The organisers of the XV Flaqtic Congress held in Bahia, Brazil, October 10-13, have claimed the event was a great success. Valmor Trevisan, president of ABQTIC (Brazilian Association of Leather Chemists and Technicians), which organised the event, said the Congress, "reached its targets in showing the sector's latest technologies".

Around four hundred professionals from ten different countries met at the event to present and discuss new developments in leather technology around the world. Twenty-two papers were presented with various subjects covered such as new "clean" technologies and industry trends. One of the highlights was the lecture by Ron Sauer, one of the world's foremost leather market specialists. A key theme at the conference was the environment, with several of the papers focusing on ecologically correct work systems and meeting environmental targets.