Union Leather unveils world's first 'Lycra' synthetic elastic leather

Taipei, Dec. 21, 2004 (CENS)--In cooperation with Invista, DuPont's affiliate, Union Leather & Printing Corp., Taiwan's leading manufacturer of synthetic leather, has recently unveiled its first 'Lycra' synthetic elastic leather, which is believed also the world's first of its kind.

In addition to the newly developed 'Lycra' leather, Union Leather not long ago developed high-end artificial leather as cover material for automobile seats. The leather has won a certificate from Ford Motor Co. for its excellent quality.

Union Leather is proud of its laminating technology, and has in recent years purchased non-woven cloths and super microfiber from Japan and S. Korea to process as materials for sport shoes, furniture products, and auto seats.

Juan Yun-ho, vice president of the company, noted that the synthetic elastic leather used as covers for sofas is better than animal leather, because the former feels tighter and more endurable while the latter appears sagging. Juan added that shoes made of elastic leather feel softer and more comfortable, and such shoes have become more and more popular in the world market.

Taiwan used to be the world's largest manufacturer of polyurethane (PU) synthetic leather, with annual output of the leather amounting to 200 million yards, accounting for some 50% of the global production volume. However, the industry has declined rapidly since the exodus of domestic footwear makers starting early 1990s. To survive in the field, some leading synthetic leather manufacturers have to diversify their production lines to cover more products, and Union Leather is a very successful model in terms of corporate transformation.

Early this year, Union Leather gained a syndicated loan of NT$500 million (US$14.71 million at US$1 = NT$34) to finance the establishment of a leather plant in Changhua, central Taiwan. The projected plant is estimated to turn out two million square feet leather per month, making it Taiwan's largest synthetic leather and split leather plant providing leather materials especially for interior decoration of automobiles.

Due to price hike of petrochemical materials starting this year, Union Leather raked in modest after-tax profits of NT$5 million (US$147,059) or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.05 (US$0.0015), much lower than the EPS of NT$0.38 (US$0.01) posted in the same period of last year.