§1What this business is
Raw hides are soaked and fleshed, tanned in drums, shaved on a double-width shaving machine, dyed and fat-liquored, staked to soften them, measured and sold to shoe manufacturers. The profile's title says buffalo ('buff') hides, but its capacity line counts 60,000 cow hides a year; it includes an effluent treatment plant.
Capacity: 60,000 hides a year, valued at ₹457.20 lakh.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A leather technologist or an existing hide trader near a leather cluster with a common effluent treatment plant.
Who it is not for
Anyone outside a leather cluster or unwilling to invest in pollution control.
Advantages
- India's footwear industry is a large, steady buyer of finished leather
- Adds value to hides that are otherwise sold raw
- Can grow into export through the leather clusters
- Profile shows a 44% break-even
Drawbacks
- Tanneries are red-category polluters and must treat effluent
- Hide supply is affected by state cattle-slaughter laws
- Very large working capital (₹96.92 L) tied up in hides
- Chemical handling (chrome, acids) needs skill and safety
Skills you need
- Tanning chemistry and drum operation
- Hide grading and buying
- Effluent treatment
- Selling to shoe makers and exporters
Why difficulty 5/5: Heavy pollution control, big working capital and a sensitive raw material.
§3Market
Who buys
- Shoe manufacturers (profile)
- Leather goods makers
- Leather exporters
How it sells
- Direct supply to footwear factories
- Leather traders in clusters such as Kanpur, Agra, Chennai and Kolkata
Good to know
- The profile names shoe manufacturing as the user industry.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden paddle with motor, tanning drum, fleshing machine, experimental drum, double-width shaving machine, dyeing and fat-liquoring drum, staking machine, measuring machine, tools and fixtures | 1 set | ₹40.84 lakh |
| Effluent treatment plant | 1 | ₹4.54 lakh |
From: MSME-DI Hyderabad project profile — Din Leather from Buff Hides
- Raw hides60,000 a year; with chemicals and packing ₹30.81 L a month
- Tanning, dyeing and fat-liquoring chemicalspart of the monthly raw-material bill
- Packing materialpart of the monthly raw-material bill
From: MSME-DI Hyderabad project profile — Din Leather from Buff Hides
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
UL INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED · Gurgaon →TUV RHEINLAND INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED · Bengaluru →PRODUCT TESTING LABORATORY, CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF PETROCHEMICALS ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CIPET) · Madurai →Allied Resin Chemicals Ltd · Kolkata →Annapurna Engg. Works · Kolhapur →Balmer Laurie and Co · Chennai →Chromtan India (P) Ltd · Kolkata →Golden Chemicals (P) Ltd · Mumbai →Leather Chemical and Industries Ltd. · Kolkata →PDTC (NSIC) · Chennai →Shalimar Engg. Works · Kolkata →Tamilnadu Chromates and Chemical Ltd · Chennai →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- State Pollution Control Board consent (tanneries are red category) and link to a CETP where one exists
- Factory licence
- Udyam
- GST
- Trade licence
- Check your state's law on trade in cattle hides
§6Schemes & subsidies
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
CGTMSE and Stand-Up India fit. At ₹1.54 crore the project is above PMEGP's ₹50 L limit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: The profile's total capital investment is ₹154 L. Its listed lines — land (2 acres) and sheds (1,000 sq m) ₹16 L, machinery ₹40.84 L, effluent treatment plant ₹4.54 L, working capital for 3 months ₹96.92 L — add up to ₹158.30 L.
Working capital: Hides, chemicals and packing ₹30.81 L a month; power, fuel and water ₹25,000; other ₹13,800; wages ₹1.11 L. Three months come to ₹96.92 L — hides are the big cost.
Year not printed on this one-page MSME-DI Hyderabad profile; its wages are very low by today's standards, so the prices are old — check every figure.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: Council for Leather Exports (CLE)
- Export buyers ask for proof of effluent compliance and chemical (restricted-substance) tests.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Closure orders for pollution
- Hide supply and price swings
- Rejection of leather for quality
- Worker health and chemical safety
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working finished shoe-upper leather tannery unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (State Pollution Control Board consent (tanneries are red category) and link to a CETP where one exists, Factory licence), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Finished Shoe-Upper Leather Tannery?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.