IMPORTANCE OF “AMBUR OPEN” EXHIBITION AND TAMIL NADU LEATHER INDUSTRY
V.M. KHALEELUR RAHMAN
A glittering “Ambur Open” exhibition of footwear components, accessories and finished leather being held jointly by Indian Shoe Federation (ISF) and Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) annually at the Rs.11.5 crore architecturally well designed, fully air-conditioned and highly modern structure Ambur Trade Centre established by Ambur Economic Development Organisation Ltd. (AEDOL) is assuming great importance and becoming more and more popular among the people connected with the leather and leather products industry. After conducting their first ever exhibition successfully at the Ambur Trade Centre during its inauguration last year, the two associations are organizing their second exhibition “Ambur Open 2” on 9th and 10th of July 2011. It is learnt that the exhibition is fully booked as it is conducted at Ambur, a great internationally well known hub for leather and leather products.
Ambur is the industrial belt of many modern tanneries and well established leading footwear factories from where world’s renowned leather dealers and shoe giants like Fretz Men, Florsheim, Lumberjack, Gabor, Clarks, Hugo Boss and others source their requirements. Some of the reputed and modern shoe manufacturing units at Ambur are: N.M. Zackria & CO., T. Abdul Wahid & Co., Farida Shoes Pvt. Ltd, Althaf Shoes Pvt. Ltd, Florind Shoes Pvt. Ltd. and many more. Interested people can ascertain the names of many other leading Ambur based shoe manufacturing units from associations like Indian Shoe Federation (website: www. Indianshoefederation.in).
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH OF AMBUR
According to Ambur Economic Development Organisation Ltd. (AEDOL), in Ambur there are 43 export oriented tanneries and shoe units that employ about 25,000 workers. The annual turnover of these units amount to Rs. 900 crore and the export turnover is about Rs. 750 crore.
There are 36 leather finishing units (raw to finishing) with 2000 workers and 24 raw to wet blue/EI processing units with 1200 workers. Apart from these there are 25 shoe uppers making units with 2000 workers and 15 leather dry finishing units with 400 workers. There are also 96 tiny shoe units with 1000 workers.
The total operating units are about 207 with 31600 workers and their annual turnover is around Rs.1047 crore with export turnover of Rs. 770 crore.
* Scale of investment: Rs. 1000 crore.
* Information relating to output during the last 3 years:
The present level domestic and export sales are about Rs.277 and Rs.770 crore respectively. The expected output after proposed intervention is about Rs.500 crore for domestic and about Rs.2500 crore for export. Thus the total sales at the present level is about 1047 crore and the expected sales after the proposed intervention is Rs.3000 crore.
The cluster is the largest leather cluster in TamilNadu.10% of leather exports and 25% of shoe exports of the country originate from Ambur. 2 CETPs and 24 ETPs function efficiently for effluent treatment here.
Employment:
Present level is 31,600 people of whom more than 50% are women from families below the poverty line and after proposed intervention it is expected to rise to 45,000 people.
INDUSTRIAL STRENGH OF VANIYAMBADI
The Aedol further says that the tanning industry in Vaniyambadi took roots on the River Palar about two hundred years ago. The decision to set-up tanneries in Vaniyambadi was more of a natural selection process - it had ample supplies of good quality water that was required for the tanning process and the manufactured product used tannins extracted from wattle bark and myrobalam nuts. The product came to be famously known as East India tanned leather (E. I. Tanned Leather, in local parlance) that was much sought after by the auction houses in England and the tanners specialized in producing the same from sheepskins. This semi-finished product was the basis on which fine leather goods were manufactured in the factories of England & Europe.
One remarkable feature of the tanning industry in Vaniyambadi was the convergence of the greater part of the raw and salted sheepskins - sold by merchants and traders from every nook and corner of India - to the tanneries located here on the banks of the River Palar. Inspite of the geographical stretch of the country and the logistics involved in hauling this semi-perishable raw material in bullock-carts, trucks and trains, the capacity of the tanners in Vaniyambadi to magnetically draw from this huge resource bank should not be missed. The dominance of the tanning industry in the sheepskin sector continues as a tradition even after two hundred years of operation.
From the export of tanned sheepskins, the industry moved with the times and the recommendations of the E N Murthy & Seetharamiah Committees in graduating to manufacture finished leathers and products. The stress of each of the Committees was value-addition. In the first stage, the tanners in Vaniyambadi moved from E. I. tanned leathers to crust leathers and thereon to finished leathers. In the second stage, traditional tanners and young-blood entrepreneurs switched to the manufacture of leather products like garments, small leather goods and gloves.
In the beginning, this metamorphosis from traditional tanning to product manufacturing consumed almost two decades of time but the third decade has brought in greater consolidation, finer workmanship and the ability to survive in a competitive world.
There are 140 tanneries in Vaniyambadi, primarily a tannery town which is located at a distance of 20 km. from Ambur.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEATHER INDUSTRY IN TAMIL NADU
Leather industry in Tamil Nadu is considered to be very ancient and some say it is of more than two centuries old. The art of tanning of hides and skins is prevalent here since time immemorial. Once it was done in primitive tanning methods and passed on with some improvements from generation to generation.
After Independence, the leather industry has made a rapid technical and technological advancement, thanks to the efforts of tanners, technical know-how of the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and well chalked out policies of the governments in the state and at the centre based on the recommendations of the Seetharamiah Committee report. Many people established modern tanneries and started doing high quality finished leather meant for shoes, garments, goods, upholstery etc. Many modern units also came up for shoes, garments and goods. All these show that a tremendous industrial development has taken place within a period of about 30 years. No doubt, our country is very much on the forward march....
AISHTMA:
The All India Skin and Hide Tanners and Merchants Association is a 92 years old apex body and various district and regional associations are affiliated to it. Both the central and state governments have recognised it and consult on all policy matters such as labour, taxation etc. It is also in the service of tanners in importing and supplying tanning materials like wattle extract to them. It is also associated with many national and international trade and industry organisations. It celebrated its platinum jubilee in a grand manner in the year 1994. The present President and Hony. Secretary are Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed and Mr. Mohan M. Sreenivas respectively.
TAMIL NADU IN THE FOREFRONT
According to Aishtma, Tamil Nadu is in the forefront in leather with an annual production of more than 1.2 billion sq. ft. of finished leather. It is about 60% share in total finished leather production of our country and 45% share in total export from India. There are about 750 tanneries in Tamil Nadu and the raw material processed per day is 500-1000 tons and annual turnover more than Rs.10,000 crore, number of operational CETPs is 16 catering to 630 tanneries, number of ETPs is 94 and there are more than 56 RO plants in Tamil Nadu. No tannery operates without access to any Effluent Treatment Plant and 100% connectivity to pollution control devices is a speciality of Tamil Nadu.
There are 497 leather products units in Tamil Nadu producing about 59 million pairs of full shoes, 27 million pairs of shoe uppers, 7.1 million pieces of leather garments and 29.5 million pieces of leather goods. The quality of various leathers being produced here is of high standard and comparable with that of any advanced country. Consequently the state of Tamil Nadu once popular for E.I. Tanned hides and skins throughout the world particularly in countries like the U.S.A., the U.K., Italy, West Germany, France, Japan etc. is now popular for leather and leather products in these and many other countries. While Chennai, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Pernambut, Ranipet, Trichy, Erode and Dindigul are the main centres for leather, Chennai, Ambur and Ranipet are the major hub for leather products such as leather shoes, garments and goods. Our country has earned laurels as a good and reliable supplier of leather and leather products in the world market. Interested persons can contact the following association which is, as said earlier, an apex body of different district and regional associations:
The All India Skin and Hide Tanners and Merchants Association, “Leather Centre”, 43/53, Raja Muthiah Road, Periamet, Chennai – 600 003 (India)
Telephone: 0091-44-25610636, 25615247 Fax: 0091-44-25615292
E-mail: aishtma@vsnl.com and assn@aishtma.com
Website: http://www.aishtma.com
DINDIGUL, THRICY AND ERODE
Dindigul is still a well known centre as before for E.I. tanned goat and sheep skins as most of the tanners here are addicted to doing only this popular item due to various reasons. There are very few tanners in the chrome tanning and no tanner seems to be producing finished leather here. A tanner who has inherited this trade from his forefathers told me that the present situation is not conducive for switch over to anything like full chrome, semi chrome or finished leather. The association also does not permit it as pollution is involved. Other problems such as labour and water are also there. The progressive policy of the government has not changed this tanning centre much.
While the leather industry has suffered, textile industry has made a good development here in Dindigul. It is said that there are more than 250 spinning mills here.
Other popular centres are Trichy and Erode. There are many tanneries in Trichy where mostly high standard E.I. tanned goat skins are produced and in the Erode tanneries wet blue cow hides are the main items done. Only very few tanners do some other leather items.
PERNAMBUT
This small town has about 35 tanneries where mostly items like buffalo hides and soul leathers are made for local supplies. Some are also exporting these items. Some shoe factories have also been established here. They are mostly doing job works. Much development is not seen here as perhaps there is nobody to guide them for adopting modern approaches for finance and industrial developments.
CHENNAI
There are quite a large number of tanneries and leather goods, shoe and garment factories in different parts of Chennai mainly at Pallavaram and Madhavaram where different items of leather and leather products are made and supplied to national and international customers. There are so many highly modern units where high quality leather and leather products are made and exported.
AMBUR AND VANIYAMBADI
In Ambur, a well known centre for leather, there are quite a large number of tanneries where E.I. tanned goat and sheep skins, S/C and F/C finished leather etc. are produced. Some of the tanneries are very big and modern with all necessary machinery and infrastructure where high class finished leathers meant for shoes, garments and goods are produced and exported. Importers in different countries have close links with Ambur based tanners and exporters and do big contracts as goat and cow leathers are available in plenty here with international standards. There are very few sheep tanners here. This town has also made a name for its well equipped and well infrastructured modern shoe factories where high standard world class foot wears are made and exported to many countries including the U.S.A, U.K, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain.
At the time of writing this two industrialists come to my mind who were instrumental for the industrial development here. If I remember correct while the late Anaikar Abdul Shukoor sahib started doing finished leather silently before the government introduced its progressive policy, the late T. Abdul Wahid sahib was also a pioneer in following the government policy and asking tanners to do it for their better prospects in the industrial arena. The latter had to face even criticism for his well intentioned actions. But now the leather industry realises their importance and their foresight.
Another centre famous for the leather industry is Vaniyambadi. Here again there are quite a large number of tanneries where items such as E.I. tanned goat and sheep skins, S/C and F/C finished leathers are made, locally supplied and exported. There are also innumerable job tanners here. It is the best place for dealing in sheep items. We can say that it is the leather tanning centre with the largest number of tanneries in Tamil Nadu. No other centre has as many tanneries as Vaniyambadi does.
Vaniyambadi is just about 30 minutes drive from Ambur. While there are more tanneries in Vaniyambadi, there are more shoe units in Ambur which are supplying to the best shoe companies abroad. These two neighbouring centres are playing an important role in the development of the leather industry in the country.
RANIPET
Ranipet has a large concentration of tanneries like Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Chennai processing hides and skins from raw to finish. Various descriptions of leather such as lining, upper and suede leathers are made here for supply to national and international customers. There are also some job tanneries here. Besides these, there are many highly sophisticated and modern units where world class shoes, garments and leather goods are made and exported. SIPCOT industrial complex is also here. It is yet another well known place for leather and leather products in the world market.
The Ambur Open exhibition is sure to bring in the desired results and promote strong bonds among its participants and business visitors. There are also indications of this fair becoming a fascinating annual international event as this part of the country is the backbone of the Indian leather industry.
(Indian Leather, July 2011)
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