General Information on Gerede Leather Industry  

Gerede Leather Industry

In Gerede, there are 117 leather factories (a total of 118 reserve areas) and 100 leather entrepreneurs working as sub-contractors. The leather industry of Gerede which has a past of 900 years is going through a process of capacity increase and technological renovation.

In all of the leather industry of Gerede, the so-called raw hide of cattle (cows, calves, water buffaloes, etc.) are tanned and prepared for use in the production of shoes, bags, belts and boots.

Gerede leather industrialists sell processed leather to the various regions in Turkey where shoe and leather manufacturing is more developed (Istanbul, İzmir, Gaziantep, Isparta, Denizli, Ankara, Manisa, Kula, etc.) (Enterprises in these provinces export to European, Central Asian and Arab countries and some production is intended for local use).

Gerede accounts for one sixth of the total output of the Turkish leather industry.

Introducing The Leather Processing Common Facility Workshop

ORTKA which serves the established leather business of Gerede, was commissioned in late 1994. The unavoidable part of the production chain in leather processing consisting of squeezing, splitting and trimming which cannot be performed in the individual plants has been gathered under one roof in the form of ORTKA where activities are carried out as a cooperative.

The provision of the workshop building, employment of workers, operating and all other costs are taken care of by the Cooperative and the Chamber. The machinery needed in the workshop has been purchased with the funds made available out of the budget of KOSGEB, following necessary studies. The machinery is entrusted to the Cooperative and the Chamber but its ownership is held by KOSGEB.

"The ORTKA Executive Committee", which is established as a Support Organ for the Management, comprises the representatives of KOSGEB and the involved parties and assumes a role of guidance for the services of ORTKA.

Activities of The Leather Processing Common Facility Workshop

While the squeezing, splitting and trimming machinery purchased from abroad by KOSGEB allows for savings in the time and cost of leather enterprises in the region, this has also helped to cut down on the amount of waste and to improve the quality.

• Output (Processed) quantity: Squeezing and splitting machines work 16 hours a day including Saturdays and trimming machine works around the clock. The trimmer processes 2500 hides a day.

• Income-Expenditure Situation: A reasonable fee is charged for the services offered by ORTKA to leather enterprises, which is below that is charged in Istanbul, Adapazarı or Bursa for the similar task.

• Investment: Using its revenues, ORTKA began to purchase machinery similar to the present ones and expects to increase its capacity further in the future.

Contribution of The Gerede Leather Processing Common Facility Workshop to The Local Community

The contribution of the Common Facility Workshop to the local community during the first year (1995) following its establishment can be summarized as follows.

• Output (Processed) Quantity: Before the establishment of ORTKA, the monthly average leather output was 2000 tonnes, 80 tonnes of which were sent outside Gerede (Bursa, Adapazarı and Istanbul) for squeezing, splitting and trimming. After the establishment of ORTKA, average monthly leather output has increased from 2000 tonnes to 2300, with 750 tonnes going through squeezing, splitting and trimming at ORTKA.1550 tonnes of chromium containing hide which could not have not been processed by ORTKA because they were too small or thin have been trimmed in the small machinery of leather enterprises.

• Employment: The Gerede leather industry employed 12000 workers prior to the establishment of ORTKA, which increased to 1500 before the first year was over. The Technical Leather Artisans Cooperative had 130 members before ORTKA was set up. In 1995 this increased to 158 as other leather entrepreneurs joined in order to have access to ORTKA.

• Waste Quantity: Before the establishment of ORTKA, 2000 tonnes of output meant 800 tonnes of waste, which caused considerable pollution. After ORTKA was commissioned, monthly output went up to 2300 tonnes while waste quantity was reduced to 200 tonnes. What is more, this waste is generated by the processing of small and thin hide that is not processed at ORTKA, as a result of the trimming done in leather enterprises themselves. The value of split skin that is not discarded following the establishment of ORTKA is TL 8 billion a month.

For further information:

S.S. Teknik Deri Küçük Sanat Kooperatifi
2. ve 3. Sokak Gerede, Bolu - Turkey
Tel: 90-374-311 60 51
Fax: 90-374-311 45 45