TEKNOLEATHER, based in Arzignano, is today among the chemical companies that can boast international environmental credit, concerning products but also according to sustainability, safety and the environment
Teknoleather, is a chemical company working in the international tanning sector and offering cutting-edge solutions, service flexibility, know-how and high- quality chemical products, to guarantee the best possible performance in all stages of processing. The company recently reached a prestigious goal, achieved in May 2022, namely the level 3 of the ZDHC international certification. This represents a new starting point, to be increasingly competitive in the Italian and international market and to meet the main fashion brands and large foreign groups’ requests. ZDHC stands for “Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals”, a very important tag.
Santino Mecenero, founder of the company in 2013 and current owner, proudly talks about it. In these nine years, he’s been relying on the experience of a dynamic and close-knit team, boasting 40 years of experience in the chemical sector as well as a deep knowledge such as to guarantee high-performance products, high technology and respect for the environment.
“We do not hide our great satisfaction – explains Santino Mecenero, whom we interviewed at the company’s headquarters in Tezze di Arzignano at the end of July – because this certification represents a prestigious and valuable recognition in our sector. We are ISO 9001 certified, for quality, from 2016 and in the summer 2021, we started this process that required a lot of effort and also lots of resources. We obtained the third ZDHC level, that is the highest on a scale from 1 to 3: it does not only regard products but also sustainability, safety and the environment. The products in our range that boast the certification are more than 150, and we are further expanding the offer to be able to respond to the requests of an increasingly demanding and selective market. Through the dedicated platform offered by ZDHC, called “GATEWAY”, the tanneries can access and have in real time the guarantee of the product certification they need.”
“We are happy about the ZDHC certification – continues the owner of Teknoleather –, in the field of sustainability we have always managed to foresee the times, says our story, avoiding to batten down the hatches. Maybe, in a few years, this will be a mandatory certification to have, at least to be able to guarantee, as we have always done, a high-quality product. I ‘d like to point out that the company is young, next year we will celebrate its tenth anniversary, but it has deep roots, and strongly caring about the environment.”
Lucrezia Maria Mecenero, also speaks about this issue. Lucrezia is the daughter of Santino and deals with the financial management, planning and development of different projects, in particular related to quality and the environment; she was the one who followed the achievement process for the ZDHC certification. “I would like to underline that the achievement of this important result – she says – was above all a team effort, for this I want to thank the entire Teknoleather team, who poured all their enthusiasm and commitment to this challenge. Our people are the engine that makes our successes possible, and we try to create a safe, pleasant and stimulating operating environment for them every day, which allows them to work at their best and express their potential. That’s why one of our slogans is “360° sustainability”: for us it is an essential concept that not only applies to our daily business, through the development of products with low environmental impact and processes with reduced energy and water consumptions, but it influences and guides our choices, such as that of equipping the company with solar panels, to reduce consumption and the environmental impact of our plant. Our commitment also goes beyond company boundaries through several social and environmental sustainability projects that we carry out with passion. This vision and project will be highlighted from the point of view of communication, starting with the new website online from September 2022.”
Lucrezia Maria Mecenero, collaborator of the University of Trento and consultant of the Veneto Leather District, based in Arzignano, is also the author of the book “The Veneto Leather District between innovation and resilience. How an industrial district has become an integrated system area of innovation.” This book, through a historical investigation and the collection and analytical processing of a large amount of data, explains the factors, processes and dynamics that led the industrial center, which has its central core in the area of Arzignano and Valle del Chiampo, to become the most important Italian district of the leather supply chain and one of the largest in the world.
www.teknoleather.com
Santino e Lucrezia Maria Mecenero
