Gearing Up for the New Leather Season

As Tasman prepares for a new season of leather production, our CEO, Neville Dyer , outlines what he anticipates for the months to come.?

With a new leather harvest underway, the tannery is bustling with activity. This past year, our focus has been on ensuring Tasman is equipped to meet the increased demands of consumers and the market as a whole.? A multi-faceted approach has been required, including various tannery upgrades, new staff hires, implementation of brand-new innovations and, as always, maintaining the highest leather standards.?

The market interest for premium leather has steadily built up across 2022. Whilst this is exceedingly positive, the demands on leather production have been high; we simply cannot make enough! We are pleased to share that Tasman has recently been accepted into the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. We eagerly await the opportunity to welcome new seasonal labour to the tannery, which will alleviate the load on our existing staff and result in more production capacity.?

The rising demand for premium leather aligns with our observations that there has been a general sway in the market away from lower quality leather, towards high-quality, sustainable product. Tasman are proud to offer a product that exceeds these preferences - honouring both the market and the environment’s needs.

In line with our commitment to environmental sustainability, this year we have seen various new innovations installed in the tannery. Amongst these include a switch to high-efficiency infrared electric dryers. Infrared drying is more efficient and uses less energy by heating the product directly, instead of heating the air. The new infrared dryers should save 650 tonnes of CO2 per year, and 13,000 tonnes over the lifetime of the project - remarkable!

Alongside the dryers, the processing department has also been commissioned six new drums to increase capacity, which are now ready to go. By design, these drums use substantially less energy per hide, with large shelves for efficient? processing at a slower speed, drawing less energy. With the new drums, water reductions are also possible. Significant modifications to the hide handling systems have been made, to make this process easier on staff. Overall, these modifications are of huge benefit to the tannery, with many more to come.

On a community level, we are exceptionally proud to once again support local sports in Whanganui, including Cricket Whanganui and Whanganui Rugby Football Union Community, plus other worthy community groups such as Life Education Trust.

In summary - the end of the year for many businesses signifies a slowing down, but not for Tasman. This summer looks busier than ever and we look forward to continuing to strive for excellence into 2023. We wish you and your families a safe, happy and prosperous New Year.