The story of leather tanning, which began with the Alkoç family in 1957 and continues today with the third generation, entered a new era with Bilal Alkoç’s establishment of the KAZLICESME R&D Center in 2002. Bilal Alkoç treated leather as a valuable protein and, with innovative technologies developed under the İskefe and Halavet brands, made significant changes in leather processing both in Turkey and on a global scale. By providing full integration with the food and pharmaceutical industries, İskefe believes in leatherworking as a craft and has formed a strong team at an industrial and global level by training nearly 1,000 artisans through İskefe Academy.
By 2027, we aim to establish the İskefe ecosystem by integrating collagen refineries, collagen products, and leather facilities in 21 locations with the highest number of cattle. This ecosystem aims to provide environmentally friendly, high-quality products with a focus on sustainability and traceability. As İskefe, we aim to be a leader in the global leather and collagen products industry.
As İskefe, we are committed to fulfilling our responsibilities towards environmental issues with our eco-friendly production technologies and sustainability-focused approaches. We work with the latest technological machines in our raw material production factories, adopting less waste and eco-friendly approaches, and offer sustainable and traceable products with innovative technologies developed in our R&D center. Additionally, with our investments in solar panels, we aim to operate our factories solely on solar energy in the future to minimize our carbon footprint. We believe in the sanctity of human labor and make it a principle to share our profits with our employees. We elevate the by-product of large cattle, the most valuable link in the food chain, and make it a principle to leave the added value in the geography where it is produced, contributing to the welfare of local communities.
Clean and Sustainable Solutions
We work with all our strength as a large family to offer clean, affordable, sustainable, and respectful solutions to the environment and humanity. By using the latest technology in our production processes, we reduce water consumption and prioritize sustainability with environmentally friendly methods. Through advanced machinery in leather production, we optimize work processes, enhance worker welfare, and ensure more efficient production.
The climate is changing. So are we.
As İskefe Holding, we take pride in being a leading producer in the regions for footwear leather classics, beef gelatin, and beef collagen. We continually innovate and improve ourselves to bring the integration of leather and gelatin to a global level.
We evaluate the waste generated in the leather tanning stages and develop value-added products from this waste through various R&D processes. Thus, we use resources more efficiently and minimize our environmental impact. By 2025, we will meet all our electricity needs in Turkey from renewable energy investments. In an era where many leather processing facilities worldwide cannot adapt to changing environmental conditions, İskefe stands out in the industry with its sustainable production processes and offers solutions for future needs.
Sincerely,
Yusuf Aydemir
Chief Executive Officer
Our Integrated Business Model
In every geography we operate in, we first process raw materials at our refinery facilities, then send the semi-finished products to our product-specialized factories. İskefe produces classic leather products sustainably at its Classic, Technic, Suede, and Basic factories with a team of expert artisans, presenting them to global markets. Additionally, it completes the ecosystem cycle with products such as food gelatin, pharmaceutical gelatin, and collagen hydrolysates produced at Halavet Food facilities, which use other by-products of the refinery as raw materials.