-based company was acquired for an undisclosed amount.

Says Peter Schaller, joint managing director of TFL: "Our vision is to be the preferred partner for the leather industry world-wide. Additional funding will enable us to continue to focus on creating value for our customers through the development of superior systems and services for leather processing."

In 2000, TFL Group had sales of DM490 million ($225 million) and employed approximately 900 people across sixteen different countries. The company researches, manufactures and markets chemical products and provides application services for the treatment of leather for tanneries.  TFL offers a range of products applicable to all stages of the leather manufacturing, from beamhouse through wet end to finishing, and is Europe’s fourth-largest leather chemicals producer after BASF, Bayer and Clariant.