Marshall Hamachi: Okay, why don't we go ahead and get started, and then, as others join there'll be able to catch up on the recording so welcome everybody who is here for this.
Marshall Hamachi: edition of materiality from the color materials and trends exploration lab Sim tell hosts the materiality series as a means to connect students and faculty and the art Center community.
Marshall Hamachi: with different professionals and manufacturing and product and material development so today, we are very honored to have our special guests from trevino.
Marshall Hamachi: Starting over from the far left on my screen there is rodolfo and Tomas, could you please wave your hands.
Rodolfo Muller: To me do.
Marshall Hamachi: And Leo and hey Suze you please wave your hands guys nice to meet you.
Marshall Hamachi: Nice to meet everyone Thank you and we'll go and have them introduce themselves and give a bit of background in a moment.
Marshall Hamachi: First, I wanted to just go over a little bit of housekeeping before we start, I think all of you are familiar, please try to keep your microphones muted during the presentation, so as not to cause disturbance.
Marshall Hamachi: If you have any questions that arise during the presentation, please post them to the chat I will keep track of those questions.
Marshall Hamachi: And then we get to the end of the presentation and Q amp a i'll go ahead and read those out.
Okay.
Marshall Hamachi: In terms of the agenda for today, after we go through the introductions.
Marshall Hamachi: You will hear the background story about trevino tannery what they do in their operations.
Marshall Hamachi: and also an introduction to Abba leather, which is the main focus emphasizing its unique properties and process.
Marshall Hamachi: And then we're also going to hear a little bit about how trivial leather is currently being used in application across a number of different industries and finally we'll have the Q amp a for about 15 minutes or so okay.
Marshall Hamachi: There will be a video that will be played to talk a little bit about the company.
Marshall Hamachi: Unfortunately, right now, the video volume the Max level is a little bit low, but we will have access to that post presentation, so please bear with us if you can't hear it, you will have access to a higher volume version later okay.
Marshall Hamachi: So, having gone through all of those matters, let me turn it over to the folks at trevino and please go ahead and introduce yourselves and a little bit about what you do.
Leo Trevino: Thanks Marshall.
Leo Trevino: appreciate it a, I would like to start my name is Leo trevino very nice to meet a everybody and i'm the director of the automotive division of our company, as you will hear during the video.
Leo Trevino: Our company has two main issues, one is what we call the fashion letter division and another one is the automotive leather division.
Leo Trevino: So right now we are of course going to focus more on the fashion side, however, a for our company the automotive side is a little bit larger in terms of revenue in terms of sales.
Leo Trevino: And then I am I am the director of of that division and I am a part of the family owners, as you can tell by the last name i've been working here since 2000 so around 21 years now.
Leo Trevino: And even before that they of course I you know us as a House growing up, I I spent many, many summers here in the in the factory in the in the plant learning the the the trade, so you know, I have a.
Leo Trevino: A significant amount of experience and a significant amount of of love a for the material as well, and hopefully we can we can share that with you during during this next few minutes sure hi i'm Chris was trevino and i've been also here for around 10 years working at the tannery.
Leo Trevino: Like Leo said we've been around basically our whole lives with our with our dads being involved in the business and we're very excited to.
Leo Trevino: to talk to you today about our material and what we think is a separate solution for many purposes in design in fashion in automotive and many other many other markets as well.
Leo Trevino: you're a neutral.
Rodolfo Muller: Okay hi i'm john mueller and i've been working with trevino for the.
Rodolfo Muller: past eight years i'm in charge of business development for the leather accessories division, working with from handbags to to upholstery upholstery pieces.
Rodolfo Muller: And I am the must be America, I am an accessories designer and what we do here is basically.
Rodolfo Muller: Design handbags.
Rodolfo Muller: All the time behind the details of creating new accessories while it's.
Rodolfo Muller: Like a bit of luggage, with a little bit of everything but that's what I do here, we we love what we do, we are always you know striving for quality and and attention to detail.
Leo Trevino: It thanks guys, so if it's okay with you Marshall, we would like to go ahead and in and start and as as as Marshall mentioned we're going to go ahead and start with a brief company video.
Leo Trevino: A unfortunately of apparently the volume on the video when we share it this a little bit low, but a we're going to post it a later on when a link, so that you can.
Leo Trevino: Go ahead and in inherent there a little bit better and i'm going to go ahead and share my screen and then we'll get going with a first.
Leo Trevino: class.
Leo Trevino: Sustainable and natural.
Leo Trevino: offered by our.
board that 60 years of experience.
Leo Trevino: Has positioned itself in the market as one of the best companies in the industry.
Leo Trevino: Why does our leather have a worldwide recognition.
Leo Trevino: Our management systems are certified on there.
Leo Trevino: Is no thousand and 1725 standard.
Leo Trevino: Sustainable process.
Successful company.
Leo Trevino: Here our environment and our.
Leo Trevino: Important.
Leo Trevino: Social Responsibility relying on.
experience.
Leo Trevino: Have serve important France and automotive where.
Leo Trevino: This has allowed us to build letter and it's positive to production.
Leo Trevino: Without my evaluation our research.
has been necessary.
Leo Trevino: wide range of innovative.
Leo Trevino: Products.
customer service.
remain.
Leo Trevino: unsustainable.
Leo Trevino: So I hope you were able to see or to hear a little bit of the video, and now I would like to share with you a little bit more about this special material.
Leo Trevino: That we have developed, which is a apple leather so just a little bit before we we go into the this new material itself, and we think it's very important.
Leo Trevino: to know that a tannery is a recycling facility right at tanneries our recycling facility it's our recycling factory where we take a waste from the meat industry.
Leo Trevino: They sew a this waste collagen and make it into letter, so it really doesn't matter if you don't eat meat.
Leo Trevino: In the heights is still are still going to exist and we need to recycle them the same way if you don't drink Pepsi or coke.
Leo Trevino: And the bottles and the aluminum cans are still going to exist right, we need to recycle those and the same way we do with.
Leo Trevino: With some neat ways, which is the ones we do so, even if you don't eat meat, I mean everyone should wear their leather proudly it's her recycle 100% recycled renewable natural product.
Leo Trevino: very good point to it yeah that's a very important to to to actually stress that and then, furthermore, of course, a leather is a biodegradable right there being a bio product right coming from from.
Leo Trevino: From the waist of the of the beef fracking industry, it is a bio.
Leo Trevino: degradable products so it's it's very interesting to compare it to the other leather alternatives out there that are most of them are you know are actually not.
Leo Trevino: biodegradable coming from from certain plastic industries from the petrochemical industries, so we strongly believe that the genuine leather actually has a a very unique niche and that.
Leo Trevino: As as mentioned that should exist right in order to make good use of that a material that will be available anyways.
Leo Trevino: it'd be in the waste from the beef back in industries, no, no cow we sacrificed for its letter right and their sacrifice for the meat and the leather is simply a waste of that process exactly.
Leo Trevino: Having said that a now you know, a, of course, we are starting with a with a byproduct of the of the beef industry of of the beef.
Leo Trevino: The beef processes and now what what we are trying to achieve is how to process leather in the most sustainable way so that we are starting with.
Leo Trevino: A with a byproduct that we are trying to recycle but now it's important that we manufacture it or that we.
Leo Trevino: process it in the best way that we can write a in the most responsible way and and without the use of.
Leo Trevino: Too many chemicals that can harm a the environment right and that's exactly what this train of thought is how we developed apple leather, we were looking for the.
Leo Trevino: world's most sustainable way to manufacture or to process a a genuine leather leather profit so basically what we found.
Leo Trevino: Is that we could take the waste of the of the meat lovers, as we say here the waste of the beef our cares and also the waste of a very important vegan industry vegetable industry, which is the.
Leo Trevino: avocado and guacamole packing companies, as you all know, a whack moly or avocado you say is a a a very important.
Leo Trevino: A consumer good that that you know that they sold a lot in the USA, even though the maturity of the plants are actually a grown in central Mexico.
Leo Trevino: The the avocados are grown in the mutual can state area, and then they are, they are shipped to some northern cities in Mexico in order to be processed into guacamole so basically.
Leo Trevino: The process is extremely simple it's just a opening the apple kind of fruit a splitting it in half, then they get rid of the a and the.
Leo Trevino: Seed the seed and then they start scraping all the pulp out of the out of the avocado in order to transform it into waka moly.
Leo Trevino: And what what they have leftover is really seed and peele of the avocado after they.
Leo Trevino: were able to extract all the POP so in so we we analyzed this byproduct of the of the lack of molly a plans, and then we, we found that both the peel and deceive.
Leo Trevino: have actually what we call tanning extracts that we can use to tan the letter so i'm going to go back a little bit in the in the manufacturing of the of the letter process.
Leo Trevino: And then the, the first step in the in the leather processing a recycling process is to do what we call tanning and tanning is the way that we stop.
Leo Trevino: Put the faction of the Lego itself, as we all know, if we live the leather material just stay out in the sun and in the air, it will immediately start to decay and to rot right, because it is a almost like like leaving a piece of.
Leo Trevino: A piece of steak in the in the environment right they will it will immediately start to decay and then be composed with bacteria, etc.
Leo Trevino: The same thing will happen to the leather if we don't process it or if we don't stand it so that's where that's that's what the word tanning comes from and actually.
Leo Trevino: The word tanning comes from the special chemical extracts that can stop this putrefaction in the letter, which is the actual tanks, so you know.
Leo Trevino: thousands of years ago, our our ancestors found that.
Leo Trevino: When when they actually hung hang the the leather on some specific trees.
Leo Trevino: They were able to see that the leather didn't decay that it preserved better so they started to to understand that those specific threes actually have some tanning properties.
Leo Trevino: Because the there are trees, or the bark bark of have some trees have a lot of tannins and that's how the you know the the very early has a source actually processed or.
Leo Trevino: Their own their own heights, so there are many different a.
Leo Trevino: materials that actually have tunings a mostly coming from from, as I said, from the plans so and when we analyze that the that the that the appeal.
Leo Trevino: And the in the in the seed of of the avocado have a lot of those standings we actually started to a manufacturer or to create this new product where where we would take the.
Leo Trevino: The the role heights coming from the from the beef packers and so that the waste from the packers and the waist as well from the avocado plans.
Leo Trevino: And a after extracting all of this tanning extracts we were able to eliminate all the the chromium a chromium chemical that is normally used for tanning letter, so, as I said, a.
Leo Trevino: very early on the the, the only way that we knew of how to tan leather was with vegetable or with bark extract but then during the 1960s.
Leo Trevino: There was actually a discovery that that's that certain chromium sounds were able to perform this training process faster and better and that's how most of your current leather.
Leo Trevino: it's actually manufacturing, is what we call chrome tan leather and so, and so the the idea behind this new new product is to eliminate.
Leo Trevino: This chromium chemical and instead of that go back to it to the original roots of using vegetable extracts but even better if we can use it from actual waste right back, and so a so this this.
Leo Trevino: This product actually does not use any chromium huddle and then Furthermore, it is manufactured in a inventor and environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Leo Trevino: A plant right there, so, as you will see later on the manufacturing plant, where we manufacture, this is completely fossil fuels fossil fuel free.
Leo Trevino: And then of course 100% of the wastewater that that that that has to to be disposed off after we do all of the planning process is actually.
Leo Trevino: A contained in treated internally, so that we can recycle it as well, and so, so we, we believe this this apple leather product is actually you know, one of the world's most sustainable.
Leo Trevino: A materials out there, so here, you can see some some on some of the pictures in the in the left hand side, you can see some of the avocado trees and then you know how the avocados are actually a.
Leo Trevino: process in the in the guacamole plants and then in the in the right hand side, you can see, after we extract all of the timings and oils from the seed and the appeal that that is the actual the actual extract that we use for the.
Leo Trevino: For the manufacturing of aba letter, so we do have a special patented process a, that is, that is mainly focused in the early stages of the leather manufacturing so in the pre planning tanning in returning, which are three steps.
Leo Trevino: or during the leather processing that that normally are made with this this chromium south.
Leo Trevino: That we explained so after we substitute this chromium salts a with of course many processor adjustments and this.
Leo Trevino: And we actually create an an apple a an apple tan leather, then we continue to the conventional processing that we call.
Leo Trevino: You know, for the rest of the processing, which is basically to do the drying the softening and the finishing.
Leo Trevino: can be done in normally, and that is basically just to give the leather.
Leo Trevino: In the final aesthetic properties right there what we call the haptic proper this you know, we need to suffer net, we need to apply some some light finish on the leather, in order to make it resistant to a.
Leo Trevino: Different a operations, etc, depending on the industry that that the actual finished product is is is going to, for example, a in what I had, which is the automotive.
Leo Trevino: division of our company we actually received a letter material specifications from the oem and they tell us exactly you know all the the the characteristics and tests that we need to perform to the letter, before it can be approved to go into any.
Leo Trevino: In 20 days right there's, for example, we have a many operation tests, where we have to rub on.
Leo Trevino: The leather with different campuses and with different weights and we have some some others that are called staining a tests, for example, we need to make sure that that.
Leo Trevino: That the leather after painting and and finishing does not absorb a.
Leo Trevino: Many, many consumer products that we normally use in our in our cars, like, for example, we actually test with orange juice with coffee we they catch up with the soil now antibacterial now.
Leo Trevino: antibacterial, which was a is actually a very important project right now that they're a lot of users are using in the in the vehicle.
Leo Trevino: And then there are some other tests, for example, when we call the weathering test, which is a tests that replicate the sun, the sun attack the sun, the sun light.
Leo Trevino: right there, so we have what we call whether amateurs or a seaman light exposure a machines a if you didn't know the the the vaccine on light is the light that replicates these this song load attack a.
Leo Trevino: better and faster we also have a up lighting for red lights tests and we have many other chemical rob's to make sure that you know after.
Leo Trevino: The the the finished leather is is worn by by the user you're not going to get any stains in your own like on on your pants or your clothes right there when when you're actually sitting on the letter.
Leo Trevino: And another important part of the testing is also done on the fibers of the letter its flexibility it said tear resistance and.
Leo Trevino: And those type of tests were a pretty much impossible to pass with regular and type of vegetable tanning agents, because it made leather it tougher, more brutal harder lex flexible and.
Leo Trevino: And we also found that the tannins and the process to make apple leather and does give positive attributes to the fiber of the letter and are able to pass even the toughest tests, like the oh mention the whole automobile will a battery of tests required.
Leo Trevino: yep very good point yeah I mean, as I say, I say explain, I mean vegetable tan leather is not something new.
Leo Trevino: It was it was done in the past, actually from thousands of years ago, but also from hundreds of years ago, a week barks from different trees.
Leo Trevino: Like mimosa in kabocha, which is a some some plants from Central America, but a.
Leo Trevino: True mentioned when we in the past when when when when we used to tan leather with this festival extracts the leather was not very soft it was it was very hard.
Leo Trevino: And you couldn't achieve a nice hectic a nice softness to the letter we we actually found that because the avocado has not only tannins but also some special oils.
Leo Trevino: That that come from the same avocado plant actually this oils help to lubricate all the internal fibers of the the actual leather and it's actually a great product, one of the side.
Leo Trevino: findings from the apple leather that we actually found is that the apple lead is actually also a lighter material than conventional tanned leather.
Leo Trevino: And approximately 15 to 20% lighter so so that's also a very unique characteristic of the of the leather that in many industries is actually very valuable right there when when we're talking about, for example.
Leo Trevino: of how to model 111 more time a you know it's all about energy savings right it's all about weight savings and therefore energy savings in all of the electric vehicles, for example, etc.
Leo Trevino: A little bit about them some of the highlights of the facility, where apple is a manufacturer so.
Leo Trevino: We actually have a all the energy from our from our plant, this is this is coming from renewable resources say we we use a only energy and we use on.
Leo Trevino: A natural son a energy to to power, the plant and all of the facility has his is completely suited with LED lights a the building is actually what we call.
Leo Trevino: A green building we actually use a lot of natural sunlight, in order to to cut down in the energy utilization.
Leo Trevino: We actually use a lot of natural air drying i'm not sure if you were able to see during the video that that we showed leathers.
Leo Trevino: Basically, all over the roofing in what we call a air drying overhead conveyors we are trying to use as much as possible, just a just a natural.
Leo Trevino: Environmental a energy right like like heat in order to dry the letters in the different stages, all of the machinery and dryers and heaters actually electric, which is a much cleaner energy than a than.
Leo Trevino: A other types of energy boilers hair or gas we we actually don't have any combustion at all in in our in our plant a you know we don't burn any any oils or gas in order to to generate a.
Leo Trevino: Energy as much as possible we actually utilize what we call roller finishing technology, instead of spray technology.
Leo Trevino: This spray technology actually when when when when you spray paint on to the leather a you create a little bit of what what is called a an offer spray right and number and number spray tossed in that you.
Leo Trevino: generate the approximately 30% of waste so said 30% of the paint is actually wasted in the air.
Leo Trevino: compared to when when the when we're using roller finishing technology that 99% of the paint is actually going on to the the leather itself and only 1% of the of the paint is actually wasted.
Leo Trevino: So there is absolutely no emissions to the atmosphere in the whole plant, we have, as I explained already, we have an internal wastewater plant.
Leo Trevino: In order to a recycled a all of the water that that that we use either for our process or for our gardens, we do have ISO 14,000 a.
Leo Trevino: certification, as well as lw G, which is a more a specialized type of certification for the leather industry.
Leo Trevino: And in in in all of the of the process design, we all we always have this zero waste mindset right they actually they waste from the leather, which is itself a waste it's actually we we we utilize as well, so a.
Leo Trevino: leather is a little bit thicker normally than than what we sell it, so we have to do what we call a shaving process and then after we we actually shave the leather into the correct thickness.
Leo Trevino: There was a lot of what we call leather dust generated so we actually compress that and sell it.
Leo Trevino: To a companies that actually make what is called leather boards, so you know similar to like a plywood processing the in the food industry.
Leo Trevino: Where where this is sawdust is actually utilize to make this this wood panels something similar to that, but but but with letter right there so so even the waste from the waist is actually utilized in.
Leo Trevino: A very important part of our company is a what we call the social responsibility so we're always a very involved in the.
Leo Trevino: Community and other nonprofit organizations, as well as colleagues well being a we actually issued a sustainability report and we actually posted in our in our website.
Leo Trevino: And then I our companies is certified by the Mexican Government as what we asked what they call an asr.
Leo Trevino: The corporation, which is then an enterprise that is so sustainable responsibility right so.
Leo Trevino: So we actually we actually also do that this, these are some some pictures of the inside of the plant, as you can tell.
Leo Trevino: From from the pictures on on the top there's a you know all all the plan is actually covered with with solar panels and the inside, there you can see how the the highs are actually hanging in order to utilize the natural air process everywhere.
Leo Trevino: And then yeah we actually have full.
Leo Trevino: Traceability to the to the meat processing plant and actually took to the farm that's that's actually an important subject in the in the leather industry.
Leo Trevino: We want to make sure that the letters that we're buying where we're actually buying from a Meatpackers that that that they did not cause any harm to the environment right there.
Leo Trevino: That are a many farms or Meatpackers, especially in in South America that that maybe.
Leo Trevino: didn't treat their cattle very, very, very well, we went to make sure that our Heights are actually not not coming from those farms so.
Leo Trevino: The industry in general is actually moving a lot of dollars to have full traceability of exactly where that cow.
Leo Trevino: came from right there to make sure that that the industry is not really buying ne ne heights from those specific a suppliers that are that are not.
Leo Trevino: Really complying with a some animal welfare guidelines and the meat industry in general and is very regulated.
Leo Trevino: And for most of it so it's very regulated is very government controlled in in every part of the world, so it is starting to improve substantially.
Leo Trevino: For the last 15 years correct with with respect with respect to the paints that are actually utilized on top of the hour later we of course have to apply.
Leo Trevino: Some coding, in order to make sure that that the leather has this resistance is that that we explain, and therefore we have to apply some paint to it, or we recommend I mean there, there was actually some a.
Leo Trevino: Customers that that that just by completely a on painted leather, however, a you know it can it can.
Leo Trevino: scratch easier when it can weather easier, etc, so, so we do recommend that that some coding is applied on top.
Leo Trevino: Of the letter right in order to make sure that it that it has a nice a nice a appearance, for many years to come in all of the paints that we buy we make sure that we that they are coming from sort of five.
Leo Trevino: Suppliers that can meet the what we call the REACH guideline service or the restaurant restricted substances list guidelines.
Leo Trevino: And, and then a it's important to mention that the you know, at the end of life so in normally leather.
Leo Trevino: itself a will be grave much faster than any plastic lever right can than than any synthetic plastic like vinyls or poly rhythms a a, however, a lot of leather when is.
Leo Trevino: At the end of life, it can go to incinerators and that's why we believe that, in the apple leather is actually a better leather.
Leo Trevino: Because, at the end of life, it doesn't have this chrome this chrome and ashes right there at the end of the incinerator so it's actually much safer even to dispose as an ash right.
Leo Trevino: So yeah here, you can see a picture of our plant in Monterrey, Mexico, which is where we are located right now and then.
Leo Trevino: The yeah I hope that this that's that that this was some some good a brief discussion about this, this new a new product which is a.
Leo Trevino: letter, which we believe is actually the world's most sustainable level so before going with roll point for mass to talk a little bit more about what they've done with our leather and how they're working.
Leo Trevino: With leather to make finished goods, it is important to compare a leather versus the synthetic plastic substitutes right usually in a synthetic.
Leo Trevino: plastics and there are three layers to it if you if you caught it and see it by decides there's three layers.
Leo Trevino: The bottom is aligning what they usually call the lining again, it says synthetic type of material and it is this material that gives them.
Leo Trevino: And a lot of the let's call them fiber properties like stretch like a tear like FLEX and then and that's about a 15% of the total thickness of a plastic a P or PVC and then comes the body of it, which is around 80% of the thickness, and this is the core P your PVC used again it's.
Leo Trevino: made from petrochemical industry it's pretty much this type of dough that is spread out and attached to be lining and then at the top it's the finishing more protective layer
Leo Trevino: Where you add some color and other properties which is around 5% of the of the material of a synthetic substitute plastic substitute and in leather.
Leo Trevino: You basically have around 95% of it made of the collagen natural fibers these are natural fibers from the the the animal beforehand and.
Leo Trevino: They don't require any type of lining because the same fibers to give them its tensile strength it's tear resistance.
Leo Trevino: Its flexibility it's softness etc, etc, etc, and it's this completely natural bio mass of 95% of the material and then the 5% of the coding that later was saying.
Leo Trevino: To give it more protection to add other types of properties, so I mean they the difference between leather and the plastic P or PVC synthetic substitute it it's just.
Leo Trevino: it's just immense and we we kind of forget about him what needs to be made for the end product and.
Leo Trevino: And we are in a time where where we want to go away from fossil fuels, we want to go away from the oil industry and and.
Leo Trevino: And Oddly enough in there are many a, for example, card companies that electric car companies that are using only plastics, for their interior seating.
Leo Trevino: Which which is just very ironic and completely contradictory and that you would want a 100% recycled natural fiber in a such vehicle.
Leo Trevino: In in order to make it more sustainable in order to complete the story and but, but I think that's on our part, that we need to be able to to to get the I think.
Leo Trevino: pretty much the truth out there to the consumers to the brand's themselves, for example, tesla seats 100% plastic covers revision, the new electric a company 100% plastic seating covers and.
Leo Trevino: And I mean we really need to be able to get the message through that that it is very contradictory that they want to use a plastic synthetic petrochemical material for the interior of the seats, when you have a 100% recycled product like driving exactly yeah it's it's important to.
Leo Trevino: To mention guys that that the the material called vegan leather just doesn't exist right, I mean there's there's no such a thing as vegan leather a sexually a contradictory in itself right the.
Leo Trevino: oxymoron an oxymoron yeah a leather is actually a material that comes from a live animal and it cannot be vegan by by by itself right, so a anytime that you guys hear the words Oh, this is vegan leather.
Leo Trevino: They are they are trying to make it more appealing for a specific niche market by but, but in reality it's nothing else than than a just a synthetic plastic right.
Leo Trevino: that's that's that's what it is right there, most of the time 90% of the time is actually by no.
Leo Trevino: i'd which has existed forever and and we you know we, we all know that it's it's not very long lasting, it cannot be recycled, etc, etc, so it's important that we as.
Leo Trevino: Consumers are actually not not full and there when when someone is trying to.
Leo Trevino: sell us the idea of using a you know some vegan leather, we really ask the next question right there what what is what is that material made made from right what the what the what does it contain is it is, it is, it is it polly ribbon he said.
Leo Trevino: He said, you know those Those are all chemical industries actually was was was explaining coming from the from from the oil itself and and it's actually coming over with a.
Leo Trevino: manufacturer, with a very large carbon footprint so and so yeah it's it's it's very important, I mean there are some other alternative materials that are.
Leo Trevino: Not coming from the oil industry, which are very, very small in in in scale and they really only starting and then it's still need to be proven in in the field, but you know.
Leo Trevino: The vast majority of the vegan levers out there are just simply by now right, so we need to be careful about that and and not to be fooled and and and and certainly when when we it's it's very funny when we.
Leo Trevino: Go to a may customer and we tell them hey we have this a special special project for you is actually a you know, coming from a waste.
Leo Trevino: it's actually biodegradable a you know and we we it's actually very durable we we give them all of this, benefits and but we leave out the word letter right and they say oh I.
Leo Trevino: wanted, I mean it's perfect it's exactly what we've been looking for and doesn't end just as soon as we say, well, it is leather, you have.
Leo Trevino: You actually have it in your hands and and you've been using it for many years, so we can understand why now you're saying that you don't want it right there, so we just need to be careful.
Leo Trevino: Out there and then there's a lot of misinformation and on on on products, I said as as on on on many other things, so we just need to I really encourage you to to do a little bit of research when when you are.
Leo Trevino: going to be using or selecting your materials for your products, I think that's very important and even the those creative products that are that are in development currently.
Leo Trevino: 99.9% of the time they will require some type of backing to give them resistance, they will require some type of resin or other petrochemical.
Leo Trevino: In order to mix with with their new substance and, obviously, they will require the top finish, so it, it really is amazing, the structure off the collagen fiber that that leather has.
Leo Trevino: All right, I think we already talked too much about a about leather, as you can see where we're actually very.
Leo Trevino: passionate about it, so we would like to go ahead and and they leave the floor to Thomas and rodolfo who had this or this other.
Leo Trevino: division of our of our business that is called Ferris and in this way and what they actually.
Leo Trevino: A do the actual finished product and guys, we took too long, so you guys are probably only going to have like five minutes to to explain a little bit about about your your design process, and then I think it's important that we leave a.
Leo Trevino: few minutes for the Q amp a if it's okay with you guys, that is not Marshal.
Marshall Hamachi: yeah that's fine go ahead and I guess i'll just ask you right now, I have the ability to stay a little bit longer.
Marshall Hamachi: To allow you to address those questions, but if you need to go to intend down their business, then we can get those answers to the questions that are posted and I can share them with the Community afterwards okay.
Leo Trevino: Thank you, thank you go ahead, open to us, let me know.
Rodolfo Muller: Okay, here we have a monster your President will cook presentation of the fairest part of the of the business where we do the actual finished leather accessory to good.
Rodolfo Muller: You know, we are the blue, we are that we are a full service vertically integrated manufacturer of leather goods.
Rodolfo Muller: That we provide solutions and product design development raw material sourcing manufacturing production management and logistics.
Rodolfo Muller: Here we are a show where we can cater to each one of our kinds by.
Rodolfo Muller: showing them the different types of leather, we can use for the collections, they want to design and and all the components other materials used in the manufacturing process.
Rodolfo Muller: Here we talked about a little bit about the heritage part of the business the.
Rodolfo Muller: amount of years that trevino has been in the leather industry, eight years.
Rodolfo Muller: we're located in the northeastern part of Mexico, close to the Texas border with laredo Texas, so this gives us gives us an advantage of market proximity and the advantage of US MCA trade agreement.
Rodolfo Muller: Years of the brands, that we have serviced different types of products that we have developed for these these brands.
Rodolfo Muller: We have developed collections I think it's important to say collections, or just a product by itself, because some brands.
Rodolfo Muller: Have a have the idea of what they want to do, but they don't have like a design team so there's where we.
Rodolfo Muller: Work most of the day, repairing a collection math you know thinking about the readiness of the customer, you know evening bags or baby were bags and we'll we'll try to um yeah design in what they're what they're asking for, we have a wide selection of materials hardware leathers.
Rodolfo Muller: And then next.
Rodolfo Muller: you're getting someone what we what we have done.
Rodolfo Muller: We do a little bit of everything they were bags evening bags bad for dogs weekend backs.
Rodolfo Muller: We weren't.
Rodolfo Muller: Based on on an idea or a sketch, or sometimes we the render and then we, we have a couple of days to to create the samples, and after assemblies approved, then we go on and production and it's it's a it's a fast paced industry, but we love it.
Rodolfo Muller: So that's a little bit of what we've been joined the different types of product categories, where we have developed products.
Rodolfo Muller: We also have this customization Park, or we do leather perforation and i'm on a grammy and stamping.
Rodolfo Muller: and
Rodolfo Muller: Also, and and the idea of first is to provide a service of a particular a one stop shop where here, you can get a solutions practice of design the mass manufacturing the sourcing and the logistics part of delivery.
Rodolfo Muller: And it's basic but our model is turning your product into a marketable commercial and marketing the product.
Rodolfo Muller: here's a little bit showing a different types of the capabilities that we have in half from laser cutting embossing preparation embroidery quilting sewing tooling so you name it, you can find here with us.
Rodolfo Muller: Our quality.
Rodolfo Muller: And as here the different a little inside of our manufacturing facility.
Rodolfo Muller: Using we like to use.
Rodolfo Muller: Best didn't you know.
Rodolfo Muller: equipment that's out there in the industry.
Rodolfo Muller: Here we're talking about what are really explain of the sourcing responsible sourcing and sustainability aspect of the company.
Marshall Hamachi: Great Thank you so much.
Rodolfo Muller: make this presentation available to you guys, so you can read more more closely.
Marshall Hamachi: That would be greatly appreciated Thank you so much, I want to make sure that I make a little bit of time for a couple of questions here.
Marshall Hamachi: very quick, one that was asked was how might we be able to contact you at trevino, I guess, specifically, it was for Leo and hey Suze but properly Tomas and rodolfo as well.
Leo Trevino: via email is getting easier faster, of course, you can you can share our our emails.
Leo Trevino: Great hoping will be glad to answer.
Okay.
Marshall Hamachi: got it super Thank you next couple of questions from Sam here, I think the first one, Sam i'm going to paraphrase a little bit.
Marshall Hamachi: What percentage of the testing process, with or without using the new avocado tanning procedure is still synthetic trying to get a sense of how much of leather tanning as a process is still synthetic.
Leo Trevino: So aim specifically they let the apple leather product itself it's not using any chrome South I don't zero percent crumbs towels and it is it done hundred percent with the with the vegetable.
Leo Trevino: timings right there, so we do a generalized not only have attendings but also other bark extract tannins as we mentioned, so it is a mix of those but they absolutely zero a chrome chrome South right absolutely Cyril Cyril chemicals there.
Marshall Hamachi: And that chrome in terms of being used in attending process is what would you say is that's like 50% of it or.
Leo Trevino: yeah well they I mean it the the tanning process itself a you know uses a mainly chrome for actual tanning a it's probably you know they like.
Leo Trevino: 60 70% of the actual of the actual process itself and then, of course, there are all other a oils that are applied.
Leo Trevino: In in for apple leather, we have zero synthetic oil, so they are, they are all coming from vegetable extracts a mainly avocado and others again.
Leo Trevino: For what we call lubrication of the fibers, so it is tanning and also fiber lubrication so that so that we make sure that the leather is is actually pliable right there if we were if we were to use only tannins but without the oils the leather will be extremely hard.
Leo Trevino: So yeah okay.
Marshall Hamachi: And it looks like On the second question, and maybe like a two parter but, first in terms of leather being biodegradable Can you give us a sense of like what that means in terms of how long does it take to decay.
Marshall Hamachi: If there's any kind of metric or reference to that.
Leo Trevino: it's a very good question so a high level without the final coding that we apply because that final coating which is as us.
Leo Trevino: To mention is probably less than 5% of the actual material, it is a polyurethane coding so that gives it a lot of the a resistance is to the weather itself right because we want.
Leo Trevino: On the one hand we won our products to be long lasting right that is also part of sustainability, we want products that don't.
Leo Trevino: A the that that that that we can use for many years right they a etc, but it's a it's a balance, because you wanted a product that that you can use for many years, but that when you want to dispose of it, it can be a biotech.
Leo Trevino: degradable fast right so so we, we have to to achieve that that Nice that that balance at a time letter a.
Rodolfo Muller: You know, can.
Leo Trevino: Can can be completely decomposed in approximately 100 years or less right there a whereas a plastic, you know can be many hundreds of years right.
Leo Trevino: So yeah it is, it is actually a a at least you know, a you know much more than than than that half of the of the plastics, I think, wait way way more than that for sure yeah yeah makes sense, great great Thank you.
Marshall Hamachi: um so I want to go ahead and open up if there's any other questions for those that joined after we we opened or anything new that you want to ask Is there anyone that wants to.
sam kapor: Have any sort of follow up on that that's okay.
Marshall Hamachi: So guys.
sam kapor: Because like.
sam kapor: i've worked with quite a bit as well and i'm like I don't know a single company at won't ask for that coding on top, because otherwise don't return it within a week on.
sam kapor: i'm just curious, so I mean, even with the auto leather, do you apply that he starts to apply like I said, Paul your thing, but some kind of like a coating on top to avoid scratch resistance or a color degradation from UV does that.
sam kapor: That that does that impact the biodegrade ability, then of the leather itself or just a leather still degree.
Leo Trevino: yeah I mean the the rest of the material will degrade but the actual plastic layer coating which, as we explained is less than 5% of the.
Leo Trevino: Of the.
Leo Trevino: thickness of the material that will that that will last for much longer right.
sam kapor: Great Thank you.
Marshall Hamachi: So i'm going to add something just as from the designer perspective, and also to to inform the students.
Marshall Hamachi: Those of you that are interested in wanting to actually feel of a leather, we will have samples available that we've received from trevino.
Marshall Hamachi: They will be available in the lab starting next week, so you can come by and actually touch and feel them and then just in terms of a little bit longer term question if designers are excited about alpha leather, how can they get Ahold of it, I mean can they work with it, is it.
Marshall Hamachi: How does that work.
Leo Trevino: Absolutely just Marshall yeah it is, it is open to sell for any public IP and we will be glad to to send samples quotes etc so absolutely yes, it is, it is, it is available right now.
Leo Trevino: We don't have any let's say completely exclusive agreement with any specific brand right now so.
Leo Trevino: Whoever asks for it, I actually we are trying to implement that as much as possible in all of our leather products right we manufacture more than 6000 letter heights per day, and we want to.
Leo Trevino: move from a 100% chrome tanning to a more and more of the apple leather just because we believe in the sustainability of the of the actual product right so so as much as possible, we will like to move to agile, in terms of cost, by the way the delta is like.
Leo Trevino: Practically negligible right a it's a it's not a material that will be more costly, which is very typical of a you know this new developments in in our case, it is not so that's great.
Marshall Hamachi: So the best way would be to try to get Ahold of any of you for directly just to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
Marshall Hamachi: Absolutely okay.
Marshall Hamachi: Okay, great and we'll make that contact information available super any other questions Sam you look like it.
sam kapor: yeah and one more so, this might be a bit of a weird one doing.
sam kapor: Some research on my said.
sam kapor: One of the benefits of, although there are, as you mentioned, like a lot of negative sides of polyurethane and synthetic letters.
sam kapor: Is that you can easily press it on and integrate it with textiles, so a lot of companies like hot press upon the earth, including.
sam kapor: so that you can then get some of the material properties of text out some and then incorporate in the benefits of P for shake soft touch and things like that.
sam kapor: And there's been combinations of using that and different.
sam kapor: electronic technologies for like what's called like smart textiles are the things that you can feel like you're touching and the light up but it's really a P backed.
sam kapor: material is there any application or investigation with this leathers that are trying to compete with the synthetic materials on that on that front that you're aware, and let me know if that doesn't make sense to you don't there it's applicable.
Leo Trevino: Right question somebody up am so if, first of all, it may be the first part of your question, which is about what we call the impossibility.
Leo Trevino: Of the leather leather is very impossible as, as you know, we actually a part of the finishing after we apply this this this like coding that we that that we explained, we actually am boss many times the leather with a specific grain right so.
Leo Trevino: Most of the time, the grain that that you're seeing in an actual finished leather product is actually a grain that was in Boston it's not the actual natural grain of the leather just to make it more uniform right there, so that when you cut a.
Leo Trevino: piece from one hive and you cut a piece from another high you can actually match them and stitch them right right one one next to the other so leather is actually very impossible.
Leo Trevino: And we also embossed like, for example, logos a etc, so it is, it is very, very impossible in the second part of your question was about a.
Leo Trevino: How the text file textile actually bring some interesting properties to this synthetic product and then with leather we actually have.
Leo Trevino: A few customers that that ask us for what we call a laminated leather, so we can actually, let me make a fabric to leather, in order to give it the same extra strength resistance as elongation.
Leo Trevino: etc, in case that it is needed, as we mentioned leather itself actually has some some some pretty unique in good in with physical properties, but if something additional is needed, we can actually laminate a a.
Leo Trevino: A fabric to it as as well, and then the third side of your question, which was, I think about conductivity of the material and that's actually a.
Leo Trevino: Development a right now, if there are some a metal a metallic metal Ion paints and metal Ion chemicals that that can be applied to leather, to make it a conductor of electricity.
Leo Trevino: And we actually are seeing two two ways of of doing this one is first if we're able to apply.
Leo Trevino: A a pain to a like a paint line in that paint actually has the conductivity, then you can put like a light in a source and you can actually light it up, because the electricity is actually traveling.
Leo Trevino: Through that paint line that was applied on top of the ladder, that is, one one type and the other one is to actually apply.
Leo Trevino: The the metal ions on the leather itself on the leather fibers itself, so that all the material is actually conducted with right and that's another another line of research that is actually very, very advanced as well.
sam kapor: That is great that's exactly what my question is about, so thank you so it's really informative.
Marshall Hamachi: terrific okay any other final questions for our friends at trivia.
No.
Marshall Hamachi: Okay, well, on behalf of all the students and faculty here at art Center We thank you so much.
Marshall Hamachi: To all of you for presenting your wonderful new product and our hope is to be able to actually get our hands on it and start making things with it so.
Marshall Hamachi: We look forward to a potential future engagement, where we might actually be able to work with you in person and we'll continue discussions about that.
Marshall Hamachi: But again, thank you so much for your time for working with me over the last couple of months to try to set this up and again it was wonderful Thank you so much.
Leo Trevino: We really appreciate it Marshall Thank you very much, and thanks everybody for a listening and and we hope that we, we made your time a worth it, and they a please be be very smart about the when n very informed about when someone is is essentially talking about some Leon letters.
Leo Trevino: Very important Thank you guys very nice to meet everybody hey nice to meet everyone, thank you.
guys.