The comment by Sergio Dani
Italprogetti is a point of reference for the mechanical-tanning sector. Over the years, the Tuscan company, active since 1973, has contributed to the construction or renovation of the most important tanneries in the world by providing basic design, process engineering, machine supply and the start-up of avant-garde production units all the way around. In addition to being a leader in the production of polypropylene drums and automation systems, over time Italprogetti also specialised in purification by designing and building effluent treatment plants of all types. The technical office is the heart of the business which today boasts 50 employees who follow the development of the many projects underway, some of which are extra-sector such as those for oil filtration and paper mills. How is the sector doing today from your point of view? “We see a great desire to restart. The major projects that were frozen at the outbreak of the pandemic are being restarted, but it certainly is not easy. There are new problems such as the sharp rise in transport and raw material prices that lead to bottlenecks in supply chains. Also the increasingly fierce competition from alternative materials to leather weighs on customers, which is also affecting the luxury segment”, states Sergio Dani, commercial manager of the company. In any case, corporate accounts do not seem to have suffered too much from the pandemic. “We cannot complain – says Dani – 2019 was for Italprogetti the year with the highest turnover ever, 2020 recorded a 10% decrease and 2021 surpassed the digits of 2019. Despite the positive numbers, we are worried about the uncertain future and the many unknowns that are holding back the recovery: today it is impossible to make forecasts, we are navigating on sight”. We know that you follow Africa. How is the situation there? “In Africa there are many problems and leather today is suffering from the crisis in the medium-low segment, to the point that many raw hides are thrown away because it is no longer profitable to process them. For our part, we are happy to have carried out an important project in Tanzania which is about to happily come to an end. It is a large integrated leather and footwear production centre where Italprogetti took care of all the tannery and where the business is close to starting. The goal is to produce 1,500 cowhides and up to 4,000 sheepskins per day. This project represents a success story, a model that could be replicated elsewhere”, concludes Dani.
