Leather

With trading partners all over the world, SGT prides itself as one of the top exporters of natural and synthetic leather in the Middle East.

• Natural Leather

  Leather tanning is without a doubt one of the oldest human activities. In the beginning, skins obtained from hunting and livestock breeding could be used for clothing or tents, but they became stiff at low temperatures, while they rotted with heat. As a result of innovations, the time required for tanning was shortened incredibly from eight months to a year, to a period of a few days today. Skins and hides are rarely used in their natural state as they are subject to rotting and temperature variations (hard and rigid when the temperature is low, soft and flaccid when it is high). The purpose of tanning is to eliminate these problems using suitable agents of animal, vegetable, mineral or synthetic origin. SGT supplies upholstery leather to major furniture and other leather product manufacturing companies worldwide.
  
  The following are the types of Natural Leather:
  
  

  • Pure Anilines
  • Semi Anilines
  • Corrected Grains
  • Splits
  
  
  

• Synthetic Leather

  Synthetic leather is a man-made fabric that looks like leather. It has a leather-like surface and is dyed and treated to make it have the look and feel of real leather. These products are often used as a substitute for real leather because it is less expensive and it does not require using a real animal hide to create. Artificial leather can be dyed a variety of colors. It is durable and stain resistant, as well. Artificial leather can be created to look like any type of leather desired. Many consider it superior to real leather because of its diversity in looks and use.
  
  Synthetic leather is widely applied to the luggage belt manufacturing, automobile decorative, sofa leather, indoor decorative, sports shoes, leisure shoes, fashion shoes, handbag, suitcase, wallet, garments and other artificial industry. Earlier inferior technology was one factor holding back the growth of the artificial leather industry. However, with technological advancements, synthetic leather being produced now is much smoother, looks similar, and feels like leather. The fabric is versatile and is fast replacing leather in a number of industries. The type of synthetic leather is usually defined by what materials the leather is made of.

  
  The following are some important types of synthetic leather:
  
  

  • Poromeric imitation leather

    Sometimes referred to as poromerics, poromeric imitation leathers are a group of synthetic "breathable" leather substitutes made from a plastic coating (usually a polyurethane) on a fibrous base layer (typically a polyester).

    
    

  • Koskin

    Koskin is an artificial leather material commonly found in computer laptop cases. It is made to look and feel like authentic leather.

    
    

  • Leatherette

    Leatherette is a form of artificial leather, usually made by covering a fabric base with plastic. The fabric can be made of a natural or a synthetic fiber which is then covered with a soft PVC layer. One of its primary advantages, especially in cars, is that it requires little maintenance in comparison to leather, and does not crack or fade as easily.

    
    

  • PU Leather

    PU leather (also known as split leather or Bicast leather) is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry for glossy shoes, and recently was adopted by the furniture industry. The resulting product has an artificially consistent texture that is easier to clean and maintain. There are various classifications on PU synthetic leather. The most common one is to divide it into two types: dry-process PU synthetic leather and wet-process (coagulation process) PU synthetic leather.
    
    Some other common types of artificial leather include those made of plant materials, such as vegan leather, blended materials made of acrylic and fiber blends and vinyl or PVC artificial leather.

    
    

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