Italy-based Silvateam Spa, a world leader group in the production of plant-based tannins for the leather industry, has recently acquired the majority of the German company wet-green GmbH, creator of the patented wet-green® technology to make Olivenleder®. This innovative technology harnesses the power of by-products of olive trees to create a revolutionary vegetable tanning.

«We’ve been looking with admiration for years at Olivenleder®, says Antonio Battaglia, Business Unit Leather Director at Silvateam Spa. This tanning agent is 100% natural, bio-based and it can deliver very different outcomes from the other products on the market». Silvateam owns also Ecotan®, another bio-based brand that represents the perfect fit for this new venture: «We felt we shared with Silvateam the same philosophy, states Thomas Lamparter partner of wet-green GmbH. They brought their expertise and their portfolio to the table. They also have got a team who understands vegetable tanning, metal-free tanning and that’s important for the brands and, of course, for the customers».

This move will allow to produce the Olivenleder® tanning agent at the origin, in Italy, on a larger scale: «We aim to improve the efficiency both in the raw material supplying and in the extraction process» says again Antonio Battaglia.

«With this acquisition we are enhancing our position in metal-free bio-based tanning, concludes Alessandra Taccon, Project Director at Ecotan®. We are proving that there is a true biocircular alternative to the conventional tanning systems, scalable in volumes, in harmony with humans and the planet».