CASINO TANNING HIDES The use of animal skins predates the Stone Age, presumably as tarpaulins, protective clothing or for the manufacture of belts, harnesses, bags and containers. Animal skins were dried, fats were incorporated into the leather to make them softer and waterproof and they were possibly smoked to preserve the result. But this type of preservation was not real tanning. In olden times, tanning was considered to be an ‘odoriferous’ trade. Tanning by ancient methods was indeed extremely foul- smelling and hence most tanneries were situated in the outskirts of towns. The use of urine and animal faeces combined with the smell of decaying flesh due to the absence of conservation options was what made ancient tanneries so odoriferous and the profession of tanner unpopular.
operative Meat Company Ltd abattoir allows prompt processing which can mean technically better quality leathers for customers. Under a patented system, hides are identified individually enabling tracking of the origin and movement of every hide through slaughter and on to their final destination.
Proper tanning is the most important step in leather production. It is just one part in the entire process of manufacturing leather. Tanning is the method of preserving animal skin, with or without hair, using tannins. These are acidic chemical compounds that stabilise the fibre structure of the skin and prevent it from decaying, decomposing and oxidising. A tannery is where these skins and hides are processed, and the profession is called tanner. The tanning process involves many stages where the skins have to be treated first and, once tanned, depending on the application and specific customer requests, the leather is dyed, ironed, sanded or oiled.
PROCESS Upon arrival at the tannery all hides are fleshed and loaded into one of 24 tanning drums based on weight range and source. Each step of each drum’s process is carefully controlled and recorded to ensure that the final product will consistently meet the exacting requirements of CHTs global customers. After tanning, hides are graded to strict criteria by trained and experienced assessors. Casino Hide Tanners grading structure has been designed carefully to provide consistent and accurate results, allowing for flexibility in order to meet a customer’s specific need.
CASINO HIDE TANNERS Established 45 years ago, Casino Hide Tanners (CHT) was one of the first tanneries in Australia dedicated to the tanning of cattle hides for export and it’s recent modernised additions to the tannery have made it one of the larger installations in Australia, with the capacity to convert over 900,000 cattle hides each year.
Utilizing a state-of-the-art splitting operation CHT can also split hides to the customer’s predetermined requirements. Modern computer systems, coupled with CHTs unique identification numbering, allows the opportunity for CHT to provide its customers with full data and complete traceability of their wet-blue hides, grains and drop-splits.
Located in the Northern Rivers of NSW Casino Hide Tanners is devoted to processing cattle hides from green through to wet blue leather. Being located on the same site as Northern Co-
CHT is dedicated to close cooperation and longterm partnerships with their customer base and
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