About

Our history
Tradition
Awareness
Our product
Numbers & facts

Our history

From merchant to manufacturer

Hewa Leder was founded in 1984 in Northern Bavaria in a region that is renowned for its craftsmanship. The company originally specialised in the sale and distribution of upholstery leather, but we soon realised that only with our own leather and production methods could we provide the outstanding quality our customers expect. In 1994 we moved to the site in Rehau in Upper Franconia where we set up our own tannery in Brand-Erbisdorf just outside Freiberg, where we produce leather for premium and luxury cars, designer furniture and yachts. In July 2016 the Coindu Group, specialists in seat covers, acquired a 51% share in Hewa Leder GmbH.

Tradition

800 years of tanning tradition

Leather has been used by humans for millennia and, when talking to a tanner, you will quickly realise that sustainability is an essential component of leather production. That’s also why we manufacture our goods in Brand-Erbisdorf, Freiberg; the city has a tradition of tanning that stretches back over 800 years, and the professionals working here have ancestors who were already experts in their craft.

Awareness

Nature as standard

Our work is part of a natural cycle, and we manufacture leather in a quality that is unparalleled in the world from a natural product. We use untreated surface water which is extracted from the nearby Erzgebirge (the Ore Mountains), and an artificial ditch which was dug over 400 years ago flows directly into our factory. We work in the centre of Germany with people who understand and love their craft.

Our product

Sheer natural products

The outstanding quality and short supply chain means that we generally use skins from South German cattle. Our 170 employees process up to 20,000 square metres of leather a week, and our policy is to process the leather only to the extent necessary. That’s why in addition to traditional methods, we also use the innovative olive leaf tanning procedure: similar to leather, olive leaves are a natural product left over from food production.

Numbers & facts

Family business since 1984
4000 cattle hides weekly
170 employees
over 2000 shades and variants

Sectors

Cars
Upholstery
Boats and ships
Ideas

Cars

From production into unique pieces

Our expertise is perhaps best demonstrated in the automotive industry where sophisticated leather upholstery makes a vehicle from the production line into a unique artefact. The highest standards are applied to our colour palette, brilliance and non-fade properties so they can work harmoniously with the inherent properties of the natural product such as breathability and feel. The results are particularly striking in the visionary BMW I-series, the BMW M models and, last but not least, in the entire Rolls Royce series.

Upholstery

Technology and nature

The company started out with equally fine and easy-care furniture leather. This is our roots and we remain as committed today when premium quality is demanded, including for King Furniture in Australia and office furniture from Dauphin and Züco. High-quality upholstery leather is what we promote when we enter new markets, because although you can make almost anything, we must achieve a perfect balance between technology and nature.

Boats and ships

Sun, salt, sun cream

Sun, salt, sun cream – specific conditions must be considered on motor yachts. We offer no standard solutions here, but ask detailed questions on the respective needs of the client and work closely with specialised institutions to develop our own leather to enhance the individual mood and environment on Princess und Sunseeker yachts.

Ideas

Open for unique ideas

We like to be inspired by and contribute to innovative and unique ideas, for two reasons: the more demanding the commission, the more interesting it is. And the people behind the ideas are often particularly inspiring individuals. This is how we came to work with the traditional motorcycle brand Horex and with restorers of vintage cars such as the Mercedes-Benz 500 K.