§1What this business is
Wet-salted cow hides are soaked, limed, delimed, pickled and chrome-tanned, then retanned, dyed and fat-liquored. The flesh side is buffed to raise a velvety nap — that nap is what makes suede. Buyers are footwear and leather-garment makers in India and abroad. Tanning is a Red-category polluting industry, so an effluent treatment plant is part of the project.
Capacity: 60,000 cow hides a year (one shift, 300 days); the profile expects 90% use only by year 3.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A leather technologist or tannery family in a leather cluster with a common effluent treatment plant nearby.
Who it is not for
A first-time founder outside a leather cluster — pollution approval and hide buying are hard to manage alone.
Advantages
- Suede sells to shoe, garment and fancy-goods makers, at home and for export
- Every grade sells — even rejects fetch ₹20 per sq ft in the profile
- Leather clusters such as Kanpur, Chennai and Kolkata have hides and machinery makers close by
Drawbacks
- Red-category industry — an effluent plant and strict pollution consent are a must
- Needs about ₹1.73 crore, most of it working capital for hides
- Grading decides the price; only 2% of output is Grade I in the profile
Skills you need
- Chrome tanning and dyeing chemistry
- Hide selection and leather grading
- Effluent treatment and pollution compliance
- Selling to footwear and garment makers
Why difficulty 5/5: Red-category pollution rules, large working capital and skilled tanning chemistry.
§3Market
Who buys
- Footwear makers (shoe uppers)
- Leather garment makers
- Fancy leather goods makers
- Leather exporters
How it sells
- Direct supply to footwear and garment units
- Leather traders in tannery clusters
- Export orders
Good to know
- The profile names the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan as export markets.
- Leather is sold by grade; the profile prices five grades from ₹50 down to ₹20 per sq ft.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden paddle with motor and starter (10 HP), 8'×7' | 2 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Tanning drum with motor and starter (10 HP), 8×7 | 2 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Fleshing machine (15 HP), 1800 mm | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Experimental drum (5 HP) | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Double-width shaving machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹4,00,000 |
| Dyeing and fat-liquoring drum (10 HP) plus one dry drum | 2 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Staking machine | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Toggle chamber, 10 plates | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Measuring machine, 1800 mm | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Generator set | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Buffing machine | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Primary effluent treatment plant | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Suede Leather (SISI Kanpur, PMRY series) (2003)
- Wet-salted cow hides (hair-slip quality)5,000 pieces a month at ₹20 per sq ft; the profile says they are available locally in Kanpur
- Tanning and finishing chemicals (sodium sulphide, lime, ammonium sulphate, chrome salt, wattle extract, acid dyes, fat liquors)₹6 per sq ft — ₹7.50 L a month
From: DC-MSME project profile — Suede Leather (SISI Kanpur, PMRY series) (2003)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Annapurna Engg. Works · Kolhapur →BASF India Ltd · Kanpur →BASF India Ltd · Mumbai →Hindustan Engg. Works · Kolhapur →leather Aids and Auxillaries · Chennai →New Bengal Engg. Works · Kolkata →Prototype Development · Chennai →Rajam brothers Engg. Pvt. Ltd · Chennai →Shalimar Engg. Works · Kolkata →Soloi Engg. Works · Chennai →Tan India Wattle Extract Corporation · Chennai →Wet salted cow hides are available · Kanpur →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate (tanning is Red category)
- Membership of the common effluent treatment plant where your cluster has one
- Factory licence (the unit employs more than the Factories Act limit)
- Import Export Code (IEC) if you export
§6Schemes & subsidies
The ₹1.73 crore project is above the PMEGP (₹50 L) and MUDRA (₹20 L) limits; CGTMSE can cover a collateral-free bank loan.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Land and building ₹40.00 L (1,500 sq m land, 800 sq m shed, 150 sq m office) + primary effluent treatment plant ₹2.50 L + machinery ₹26.50 L = fixed capital ₹69.00 L; working capital for 3 months ₹1,03,89,000. Total ₹1,72,89,000.
Working capital: ₹34.63 L a month, mostly hides (5,000 pieces, about 1,25,000 sq ft, ₹25.00 L) and chemicals (₹7.50 L); the profile keeps 3 months = ₹1,03,89,000.
Prices from January 2003 — hide, chemical and machinery 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)
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Closure orders from the pollution board if effluent is not treated
- Hide price and quality swings
- Fashion demand for suede can fall
- Large stock of hides and chemicals locks up cash
§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 suede leather tanning unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), 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 Suede Leather Tanning Unit?
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.