In recent years, national environmental protection policies have become increasingly strict, and people's longing for a better life is more reflected in low-carbon health. Therefore, in the constant demand of the market, the application of chrome free tanning technology in the leather industry has become a trend, which is related to the survival of enterprises and the future of the industry. In order to learn more relevant information, this magazine interviewed Yao Shoujiang, Chairman of Zhenshou Industrial (Shangqiu) Co., Ltd., a representative enterprise in the field of chrome free tanning.
Zhenshou Industry (Shangqiu) Co., Ltd. is located in Shangqiu, Henan Province. The company has built raw material supply bases in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Xinjiang, and has sales offices in Guangzhou, Wenzhou and Chengdu. The sales volume of the products ranks top in the domestic market and are exported to international markets such as Europe and the United States. It is the preferred raw material supplier for luxury brands such as Gucci, Prada and Chanel. The company has always been committed to the management philosophy of energy conservation, carbon reduction, and environmental protection. It has passed multiple LWG gold audits and is traceable to 100% in the strictest international leather management system certification, laying a solid foundation for obtaining orders from Europe and America and expanding the international market.
The chairman of the company, Yao Shoujiang, is a low-key and steady person. Under his leadership, Zhenshou Industry has conducted in-depth cooperation with well-known universities in China to jointly build national and provincial research and development platforms. Currently, the research and development of sheepskin products has reached the international advanced level. Zhenshou Industry also closely collaborates with Italian leather companies, absorbing international fashion elements and leading the trend of the leather market.
The Internationalization Path of Industry Leaders
Beijing Leather: Could you please introduce the company's scale, products, technology, operations, and other aspects?
Yao Shoujiang: The company is a restructured enterprise of the former Henan Foreign Trade Leather Factory. Currently, it has more than 200 employees, more than 20 technical personnel of various types, fixed assets of 250 million yuan, and multiple advanced imported equipment. Our products are mainly made of sheepskin shoe upper leather, and we also specialize in cowhide shoe upper leather and cowhide sofa leather. Our annual production scale is 12 million square feet of sheepskin and 30 million square feet of cowhide furniture leather, with an annual sales revenue of 630 million yuan.
Beijing Leather: Your company's products are mainly aimed at the export market, and there are higher requirements for product quality. Please share your successful experience in this area.
Yao Shoujiang: The company has been undergoing transformation since 2017, transitioning from a production trade oriented to a research and development trade oriented, and shifting from domestic sales to export oriented. According to the company's layout, a foreign trade department has been established, responsible for market expansion in Europe, the United States, and other markets. Export products have higher quality requirements and must be strictly controlled to ensure long-term stability of product quality. We firmly ensure that products do not leave the factory if they are not qualified. Only by ensuring the company's credibility can we occupy the market.
Beijing Leather: Since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese products in 2020, the Biden administration continued to suppress them, and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy over the past three years. In this context, has it had a significant impact on your company? What are the specific aspects reflected in?
Yao Shoujiang: The impact of the pandemic and the imposition of tariffs over the past three years on our exports was not significant, and during this period, the company's export volume still increased by more than double. It has a significant impact on domestic sales. Due to lockdowns, physical stores are operating intermittently, and sales through the internet are limited, resulting in a decline of over 50% in domestic orders.
Beijing Leather: In order to overcome the impact of these unfavorable factors on China's leather industry, do you have any good suggestions for the global development and thinking of China's leather industry?
Yao Shoujiang: I believe that as long as there is good product quality and products that meet EU standards, such as environmentally friendly products such as metal free and chrome free tanning, dedicated to serving high-end brands, the future market prospects are still very good.
Chromium free leather is the future development direction
Beijing Leather: The increasingly strict control of heavy metals in national policies and the restrictions on Hexavalent chromium in product exports have put a lot of pressure on chrome tanned leather. How can your enterprise deal with this?
Yao Shoujiang: Both pressure and motivation, the company has been producing the first batch of chrome free tanned products for H&M since 2008, and has been exporting chrome free leather products ever since. The company has always adhered to the path of green environmental protection and obtained the LWG gold medal audit certification for the first time in January 2020. Next, we will strictly comply with environmental policies and produce products that meet environmental standards.
Beijing Leather: What do you think chrome free tanning materials should look like? What are the problems with chrome free tanning materials currently on the market?
Yao Shoujiang: Chromium free tanning materials should truly promote the green and environmental protection of the industry, and play a promoting role in the sustainable development of the industry. At present, chrome free tanning chemical materials mainly rely on foreign imports, with high prices and unstable quality. For example, the finished leather has problems such as poor yellowing resistance, poor compactness, and easy loosening, which affects the quality of the product.
Beijing Leather: What chrome free tanning materials have the company tried? How do you evaluate these materials?
Yao Shoujiang: The company has tried chrome free tanning materials from several leather chemical enterprises, but most products still have unstable quality, which makes promotion difficult.
Beijing Leather: What information do you have about which chrome free tanning material is better?
Yao Shoujiang: Since Tingjiang New Material cooperated with Sichuan University to launch chrome free tanning, our company has cooperated with Tingjiang New Material in mass production, which has been recognized by the market. Its advantages are good leather tightness, similar to chrome tanning products, which is a rare breakthrough.
Beijing Leather: Do you have a good outlook on the chrome tanning market? How long does it take to transition from chrome tanning to chrome free tanning?
Yao Shoujiang: I think chrome tanning will gradually decrease; The transition from chrome tanning to chrome free tanning will take some time. Currently, the control of chromium and metal limits in leather at home and abroad is becoming increasingly strict. In the next 2-3 years, chrome free and metal free tanning products will definitely be the development direction.
Beijing Leather: What is the main reason why there are not many orders for chrome free leather in the current market? From the perspective of the industrial chain, what should all relevant parties do?
Yao Shoujiang: The market's recognition of chrome free leather is not yet strong, and relevant national departments do not have higher environmental protection standards for leather products; At the same time, the cost of chrome free leather is still high, coupled with the current market downturn, the above reasons have led to a low number of orders for chrome free leather. In the future, it is necessary to increase publicity and reduce the cost of chrome free leather. At the same time, relevant departments should have higher environmental standards for leather products. I believe that by doing these work well, the market will have more demand for chrome free leather.
Beijing Leather: How much does your company currently spend on handling the "three wastes"? If all chrome free tanning is really used, what environmental treatment costs will be saved, and how much cost can be saved per year based on current production?
Yao Shoujiang: Our current cost for treating chrome tanning waste liquid and comprehensive wastewater is about 4 million yuan per year. If we use all chrome free tanning, it can save more than 50% of the three waste treatment costs, and the economic and social benefits are very considerable.
By 2023, the proportion of chromium free products will reach 70%
Beijing Leather: I heard that your company was once the largest enterprise in the country in producing goat suede leather, and its sales have always been good. Why do you still try to make chrome free tanned leather?
Yao Shoujiang: Zhenshou Industry introduced the technology of Shanghai Xinyi Leather Factory to produce sheep suede leather around 2000, which was once leading the domestic market. Later, due to the needs of the Italian brand Nobida, we also developed colored sheep suede leather for shoe upper leather. Adhering to the concept of daring to invest in research and development and planning the market in advance, after investing a large amount of research and development expenses, we win market recognition with high-quality products, and only then receive a large number of orders. In 2007, the company also developed sheep semi vegetable tanning products, creating a hot selling situation with a daily output of 30000 square feet, customers queuing up for goods, and product supply exceeding demand, which has been passed down in the industry to this day. At the same time of development, we are prepared for danger in times of peace. To achieve sustainable development, enterprises must take the path of green development and promote chrome free tanning technology.
Beijing Leather: When did your company start exploring chrome free tanning technology? How is the current development?
Yao Shoujiang: Zhenshou Industry has been exploring chrome free tanning for more than 10 years and is a leader in promoting chrome free tanning. Currently, it still leads the industry and promotes chrome free tanning products to the international market, making our chrome free tanning products the top choice for international luxury brands to purchase. Currently, domestic and international orders continue to increase, and production will gradually increase this year.
Beijing Leather: In the process of exploring chrome free tanning, what impressive people or things can we share together?
Yao Shoujiang: In the process of exploring chrome free tanning, I admire Director Yan Lan from Tingjiang, Engineer Zhou Hougang, and our Chief Engineer Cheng Xinhui for their persistent and meticulous craftsmanship spirit in process exploration. Especially when our Spanish customers put forward new environmental requirements, I was very impressed by the prompt feedback they received from Tingjiang and their prompt response. At the same time, we are actively promoting Tingjiang's TWS to Spain and have great confidence in domestic leather chemical enterprises entering the international market.
Beijing Leather: I heard that your company has taken chrome free tanning as the new direction for its next transformation. Do you have any specific plans?
Yao Shoujiang: The proportion of leather products produced by Zhenshou Industry in 2022 is 70% for chrome tanned leather and 30% for chrome free tanned leather; After the transformation in 2023, the proportion will be adjusted to 70% for chrome free tanned leather and 30% for chrome tanned leather. At present, most of the chrome free tanned leather is supplied to foreign trade export enterprises, but domestic sales enterprises are also increasing their procurement volume of chrome free tanned leather.
Beijing Leather: At present, consumers have little understanding of chrome free leather. How do you think consumers can fully understand the environmental protection of chrome free leather and choose chrome free leather products to promote the mass production of chrome free leather?
Yao Shoujiang: With the increasing awareness of environmental protection among people, especially the impact of luxury brands from European countries on China, more and more people have gained a new understanding of chrome free tanning products, which provides favorable conditions for the promotion of environmentally friendly products in China. In addition, we should also strengthen publicity and promotion, so as to significantly increase the production of chrome free tanning products in China.
Beijing Leather: You have encountered many companies promoting chrome free tanning materials both domestically and internationally. What is the position of Tingjiang's chrome free tanning agent in the market?
Yao Shoujiang: Zhenshou Industry goes to Europe twice a year to participate in exhibitions, investigate the market, visit customers, and come into contact with some foreign chrome free and metal free tanning materials. It also has a better understanding of the new testing standards of the European Union. By comparison, Tingjiang's TWS material is highly competitive in terms of comprehensive performance and price.
Hope for domestic leather chemical enterprises
Beijing Leather: Can you provide an objective evaluation of the development of China's leather chemical industry? And put forward your hopes and requirements for the development of domestic leather products?
Yao Shoujiang: The competition in the domestic leather chemical industry is very fierce, especially with the impact of imported leather chemicals. A small Italian company may produce leather chemical materials, rely on the influence of large brands, and provide leather chemical products and services to domestic leather enterprises through the agency of small domestic companies. I hope that domestic leather chemical enterprises can increase their investment in research and development, and will definitely occupy more domestic markets and enter the international market.
Beijing Leather: In what areas would you like Tingjiang New Materials to make more efforts to better serve the industry?
Yao Shoujiang: We hope that Tingjiang New Materials can continue to improve the stability of chrome free tanning series materials, and make new breakthroughs in the research and development of metal free tanning agents. We will increase efforts in providing technical services to tanneries, forming a community of life, conducting joint research and development, promoting joint efforts, and regularly and irregularly communicating with enterprise technical personnel. Only through technical exchanges can we identify and solve problems, and provide strong technical support for domestic tanneries to develop more chrome free leather products.
Beijing Leather: Thank you for accepting our interview and wish Zhenshou Company prosperity and development.
