HELLER-LEDER has more than 80 years of tanning tradition. Since its foundation in 1920, the company is family owned. Today HELLER-LEDER is represented by the owner and Managing Director Thomas Strebost. Together with the in 1990 founded affiliated company HELCOR® innovative finishing systems are offered. HELCOR® finishes leather in accordance to a patented process. The quality of the leather is combined with a homogenous finish, special characteristics and innovative looks. The quality of both companies is world-wide known and proven by various certifications. Most up-dated and environmentally friendly technologies are used to produce leather for the automotive industry, home and office furniture manufacturers as well as for shoes and leather goods. Since 2002 we offer further process steps like cutting (cut-to-pattern), lamination, perforation and skiving.

True to the motto "environment is our future" the company group has invested several million EUROs for environmental protection during the past years. Just one of these measures is the biological sewage plant which started in 1983 and which has today the equivalent capacity suitable for a city of 80.000 inhabitants. An own sludge-dryer, installed in 1998, reduces the volume of waste significantly. The residual is quite suitable for incineration.

High responsibility for the protection of the environment is also shown by using solvent-free finishing-systems and, of course, by keeping all relevant legal requirements. HELLER-LEDER and HELCOR® are far ahead of the requested standards.

Environmental Protection

Environmental Policy
Maintenance of industrial health and saftey standards as well as the environmental protection are important goals for our companies. They set up the framework for our actions and are understood as a longterm task and requirement.

Management System for Environmental Protection
The requirements according to ISO 14001 / EMAS II have been integrated for the companies into our certified management system according to ISO 9001 / ISO TS 16949. All requirements related to the environment are maintained.

Integrated Protection of the Environment
The most important Stepps for an environmentally friendly and efficient production are:
1) Avoidance of Emissions:
- Waste avoidance by use of the by-products resulting from the leather manufacturing as well as being an important supplier for products of the food industry (use conform to EU-Hygiene ordinance for gelatine and naturin products.
- Waste avoidance by sorting and collecting of leather scraps in the production processes for the ensuing use in the manufacturing of leather fiber materials.
- Waste and sludge avoidance through process-integrated separation and the ensuing composting of the cow hairs for the production of a nitrogen fertilizer for the agroculture resulting in a reduction of the sewage load and the sludge amount.
2) Reduction of Emissions:
- Reduction of the nitrogen load in the sewage through the use of decalcifying tanning processes low in ammonium.
- Reduction of VOC-Emissions through the use of finishes, low in solvents or even solvent-free and the non-utilization of organic varnishes and dye-stuff by replaceing them with aqueous finish systems with a low content or organic solvents.
- Reducing the amount of sewage through automated process controls, self-contained production systems, multiple use and recycling (reduction of the consumation of water related to the amount of processed raw hides respectively to the amount of produced square meters of leather.
- Reduction of CO2-Emissions through the use of waste heat resulting from the energy generation of the NawaRo-BIOGAS-Plant which is located on-site.
- Reduction of CO2-Emissions through energetic utilization of the incurring organic waste from the leather manufuring in a KAT-III-BIOGAS-Plant;

Supplementary Environment Protection
A number of devices and processes are necessary for the maintenance of the legally required limits for the emissions of sewage, used air and waste.
1) Company owned Sewage Plant
- Direct discharger according to appendix 25 of the „Sewage Ordinance“ and operating authority of a sewage plant (completely biological sewage treatment) with a capacity for appr. 75.000 people.
- Company owned laboratory for the control of the discharged values and optimizing of the process control as well as the documentation.
2) Sludge dehydration and drying
- The amount of sludge resulting from the sewage treatment process can be reduced by a cold-air drying process low in energy consumption and in emissions.
- The dried sludge can be supplied to a suitable thermal utilization plant.
3) Cleaning of Used air
- The used and controled installations for the cleaning of used air are in accordance to the requirements of the TA Luft;

Product related Protection of the environment
The target of the product related protection of the environment is a product design compatible with the environment:
- Timely exclusion of hazardous or critical components for the environment
- Enclusion of the REACH-Requirements (Downstream-User)
- Environment sign „Blue Angel“ for selected products e.g. furniture leather
- Documentation, certificates, test reports under environmental aspects