Area Development
The German tannery ISA TanTec will invest more than $10 million to establish a new production plant in Vicksburg, Mississippi, with plans to eventually create 370 jobs.

The company said it is responding to the growing demand from US shoe manufacturers for high-quality leather that is made in the USA. Like ISA TanTec’s two existing tanneries in China and Vietnam, its plant in Vicksburg, which is scheduled to begin operations in January, will feature “extremely low consumption of energy and resources.”

Many US shoe manufacturers are currently shifting part of their production to America, according to company officials. “Several renowned brands have asked us to help them in this strategy through the production of leather in this region,” says Tom Schneider, Founder/CEO of ISA TanTec. The “made in the USA” label also applies to the source material: ISA TanTec buys around 500,000 hides from Texas every year.

By establishing the tannery, ISA TanTec is also creating a cluster that will enable manufacturers of leather goods such as shoes and belts to set up production in the USA, company officials said. ISA TanTec will provide both production areas and infrastructure as well as services for engineering and production management. At the same time, companies will be able to use the resources of ISA TanTec in areas such as administration, HR, finance, and logistics.

All ISA TanTec production centers meet the strict requirements of the LITE label or Low Impact to Environment. In addition, the the firm’s facilities are audited according to the ECO2L protocol and certified to the Gold standard of the LWG protocol. The tannery in Mississippi will also comply with these standards.