Under the agreement, TFL will manage and operate the ICF business, including its manufacturing facility at Medicina, near Bologna, to increase its output of fatliquors and intermediates. TFL has said it will use the increased capacity to supplement the capacity of its existing facilities in France, India, China and Brazil. It said the market for innovative fatliquors is growing, with increased demand from, among others, tanners making leather for automotive, furniture and shoes.
As part of the deal, the current ICF employees will transfer to TFL and TFL will also assume responsibility for supply to ICF's existing customers in leather and other industry segments. The chief operating officer of TFL, Brian Watson, said on announcing the development: "In the last two years, TFL technologists have successfully developed and introduced to the market a range of innovative new fatliquors that combine excellent technical performance with low emissions, such as Coripol AV and Coripol LEO. The great success of these materials with our customers has led us to look for options to increase our production capacity."
ICF was a supplier of fatliquor intermediates to TFL and was fully aware of the Italian company's modern, automated facility and spare manufacturing capacity.
Magazine: World Leather October/November 2018
Main Reaction - The TFL Blog Stories, incidents, tips and facts around the topics leather, chemistry, fashion, sustainability and ecology. Our editorial staff consisting of experienced tanners, scientists, market experts, fashion and communication specialists has sharped their pencils and will supply you with fresh and inspiring content on a regular basis.
LEVOTAN® / LUBRITANTM - Looking for higher performance? Tanners around the world are facing increasing challenges from their customers, for example, demands for higher performance such as fastness to light and heat resistance, but also lighter weight leather and more recently odour / emissions avoidance.
