Freudenberg ends association with leather
The Freudenberg Group is to shut down its calf leather tannery in Weiheim on September 30, 2002 after running at a loss for several years. The closure will also affect the wet-blue operation that had been moved to a tannery in Poland and represents a final break for the company from its historic origins in leather production.
In a statement the company blamed the move on the weakness of the global economy, saying that the business had also been hit in recent years by the BSE crisis and foot and mouth disease.
Founded in 1849, Freudenberg soon made a name for itself as a maker of vegetable tanned patent leathers for riding boots and dance shoes. At the turn of the century the company adopted modern chrome tanning, introducing box calf production, which then quickly became a bestseller. Freudenberg began to diversify after World War I into synthetic materials and other products and now employs around 30,000 people in 42 countries.
Freudenberg Leder KG was formed in 1995 as an independent unit in the group and was considered the top quality calf leather producer out of some ten that exist throughout the world. Leather production, however, accounted for less and less of the group’s turnover - from 10% in 1983 to just 0.5% last year.
