7/26/2019 17.Uploads Downloads DOWN D22A32D31D1BBFC8Brygram17 SoleLeather

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FFPs Frequently Faced Problems

Leather shoe soles like other organic material viz. wood, paper etc. are highly hygroscopic and tends to absorbmoisture from the surrounding air during processing or while in storage. The excess moisture absorbed by theleather sole results in increased microbial activity. Mould, mildew and fungi germinate when relative humidity isabove 4!. The micro"organism growth is in#urious to materials like leather because it not only results indecomposition but also weakens it mechanically.

General Recommendations

Pre-Drying Room

The humidity level in the pre $rying room of %ole leather should becontrolled so that the sole leather has the moisture content between&"'(! thus eliminating chances of fungus growth.

Storage Under Controlled Conditions

)inished leather shoes regain moisture while in storage, prior topackaging. This results in the high rate of product spoilage due to

mould*fungus* mildew growth fueled by moisture absorbed by theleather. +n order to prevent this spoilage, it is necessary to store theleather shoes in humidity controlled warehouses where conditionsare maintained at less than 4! - at ambient temperature. Thisprevents leather shoes from regaining moisture and thus, growth ofmould*fungus*mildew.

Control Moisture While Pacaging

The only way to prevent fungus growth is to ensure that the leather shoes does not regain any moisture duringpackaging. The best, most simple and economical method to ensure that leather does not absorb moisture from thesurrounding air while being packed, is to control the humidity at less than 4! - in the packing area.

Solution

)lorind %hoes Ltd., hennai, +ndia is one of the largest exporters of leather shoes to /.%.0.1ne of their shipments, containing few thousand pairs of shoes, was found to have fungus growth on the sole whenthe container was opened in /%0. The fungus growth had totally spoilt the 2finish3 of the leather.

The search for the perfect solution was handed over to our engineers. 0 few pairs of shoes borrowed from )lorindwere put through extensive testing in the ry"0ir environment controlled 5$ lab. 6xperimenting, with variousparameters, it was found that final moisture content of the shoe upper should remain constant at &! and sole partat '(! to eliminate all chances of fungus growth.

)urther investigation at the )lorind plant revealed that the shoes were manufactured in a conditioned atmosphere of789) at (8! - but during monsoon, due to excess humidity in surrounding air the moisture content in the upperpart was found to be '("'8! and on the sole '&"(:!. Thus, the moisture content was already high prior tomanufacturing.

+n order to bring down the moisture content to suitable level, ry"0ir installed dehumidifiers in )lorind3s pre"drying

room. The humidity level in this area was so maintained that the leather would have moisture content between &"'(! thus eliminating chances of fungus growth. 0s the manufacturing area was conditioned, there was no moistureregain there. )lorind has also installed dehumidifier in their storage and packaging area to maintain the re;uiredcondition