Sadesa, the Argentina-based tanning group, is a leader in the tanning industry, with 80 plus years in the business. According to recent reports, the group is facing mounting financial pressure as its ongoing restructuring deepens. Sadesa provided ILM with commentary on its situation.

Currently, Sadesa officially operates eight industrial facilities in South America and Asia and is the core supplier for leading brands in the shoe industry. External reports have said that the company having reduced its workforce from around 2,000 to 400 employees since entering preventive crisis proceedings in March 2025. The latest indication of strain comes from its reported failure to pay a modest industry membership fee to the Federation of Industrialists of Santa Fe (FISFE), prompting a request to withdraw from the organisation. The situation potentially reflects both a broader slowdown in the global leather market and growing challenges within Argentina’s tanning sector following recent raw material market liberalisation, raising concerns over the future of the company’s remaining operations and jobs.

Sadesa commented: “Over the last few decades, the company evolved from a South America based company to become a global supplier for the shoe industry with four industrial facilities in Asia. This setup being an essential element to be able to comply with today’s requirements in terms of production lead times, research and development, cost and service to our customers. The latest investment has been the brand-new facility in Vietnam, where Sadesa invested approximately US$25 million.”

The group has said that it will continue to develop and structure the business according to ongoing changes and challenges in the tanning industry, adding that it will endeavour to continuously comply with its commitments to customers, suppliers, personnel and stakeholders in the countries we do business with.

It will also continue to streamline its operations in South America, and at the same time expand the facilities in Asia to support the new era and realities of the business.

The company concluded: “These essential and transformative changes are being implemented in compliance with all the rules and regulations for each of the countries where Sadesa operates.”