About us
Early Establishment
The tannery, located in Morogoro, was originally established in 1974 under government ownership. By 1978, production had begun, with an annual capacity of 10 million square feet of leather. In 1979, the facility became part of a national network of leather industries.
Throughout its early years, the tannery performed well but later faced operational challenges due to aging equipment, limited access to foreign exchange, and difficulty acquiring essential chemicals and spare parts. This led to a significant decline in production in the late 1980s.
Privatization and Modernization
In the early 1990s, the government began privatizing state-owned leather factories. Through this process, the Morogoro tannery was handed over to a private operator in 1993.
At the time of transfer, the tannery had shut down and the machinery was outdated. A full rehabilitation program was undertaken, which involved:
Replacing all old machines
Installing modern, high-capacity equipment
Upgrading infrastructure and utilities
By 1997, the tannery had been completely modernized, and its production capacity expanded to 19 million square feet per year, making it the largest tannery in Tanzania.
Raw materials (hides and skins) are sourced within Tanzania through a network of agents and collectors throughout the country. The company also gets hides and skins from neighboring countries, specifically Zambia, Malawi and Rwanda, although on a smaller scale. Chemicals are mostly imported in bulk from abroad and minimum stocks to serve production for at least four months are stored. A few chemicals are available locally e.g. salt, lime, sulphate of ammonia and wattle extract (mimosa).
Effluent treatment plant Rehabilitated