Press Releases from

Elmo Leather
(Sweden)

June 2005

Elmo starts new treatment plant 
Reduces nitrogen emissions by 80% 

County governor Göte Bernhardsson inaugurated Elmo Leather’s new treatment plant at Svenljunga, Sweden, on June 1. The process is based on a completely new technology for biological treatment that reduces nitrogen emissions in wastewater by 80 % compared with 30 % for the previous plant. 

This is the first time that this new and innovative treatment technology is being used for wastewater in the tanning industry. The total cost of the project is around SEK 50 million (EUR 5.45 million), of which around SEK 8.25 million (EUR 900,000) was contributed by the EU’s LIFE environmental fund. 

Dynamic environmental policy

According to Elmo Leather’s CEO, Nalle Johansson, the company has been pursuing dynamic environmental policies for many years. Elmo’s management system for environmental work has independent certification and the company has managed to reduce the environmental impact of its activities over the years in terms of waste and emissions to air and water.

“By changing processes and chemicals and using traditional techniques we had come as far as it was possible in tackling nitrogen pollution in our wastewater. To make further progress and achieve further improvements we needed to introduce a completely new treatment process for the tanning industry,” explains Nalle Johansson. 

Micro-organisms eat pollutants

The new innovative technology used by Elmo is based on a process called nitrification/denitrification, which is an advanced form of biological treatment. The technology is used by municipal treatment plants, but has never before been used in the tanning industry because it was considered that the properties in tanning industry wastewater were technically unsuitable.

The new technique means that pollutants are broken down by micro-organisms in the water in a series of processes in which the wastewater is treated in separated, but linked, tanks.

Oxygen is added to the wastewater initially, which increases the number of micro-organisms. In the next stage, the oxygen is cut off and the micro-organisms are forced to eat the pollutants in order to survive.

The outcome is that nitrogen emissions are reduced by 80% as most of the nitrogen-containing pollutants are converted into nitrogen gas, which is the same gas that dominates the atmosphere. Traditional wastewater treatment in the tanning industry cuts nitrogen emissions by around 30%.

Staying in Svenljunga

At the inauguration of the new plant, Nalle Johansson admitted that he shared the concern of people who feared that an increasing amount of industrial production and thereby jobs were being moved out of Sweden.  He noted that Elmo Leather had done exactly the opposite in recent years.

“We have concentrated our production in Svenljunga and moved production back to Sweden from Denmark and the US,” he said. 

According to Johansson, after building the new treatment plant, Elmo will base the predominant part of its future production of leather at Svenljunga. 

“That does not mean that we will exclude the possibility of locating certain parts of production, such as die-cutting and sewing the finished leather, closer to our customers or in places where it is cheaper to perform them. Our core activity, however, the actual manufacturing of leather, will remain in Svenljunga,” says Elmo’s CEO.

 EU support for innovative technology

The overall cost of the new treatment plant is around SEK 50 million (EUR 5.45 million), of which Elmo contributed around SEK 42 million (EUR 4.5 million). The company also received a subsidy of around SEK 8.25 million (EUR 900,000) from the EU’s LIFE environmental fund.

LIFE provides financing for projects that support environmental protection and nature conservation throughout the EU. The aim is to advance and develop EU environmental policies by supporting reference projects that showcase innovative technology or methods. LIFE projects shall act as good examples of how policies can be converted into action. The supervisory authority for LIFE in Sweden is the National Environmental Protection Agency.

Svenljunga, 1 June 2005
Elmo Leather AB  

For further information, please contact Nalle Johansson by telephone +46(0)325-661400or mobile phone +46(0)705-817738.
Technical questions about the treatment plant can be answered by environment manager Leif Svensson on +46(0)325-661448 or mobile phone 0705-141448

Pictures from the inauguration of Elmo Leather’s new treatment plant can be downloaded at www.elmoleather.com  

June 2004:
Accent and Nordic Capital sell Elmo Leather 

Nalle Johansson, President, and Anders Bengtsson, Executive Vice President, have today acquired 100 percent of the shares in Elmo Leather AB. The sellers are Accent Equity Partners and Nordic Capital Fund II.

The Elmo Leather Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of exclusive furniture leather and one of the six biggest suppliers of leather to the automotive industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells Elmo leather on over 40 markets worldwide. More than 95 % of sales are generated on markets outside Sweden. Marketing is handled in-house and, on certain markets, by independent sales representatives. 

The company has an annual turnover of about SEK 750 million and nearly 370 employees.

From 2004, Elmo Leather’s production of leather has been concentrated to the parent company’s facilities in Svenljunga, Sweden. In February 2004, Elmo Leather opened a new production unit in Wismar, Germany for the cutting of leather for the automotive industry.

“Nordic Capital has participated in a restructuring and refocusing of energies on the Swedish parent company,” says Morgan Olsson, Chairman of Elmo Leather. “Following the forceful steps that have been taken to create good future prospects for Elmo, it feels very good for us to pass the baton to Nalle Johansson and Anders Bengtsson.”  

“It has been important for us to find a solution where both ownership and operations remain in Sweden,” says Håkan Söderbäck of Accent Equity Partners. “The management has created a good base from which the company can continue to develop. Today’s deal is a good solution for both the company’s customers and its employees.”

“We have had good owners who have taken great responsibility for Elmo’s development,” says Nalle Johansson, President and new principal owner. “We see great development potential for Elmo and are both humble and inspired in the face of the future. The new ownership does not entail any changes for the operations. We will continue to develop high-quality furniture and automotive leather in partnership with our international customers.”

Svenljunga on 15^th June 2004

March 2004

Elmo Leather: 

Investing SEK 42 million in a new treatment plant to cut nitrogen emissions by 80 per cent  

Elmo Leather has decided to invest SEK 42 million in a new treatment plant for its wastewater in Svenljunga. Building work will commence immediately and the new treatment plant is expected to be operational by February 2005.

The treatment process is based on new technology for biological treatment cutting nitrogen emissions in wastewater by 80%. The new technology has been recognised by the EU’s environmental fund, LIFE, via a grant of EUR 1 million. 

In February Elmo Leather was granted permission by the Environmental Testing Delegation to begin building a new treatment plant and Elmo Leather’s Board has now given the go-ahead to an investment of SEK 42 million. The new treatment plant is expected to be completed in February 2005 and then there will be a gradual transition from the treatment used in the municipal treatment plant to treatment in the new plant. Elmo Leather has employed the services of local building firms from the Svenljunga area to construct the new plant.

New purification technology 

The current method for reducing nitrogen pollution in wastewater from the tannery industry consists of a combination of chemical and biological treatment. The new technology that Elmo intends introducing, uses a process called nitrification/de-nitrification, and is an advanced form of a completely biological treatment. The technology has been tested by the municipal sewage treatment works but never put into operation in the tanning industry because it wasn’t considered technically possible because of the wastewater’s character. 

Micro-organisms break down pollution 

The technology means that water pollutants are broken down using the micro-organisms that exist in the wastewater. This occurs in a series of processes where wastewater is treated step-by-step in separated, but linked, tank systems. The first link in this system consists of an oxygen infusion tank where micro-organisms live and grow. Phosphoric acid is added to the tank to accelerate this growth.

During the nitrification process the wastewater is oxygenated, which starts the oxidation process. Nitrogen (NH₄-N), mainly in the form of Ammonia, is oxidized into nitrate (NO₃-N).

The supply of oxygen is cut during the de-nitrification process, forcing the micro-organisms to obtain their oxygen from the nitrogen pollutant (instead of from the actual waste water).

During the de-nitrification process nitrate is reduced into nitrogen gas (N₂) and emitted into the atmosphere, which consists of 79% nitrogen gas.

In simple terms this new purification technology means that the micro-organisms in the wastewater are first allowed to grow and multiply. To survive they are forced to use up nitrogen pollutants due to the lack of oxygen. The result is that the dominant part (around 80%) of the pollutants disappears because they have been reduced to nitrogen gas, i.e. the same gas that dominates the atmosphere. Traditional wastewater treatment methods at tanneries reduce nitrogen emissions by around 30% 

EU grant for innovative technology

The EU’s environmental fund LIFE makes environmental protection and nature conservation grants within the European Union.

Elmo Leather has been granted funding of EUR 1 million (around SEK 9 million) from LIFE for building its new treatment plant.

The main purpose of LIFE is to drive the implementation and development of the EU’s environmental policy by supporting pilot projects that illustrate innovative technologies or methods. A LIFE project should serve as a good example and turn environmental policies into practical action. The supervisory authority for LIFE in Sweden is the National Environmental Protection Agency.

Elmo Leather has guaranteed that to May 2006, it will measure the effectiveness of the plant and distribute information about the result to other tanneries and other relevant industries, e.g. the textile and paper industries, water purification plants and the authorities.

Elmo Leather expects at least 75% of the European tannery industry to have been informed about the new technology’s environmental and financial benefits by the time the project is completed.

Svenljunga, Sweden 23 March 2004
Elmo Leather AB

Elmo Leather is the world’s largest manufacturer of exclusive furniture leather and one of the six largest suppliers of leather to the international automotive industry.

The company operates in some 40 markets worldwide and about 9 5% of sales are generated in markets outside Sweden. Of the Group’s total sales of around SEK 771 million in 2003, furniture leather accounted for 49 % and automotive leather for 51 %. 

Elmo Leather is a strong international brand for some of the world’s finest leather. The Group works in a small niche of the international leather market, where high prices are accompanied by high requirements for quality, design and comfort. The company’s management system is certified according to ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 14001.

The Elmo Leather Group consists of the parent company, Elmo Leather AB, in Svenljunga, Sweden, and the three wholly-owned subsidiaries Elmo Leather Inc. in Edison, New Jersey, USA, Elmo Leather A/S on Fyn, Denmark and Elmo Trim GmbH at Wismar in Germany. 

Manufacturing is concentrated at the facilities in Svenljunga, Sweden. As of January 2004 Elmo Leather is cutting leather for automotive interiors at a new production plant at Wismar in Germany. 

At the end of 2003 the Group employed around 400 people, of which 80 % worked in Sweden.

Elmo leather is owned by investors in Nordic Capital (52 %) and investors in Accent Equity Partners (former Nordico) (47 %) and jointly by Den Danske Bank, Sydbank and Unibank (1 %).