Drums and Processing Vessels - The kinds of processing vessels used will usually depend on how modern the facility is.  They come in all shapes and sizes and can be made with fiberglass, woods, and other materials.  They can also be driven by gears or belts and are built to last for a lot of use.  Great care is taken to make professional equipment easy to use as well as resistant to the chemicals used during tanning processes.  Good drums and tanning equipment should last for decades!

Glazing Machines – “Glazing Jacks” are required for alligator skins.  It strokes the leather quickly with a reciprocating arm to assist in the leather finishing processes.

Shaving Machines – These machines are used to shave the materials to get consistent thickness.

Degreasing and Dry Cleaning Machines – An automatic dry cleaning machine is a very important piece of equipment in an exotic leather tannery.  A dry cleaning machine is isolated from the rest of the equipment to prevent the chemicals to contaminate the rest of the processes in the plant.  These chemicals are disposed of separately by professional hazardous waste handlers!  This machinery is expensive but is crucial to the day to day operations of a professional exotic tannery.

1) Receiving Area – This are is where salt-cured skins are placed and stored. Ideally indoors, this area should have plenty of room and good organization is needed to count, inspect, measuring, and recording tag numbers for the skins. This area should have good ventilation and access for large equipment like forklifts for mass production of hides.
2) Inspecting Area – This area is dedicated to the inspection of salt-cured skins. Often salt-cured skins will produce a lot of salt that can contaminate a surface, you will want to keep this area separate from where skins are tanned and finished.
3) Hot Water Production – A hot water heating system with well engineering piping should be in place.
4) Beamhouse – This is the area where the fat is removed from the skins so they can be preserved. Solids may be produced and a filtration system will separate these solids from the rest before the water enters a Waste Treatment plant. This is critical for the tannery to work efficiently and clean.
5) Floor Drainage – There should be drains throughout the facility so that any liquids and spillage will flow directly into the filtration system. Floors should also be acid and alkali resistant

First of all, it is a business, which means it will require a business plan with financial goals, investment requirements, a marketing plan, intelligent staff to run the tannery and engineer the equipment, and operating costs. A tannery without a plan is not operational for very long. A professional exotic leather tannery will have:

1) Accessibility for trucks and plenty of space to move and for expansion.
2) Plenty of fresh water near the plant is needed for leather production, cleaning, and safety in general.
3) A safety plan that adheres to OSHA regulations as well as local regulations. Systems should be designed to ventilate toxic gases safely and prevent emissions.
4) Good ventilation is also needed to comply with VOC and EPA standards.
5) Safety is of utmost importance not only for regulations, but also for the staff of the tannery. Every professional tannery has a safety plan, equipment, and an exit plan in case of emergencies.

One key note is that plenty of space is needed for the tannery. Space is always necessary so that the facility remains safe for staff, but also room for expansion as well. Most tanneries will have some exotic skins already produced and waiting for purchase so storage space should always be present in the tannery. If they are stored adequately there is no loss in the quality of the leather since it has been well preserved!

Starting an exotic leather tannery is a big undertaking – it requires a lot of experience in sales, engineering, a keen sense of organization as well as strong working relationships with farmers in order to maintain consistent supply of raw materials.

Today, the alligator leather industry is thriving in the United States with tens of thousands of hides harvested each year.  Apart from some alligator hide tanning, many of the tanning and finishing jobs are outside of the United States. While bittersweet news in the United States (better prices on skins, but a loss of a local industry), this is good news for developing countries; it is a trade that brings more money to their countries, building economies while producing valuable luxury resource to trade with intricate detail in the tanning process.

Often newcomers to the importing and exporting business do not understand the legality of exotic skins, many are perfectly legal. However, exotics are also regulated very closely, and these first time exotic skin purchasers quickly realize how much process it takes to import skins.  While many exotics are perfectly legal, they are regulated by Customs and Conservation organizations.

Businesses across many specializations seek luxury skin – Crocodile, Eel, Stingray, Zebra, Lizard, Ostrich and others for luxury applications.  While these owners and staff are experts in their field, they are often newcomers to the business of importing exotic skins.  Getting the best pricing and service from an exotic leather tannery requires a cultural understanding, negotiation skill, and often traveling to the tanneries to meet and know who the best tanneries are.  Not building relationships with the tannery can make importing time consuming and expensive in the long term.

A good exotic leather broker works with tanneries worldwide to bring the best prices and service to their customer base.  They provide importing service for a fee and/or commission, which is typically offset in the cost by arrangements made with the farmers & tanneries for best pricing and access to the highest grade exotic skins.   A good broker will also ensure all laws and regulations are followed during the importing process, compliance with CITES, and ensure the order arrives in good timing.

For those interested in importing exotic leather for any reason, it is advisable to source a good exotic leather broker before placing an order.  It saves a newcomer valuable time and money and ensuring the legal requirements are all met.

If you require an exotic leather broker, please submit a sales inquiry VIA our Contact Form and be contacted by a broker that can provide materials you need at the best price.

1) Wet department – This area is where skins can be put into batches for processing. They are weighed, clipped, and recorded before they are put through the tanning process. This area should have a lot of extra space for expansion. While a number of activities can go on in here, the best tanneries have separate wet areas for tanning and coloring.

2) Storage/Holding Areas – Plenty of room should be available to store skins during the tanning and coloring process.

3) Chrome Capture – Chrome tanning is how most exotic hides are produced, therefore it is only logical to recover the materials before mixing them with other streams.

4) Chemical Storage – A wet-proof chemical storage area is absolutely crucial for any safe and professional exotic leather tannery.

5) Lab – A lab to ensure controls and balances in chemicals and processes for tanning is necessary. A lab is also used to measure dyes and other chemicals that must be precision-weighted.

6) Dust Prevention – Ventilation is crucial for a tanning facility, but so is dust control. Dust can ruin a hide during the tanning and finishing process, so it is crucial to have proper air filtration to keep the air as crisp as possible.

7) Drying Facilities – Dried skins are stretched and kept an a clean environment to remove the risk of dust contamination.

Mechanical Shop – With a tannery producing high volumes of material, they will require equipment maintenance from time to time. This area is storage and a “working” area for equipment requiring maintenance, upgrading, or repairs. Typically this are is found in the largest tanneries.

9) Shipping – Lots of space is required here; this area is where skins go through final inspection for standards. They are categorized, labeled, weighed, sized, and stored before they are shipped to the customer and/or broker who has purchased the skins.

1)      They have a steady, consistent source of raw materials. A good tannery cannot reliably provide material to their customer base without the steady stream of raw resources.  Typically the best tanneries will get materials provided by farmers.

2)       Good planning – Materials are typically harvested by farms and from the wild a few times a year, but raw material can be stockpiled.  To get the best pricing and the best raw materials, good planning should be in place.  This allows a tannery to operate at low costs and provide the best prices.

3)      Special Handling – A good tanner will know the ins-and-outs of how to tan a specific type of skin.  Not all skins are made the same, and exotics require extra steps and equipment to tan them to the highest grade, luxury quality that is desired.

4)      Understanding of Cuts for the highest grades – The best tanneries know how to tan Alligator with the leg material attached, ostriches with quill points intact without any holes or transparency in the skin.

5)      Expert chemistry – Expert tanners understand the chemistry and components of each individual skin and how best to tan it to get the desired outcome.

6)      Good Organization – Exotics are often regulated species that require tagging, weighing, and registration so they are accounted for from the beginning of the process to the end.

7)      Emphasizes Consistent Quality – Quality is important along every step of the process of material acquisition, tanning, finishing, drying, and shipping.

All exotic leather tanneries that are profitable and provide grade A exotic skin will have all the above standards.

Our supplier has relationships with the top tanneries worldwide, making available the finest skins at the best prices.  For wholesale and production-level sales inquiries, please fill out our contact form so our supplier can contact you.

Owner – The owner of the tannery manages all upper-tier staff, pricing, marketing, compensation, contracts, and investor relationships.

Plant Manager / Master Tanner – This expert leather engineer is a crucial component to the operations of a tanning facility. They oversee all aspects of the exotic skin tanning process and manages day to day operations of the plant. This person knows the tanning process in-and-out and a strong knowledge of chemistry to produce the best quality hides. They oversee the all staff responsible for the smaller functions of the tannery.

Mechanical Engineer – This staff member watches all equipment and machinery, ensuring it stays operational, repaired and serviced as needed, and safety compliance. They are usually responsible for the proper training and operations of the equipment as well.

Administration Manager / Assistant– An administrator organizes and manages the business end and clerical duties of a plant – ensuring paperwork is filed, record keeping, communications, and ensure staff are paid.

Ruzial paid a fine out over $150,000 for the offense for importing the illegal specimens of python, anaconda, elephants, tiger, leopard, jaguar, Hartman’s Zebra, and lion.

While many of these species are legal in certain regions and with the correct legal importing procedure, many of them are outright illegal. This again stresses the importance of knowing the laws when acquiring exotic hides and leather. All items must have the proper CITES permits and the species must be legal in the receiving country. Many times international suppliers have lied or have misrepresented the legality of a species in the destination country without any repercussion, resulting in the loss of your money to that supplier as well as the loss of your material in your destination country.

A quote from the article:

“When a person brings protected wildlife – like ivory, leopard skins, tiger skins and reticulated python snake skins – into our country without following the rules, there are consequences,” said Gale. “We are proud of the coordinated investigative work of our agents with their colleagues from ICE and CBP. Using a significant portion of this fine to raise awareness about those rules is the right thing to do as we work to promote the conservation of wildlife here and abroad.”

It is of utmost importance to know your source as well as the Customs regulations for the species that you are importing. If you are inexperienced with the importing of exotic leathers and working with an exotic leather tannery, it is best to find a local exotic leather broker who can assist you. Please use our contact form so we can connect you with our global supplier of Exotic leather, ensuring full legal compliance with all of your materials as well as the best quality and pricing.