On the face of it, you might not expect Pakistan to boast a large leather industry.
In a country where daytime summer temperatures remain stubbornly above 40°C, the domestic market for leather coats and jackets is understandably rather small.
However, the leather industry in Pakistan is actually worth more than USD 700 million, with the vast majority of goods being shipped overseas to the European Union and the United States.
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Umar Riaz (centre), Novozymes' country business manager for Pakistan, and Khalid Khan (right), owner of Hostachem, inspect a skin treated with NovoLime™. |
There are around two thousand tanneries in Pakistan driving this market. According to Umar Riaz, Novozymes' country business manager for Pakistan, around 450 of these are large integrated tanneries producing both wet blues (half-finished skins and hides that require further processing) and finished garments.
"Pakistan's tanneries are exporting finished garments such as coats, jackets, gloves and uppers for shoes, as well as wet blues. In terms of value, the market is about 50:50 for each sector," says Umar Riaz.
Novozymes' distributor in Pakistan is a young company called Hostachem, which is owned and run by Khalid Khan. "Although Hostachem has only been in existence for four years, our relations hip with Novozymes has helped us to double sales every year since 2002," he says.
"We formulate Novozymes' concentrates and also distribute new ready-to-use products such as NovoCor® AX and NovoLime™. Our mission is to become the leading specialty chemicals company in Pakistan, focusing mainly on environmentally friendly products such as Novozymes' enzymes," he says.
Complex processing
The process through which animal skins (goats, sheep) and hides (cattle) are turned into leather goods is highly complex and requires specialised skills that can take years to learn and master. The process is heavily dependent on the use of large quantities of toxic chemicals such as sulphides and chrome, and while this remains the case, new opportunities will continue to open up for the use of enzyme solutions.
A key step in the process is liming, in which hair, skin and other residual components are removed from hides and skins. Traditionally this has been done using sulphides, but the application of Novozymes' NovoLime product at this stage of the process has greatly reduced the reliance on sulphides, with some exciting new benefits.
"NovoLime has been a revolutionary product in Pakistan. The results are excellent and the quality of the skin is improved dramatically. In addition, the use of less sulphide means less detrimental impact on the environment," says Umar Riaz. "This is becoming more important now with the involvement of the World Trade Organization in scrutinising exports and environmental damage."
These sentiments were echoed by Khalid Khan. "NovoLime gives a far superior quality of leather that is also very soft. This helps our tanneries significantly because virtually one hundred per cent of production is for export and they are facing fierce competition from China and India. So any gains in quality are always welcomed by them!"
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Pakistan's tanneries produce finished skins ready to be made into luxury goods such as shoes, bags and gloves. |
First post-tanning enzyme
Other Novozymes enzymes are finding a role further downstream in the process. In fact, NovoCor AX is the first enzyme that can be added after tanning. (Tanning is the process in which an agent displaces water from the skin or hide and cements the fibres together; the three most widely used types of tanning agent are vegetable tannin, mineral salts such as chromium sulphate, and fish or animal oil.)
NovoCor AX allows hides to 'relax' even more than usual, giving them a bigger surface area that results in a higher-quality end-product as well as a better price (as leather is sold by area).
And even though this is a new technology, NovoCor AX is simple for the tanner to apply because existing equipment can be used. Furthermore, trials have shown that NovoCor AX gives softness without looseness and is especially suitable for soft leather types such as upholstery and clothing.
Barriers to expansion
But it's not all plain sailing for Novozymes and Hostachem in Pakistan, with a number of significant challenges and obstacles remaining. "One of the problems is that most tanneries regard enzymes as only appropriate for bating - the process in which skins and hides are treated with enzymes in order to produce a clean, relaxed and open structure ready for tanning. And some think they are dangerous. This may hamper our growth and we must convince them that the use of enzymes in other processes such as liming is sensible and cost-effective, and that it produces a high-quality product," says Khalid Khan.
Nevertheless, the relationship between Hostachem and Novozymes in Pakistan is providing tangible benefits for both partners and will allow many of these obstacles to be overcome. According to Khalid Khan, Novozymes' technical and commercial support has allowed Hostachem to penetrate the country's medium-sized and large tanneries, which would not have been possible without the high-end enzyme technology.
And from the other side, as well as providing Novozymes with a great distributor, Hostachem has its own tannery where Novozymes can carry out trials of its products in order to get the best results under local conditions and demonstrate the benefits of enzyme technology to customers. This represents a significant investment by Hostachem.
The future
Khalid Khan believes that, despite Hostachem's rapid rate of growth, even quicker growth rates are achievable through a combination of technological innovation and strategic vision.
"We are the only distributor that is one hundred per cent focused on enzymes, which is the main edge we have over the competition. The strategy we have developed with Novozymes is to focus on new innovative enzyme products such as NovoCor AX and NovoLime to gain access to new customers. Once we have made an entry with these specialised products, we can go after the high-volume bating business as well," he concludes.