SLTC event 2010 South Africa Published: 16 April, 2010

Having postponed the SLTC Convention in 2009 until there was an upturn in the market, the SLTC will be holding their next event from July 22-25, 2010, at the Erinvale Estate Hotel and Spa in Somerset West.

Dr Heinz-Peter Germann has accepted an invitation to be the guest speaker.

He will present two papers despite the fact that the convention coincides with the examination process at Reutlingen, Germany.

Athol Pratt, president of the SLTC (SA section) said that things were now looking much brighter than a year earlier so the decision had been made to go ahead with the 59th Convention.

Swiss leather technologists celebrate 90th anniversary
Switzerland
Published: 17 November, 2009
VESLIC 90th convention

Delegates at the 90th VESLIC meeting

VESLIC, the Swiss leather technologists association, founded in May 1919 in Lucerne, Switzerland, celebrated its ninetieth anniversary with a special two-day convention on November 6-7. The members met in Basel to travel by bus to the quaint and picturesque village of Barr in the Alsace Region of France.

Barr is surrounded by the famous Alsace vineyards and is a short distance away the Rhine river to the east and the Vosges mountains to the west. The convention was held in an old aristocratic tanner’s country villa, now a hotel.
Barr was formerly the tannery centre in the Alsace region, with 5 tanneries. However, now the Tannerie Degermann, established in 1832, is the only tannery left. The VESLIC programme included a visit to the tannery, where the Degermann family continues to produce fine calf leathers. The tannery has maintained a passion and know-how for producing leather of the highest quality. They still use some of the traditions and tanning methods handed down from generation to generation since the sixteenth century.
The VESLIC president, Dr Alois Puentener, was happy to welcome special guest, Elton Hurlow, the IULTCS president and a past president of ALCA. In a short speech Elton Hurlow thanked the VESLIC members for their support of younger researchers with the new VESLIC Award which is presented at each of the main IULTCS congresses. He added that VESLIC also features in the USA, as ringing the large VESLIC cowbell starts the annual ALCA convention. Finally, he reminded all present of the important task to cultivate friendships and conventions like VESLIC provide the best opportunities.
On the return to Basel, a stop was made at the famous Koenigsbourg castle rebuilt by German emperor Wilhelm at the end of the 1800s. Finally, lunch was held in the historic town of Riquewihr with its fortified perimeter wall, its narrow cobbled streets and its superb half-timbered houses, which are some of the best examples of Alsatian architecture.
Inside Tannerie Degermann

Successful Beijing congress
Originally published in November 2009
Published: 11 January, 2010
Veslic award winner

Ren Longfang (centre) Veslic award winner

The 30th IULTCS Congress, held at the Beijing International hotel, Beijing, October 11-14, was one of the friendliest and best organised IULTCS congresses in recent times. The China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) organised the congress on behalf of the IULTCS

Some 300 leather technologists and scientists attended, of which some 80 were from overseas. There were 43 oral presentations and over 80 visual presentations covering many aspects of leather technology. The presentations were in the categories of fundamental research, clean technology, environmental protection and recycling, innovative technologies, as well as the normal leather industry topics of quality standards, new leather chemicals and design of leathergoods. There was something for everyone, from research scientists at universities to the technologists from tanneries, with interesting presentations on new research into the structure of leather, new practical environmental techniques, through to the design of shoes.
The Congress was opened by IULTCS president, Elton Hurlow, who unfurled the IULTCS congress flag and declared the conference open. During his opening speech Hurlow took the opportunity to present professor Tony Covington with the highest IULTCS award, the IULTCS Merit Award, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to leather science (see page 14). There were also speeches of welcome from the Chinese government officials during the opening ceremony.
The chairperson of CLIA, Zhang Shu Hua, gave an interesting overview of the situation of the leather industry in China and the continuing need for technological and scientific developments. She stressed the development of tannery clusters as the way to proceed forward in the years ahead.
Two special invited lectures were presented at the start of the congress which were: the Heidemann lecture on collagen research, presented by Dr Eleanor Brown of USDA and the Zhang Quan Memorial Lecture, which was dedicated to Professor Zhang Quan, the founder of leather science and technology in China and to the development of modern tanning education in China.
During the closing ceremony the VESLIC Award for the best young presenter at the congress was presented by Dr Alois Puentener, VESLIC president and Professor Zhang of Shaan Xi University, China to Ren Longfang who completed her PhD in June 2009 under the supervision of Professor Wang Xuechuan of Shaan Xi University. Her presentation was on the use of a novel collagen peptide to remove formaldehyde from leather.

The 30th congress finished with the handing over of the congress flag to the host society for the next congress, AQEIC in Spain. The 31st IULTCS Congress will be held September 28-30, 2011, in Valencia, Spain.
The day after the completion of the congress, some delegates visited the Xinji tannery cluster, 300 km south-east of Beijing. In Xinji City a shoe factory, a cattle hide tannery, Dong Ming and a communal wastewater treatment plant were visited.

All who attended the congress appreciated the friendly, good organisation and smooth running of all events.
Elton Hurlow, IULTCS president said in closing the congress: ‘There is one more duty that I need to perform, and that is to acknowledge the current vice president, Dr Bi Shi, who is to take over leadership of the IULTCS as president at the end of this year. I know that he is ably qualified and I am convinced that with the support of the incoming vice president Dr Volkan Candar, and the able and ready assistance of Dr Campbell Page, along with the current IU commission chairs and new executive council structure, that the union is strong and in good hands.’
Dong Ming tannery