Inside a Leather Tannery: A Factory Visit to J & J Leather Enterprises Ltd. 

Chennai, Tamil Nadu | February 2026 

An Industrial Visit Report 

1. Introduction 

We had the incredible opportunity to visit J & J Leather Enterprises Ltd., located at No. 56/7, Nallambakkam Village, Via Vandalur, Chennai-600048, Tamil Nadu. This industrial visit gave us an in-depth look at the complex and fascinating journey of raw animal hides being transformed into finished, high-quality leather — a process far more involved than most people realize. 

 

Figure 1: The entrance signboard of J & J Leather Enterprises Ltd., Nallambakkam, Chennai. 

2. The Tanning Floor: Scale of Operations 

The heart of the tannery is its vast main processing floor. Upon entering, we were immediately struck by thousands of hides in various stages of processing, hanging from overhead rail systems that spanned the entire length of the factory. Raw hides in shades of deep black, dark blue, and tan were suspended to dry after dyeing, creating a remarkable industrial landscape above us. 

 

Figure 2: Thousands of hides hanging from overhead rail systems on the main tanning floor. 

3. Overhead Conveyor Rail System 

One of the most visually impressive features of the factory was its overhead conveyor rail system. The orange-coloured rail tracks visible in the ceiling area are part of an automated and semi-automated hide transport system. After hides are processed in drums and pressed, they are clipped onto hangers and moved along these rail loops for air-drying. The serpentine layout of the rails maximizes drying space within the available floor area. 

 

Figure 3: A wide view of the overhead rail system densely loaded with black dyed hides drying. 

 

Figure 4: The orange overhead conveyor rail tracks — a key part of the factory's hide transport and drying system. 

4. The Drum Room: Chemical Processing 

One of the most critical stages in leather production happens inside large rotating drums. These machines — labeled SD-01, SD-02, MBD-01, etc. — are used for liming, bating, pickling, and chrome/vegetable tanning. The hides are loaded into the drums along with precisely measured chemicals, and the rotating action ensures even penetration throughout each hide. 

 

Figure 5: Stainless steel rotating drums (SD series) used for chemical tanning and dyeing. 

 

Figure 6: Larger capacity drum units (grey-coloured) used for heavier batch processing of hides. 

 

Figure 7: Another view of the drum room showing multiple SD-series units with blue chemical containers. 

5. Freshly Tanned Hides: Wet-Blue & Coloured Stages 

After the drum processing, hides emerge in what is called the wet-blue or wet-brown stage — they are wet, pliable, and have absorbed the tanning agents. Factory staff demonstrated this to our group by stretching a freshly processed hide to show its softness and flexibility. The hide at this stage is already beginning to resemble leather but still requires pressing, drying, and finishing. 

 

Figure 8: A factory guide demonstrates a freshly tanned wet hide — showing its pliable texture right out of the drum. 

 

Figure 9: A worker (Machine MBD-01) holds a freshly dyed black hide just removed from the tanning drum, wearing protective gloves. 

6. Pressing & Wringing: Removing Excess Moisture 

After the chemical drum processes, wet hides undergo mechanical wringing and pressing using heavy-duty roller machines. Skilled workers feed each hide through the rollers carefully to remove excess moisture and flatten the leather evenly. This is critical to achieving uniform thickness before moving to drying and finishing stages. 

 

Figure 10: Workers operating the hide pressing machine (SE-04) to squeeze out moisture from tanned hides. 

7. Machine Processing Floor 

The factory has a dedicated area for mechanical processing that houses multiple types of machines — including shaving machines, splitting machines, and additional drum units — all operating simultaneously. Piles of tan-coloured hides await processing while finished units and machinery stand ready in the background. This section gave us a clear picture of how industrialized and mechanized the modern tanning process has become. 

 

Figure 11: A general view of the machine processing floor showing shaving machines, drums, and stacked tan hides. 

8. Staking & Finishing: Softening the Leather 

Post-pressing, hides go through a staking or stretching process on large frame machines to soften and stretch the leather. Workers manually feed hides through conveyor-style staking machines, which mechanically work the leather to achieve the desired softness and suppleness. This stage is where the leather begins to look and feel like the finished product familiar in shoes, bags, and upholstery. 

 

Figure 12: Female workers feeding tanned hides through the staking machine for softening and stretching. 

9. Quality Control: Leather Thickness Gauge 

Quality control is built into every stage at J & J. One critical measurement is leather thickness — checked using a leather thickness gauge (shown here, a CALAN-brand instrument). Workers measure random sections of each hide to ensure they meet the specified thickness tolerance for the intended product. Leather that is too thick or too thin is routed back for re-processing or reclassified for different applications. 

 

Figure 13: A worker uses a CALAN leather thickness gauge to measure hide thickness — a key quality control step. 

10. Finished Leather Warehouse 

The finished and semi-finished leather is stored in a large, well-organized warehouse with multi-tier shelving. Each batch is wrapped in plastic and labeled with tags for traceability. The warehouse held enormous quantities of processed leather ready for dispatch to footwear, garment, and accessory manufacturers across India and for export. 

 

Figure 14: The finished leather storage warehouse — rows of neatly stacked and plastic-wrapped hide batches. 

11. Effluent Treatment: Environmental Responsibility 

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the visit was the Effluent Treatment Recycling Plant (ETP), designed by Wasser Kraft Tech. It includes primary and secondary settling tanks, aeration tanks, clarifiers, sludge drying beds, and a crystallization pond. This multi-stage system treats and recycles wastewater generated during tanning, ensuring the plant meets environmental compliance standards. 

 

Figure 15: The Effluent Treatment Recycling Plant (ETP) process flow diagram by Wasser Kraft Tech. 

Key Takeaways 

This visit to J & J Leather Enterprises Ltd. was an eye-opening experience that bridged classroom understanding with real-world industrial practice: 

• Leather production is a highly multi-stage, capital-intensive process requiring both skilled labor and advanced machinery. 

• Chemical precision during tanning is critical — drum rotation speed, chemical concentration, and timing all directly affect leather quality. 

• Quality control — especially thickness measurement — is performed manually at multiple checkpoints on the production line. 

• The overhead conveyor rail system is a clever space-saving engineering solution for drying thousands of hides simultaneously. 

• Environmental management is a major operational responsibility, and J & J's investment in their ETP system is significant. 

• India remains a major player in global leather supply, and factories like J & J represent the industrial backbone of this industry. 

Industrial Visit | J & J Leather Enterprises Ltd. | Vandalur, Chennai | February 2026