§1What this business is
Wet-salted cow hides are soaked, limed, fleshed, delimed, pickled and chrome-tanned, then split and shaved to 1.3–1.4 mm. They are retanned with chrome and vegetable extracts, dyed and fat-liquored, sammed, set, staked, toggled, and the grain is buffed with fine emery paper to give the nubuck nap. The profile's unit has its own effluent treatment plant with solar evaporation pans. Shoe, garment and leather-goods makers, many of them exporters, buy nubuck.
Capacity: 60,000 cow hides a year, valued at ₹4.44 crore.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
An experienced tanner in a leather cluster with buyers among shoe and garment exporters.
Who it is not for
Anyone without tannery experience or capital to hold months of hide stock.
Advantages
- Nubuck sells at a premium over plain finished leather
- Used in shoes, garments and leather goods
- Export makers in Agra, Kanpur and other clusters need it
- Own ETP gives control over compliance
Drawbacks
- Buffed surface shows every hide defect, so grading is strict
- Very large working capital
- Chrome effluent needs treatment
- Fashion demand for nubuck rises and falls
Skills you need
- Chrome tanning and retanning
- Buffing and nap finishing
- Hide selection and grading
- Effluent treatment operation
Why difficulty 5/5: Tannery chemistry, effluent treatment and large working capital.
§3Market
Who buys
- Shoe manufacturers
- Leather garment makers
- Leather goods makers
- Exporters of shoes, garments and goods
How it sells
- Direct supply to factories
- Leather traders in clusters
- Export houses
Good to know
- The profile plans three grades: high (22 sq ft hides at ₹60 per sq ft), medium and low (18 sq ft at ₹30 and ₹20).
- It follows IS 8170 for cow nubuck leather.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden paddle 8' × 7' with motor | 2 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Tanning drum 8' × 6', 10 HP | 4 | ₹4,00,000 |
| Fleshing machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Double-width shaving machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹4,50,000 |
| Double-width splitting machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹5,50,000 |
| Dyeing and fat-liquoring drum 8' × 6' | 2 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Measuring machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Effluent treatment plant (solar evaporation, settling, aeration) | 1 | ₹4,05,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Nubuck Leather (2003)
- Wet-salted hair-slip cow hides, 11–15 kg each5,000 a month at ₹450 each
- Tanning, retanning, dyeing and finishing chemicals₹138 per hide
- Packing: polythene, paper, gunny bags₹5,000 a month
From: DC-MSME project profile — Nubuck Leather (2003)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Bayer (India) Ltd · Chennai →Prototype Development · Chennai →Sandoz (P) Ltd · Mumbai →Tamilnadu Chromates and Chemical Ltd · Chennai →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent (tanneries are in the Red category)
- Membership of a common effluent treatment plant or your own ETP
- Factory licence
§6Schemes & subsidies
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
Above PMEGP's ₹50 lakh limit; CGTMSE (collateral-free guarantee) and Stand-Up India (₹10 lakh–₹1 crore for SC/ST and women) fit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: DC-MSME profile: land and building ₹15.80 L + machinery and equipment ₹38.46 L (splitting machine ₹5.50 L, shaving machine ₹4.50 L, effluent treatment plant ₹4.05 L) + pre-operative ₹0.30 L = fixed capital ₹54.56 L; working capital for 3 months ₹93.72 L; total ₹148.28 L.
Working capital: ₹93.72 L for 3 months; hides (5,000 a month at ₹450) and chemicals (₹138 a hide) are ₹29.45 L a month.
Prices from 2003 — machinery, land and raw-material costs will be much higher now.
§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 often ask for restricted-substance test reports.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Pollution rules and closure risk
- Hide quality and price
- Shift in fashion demand
- Payment delays from exporters
§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 nubuck leather (cow hide tannery) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), 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 Nubuck Leather (Cow Hide 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.