Cutting technology provider Lectra has said that leather car-seat and automotive interior producers are ordering “such high volumes from tanners” that traditional die-cutting systems are “no longer able to keep pace”.
In its newly published annual report for 2015, Lectra said it had taken note of the high-end vehicle market witnessing the strongest growth in the automotive industry. This is significant because high-end vehicles tend to use more leather than regular ones.
Tanners need to transform their production processes and to make “significant productivity gains”, the technology provider said in the report. It added: “Leading tanners need solutions that are more flexible, improve hide use and accelerate time to market.”
In recent comments, Lectra chief executive, Daniel Harari, said the company intends to invest more in developing advanced cutting solutions specifically for leather as part of its latest research and development plan.
He said he believes Lectra is “beginning, after 15 years, to understand leather” and beginning to see the next level of challenges that its customers’ leather-cutting requirements can present. “Our whole idea is to bring intelligence to the cutting room,” the company’s chief executive said.