Brazilian leather group takes wraps off latest tannery
One of Brazil's largest producers of finished leather, Braspelco Industria & Comercio Ltda, has opened a new state of the art tannery serving the automotive and upholstery markets.
Located in the town of Itumbiara in the central state of Goiás, the $30 million facility occupies a 650 hectare area and comprises industrial, utility and office buildings, an effluent treatment plant, an irrigation system that uses recycled water (nothing goes into the nearby rivers) as well as associated prairies for the grazing of dairy cattle. The complex has a workforce of 2,000 and employs a further 5,500 indirectly.
The town of Itumbiara was carefully chosen, being located at the hub of the Brazilian cattle breeding region. Goiás accounts for 12% of the national herd and has an annual slaughter of four million head, while over 20 million head are slaughtered annually within a 1000 km radius. Other advantages attached to the location include a good regional transport infrastructure, an abundance of hydroelectric power and a state government that is supportive of the beef and leather industries. Itumbria lies 200km from the state capital of Goiania, 130km from Braspelco´s Uberlandia headquarters in Brazil’s central region and 250 km from the state of Sao Paulo.
Though production is currently focused on finished leather pieces for the motor and upholstery export markets, as well as leather for shoe uppers, Braspelco also has its eye on the market for higher added value articles such as ready-cut pieces for sofas and seat covers. Annual turnover is in the region of 1.5 to 2 million hides, with wet blue being sourced from 10 associated tanneries located in central Brazil, as well as suppliers operating in Goiás and neighbouring states.
Founded in 1986 by a group of Brazilian entrepreneurs with a strong track record in the leather sector, Braspelco today operates 13 tanneries in Brazil, as well as two farms, a footwear factory as well as a chain of retail outlets.
