Like the rest of the industry, it has been a turbulent year for Scan-Hide, as the global leather and raw hide industry has had its worst crisis in 25 years. At the end of 2008, the company on Funen was hit by the financial crisis, causing sales of cattle hides to basically come to a standstill. In just two weeks, the world market price fell by 50-70 per cent. Inventories grew, and it wasn’t until the end of the 2008/09 financial year that sales – and prices – started to pick up again. And they are still at a historically low level.

Altogether, the number of treated hides fell by 4 per cent to 809,336 hides. However, a stop was put to this development with the acquisition of the Swedish hide company Kontrollhudar International, which will increase Scan-Hide’s level of activity to 1,100,000 hides a year.

It has been a tough year, but I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After the acquisition we will be one of the biggest hide companies in Europe, says Scan-Hide’s CEO, Anders Autzen.