Our story

A revolution for leather tanning

Nera is disrupting the leather tanning market with a revolutionary new tanning agent called Zeology. Zeology is zeolite-based and chrome-free, aldehyde-free and heavy metal free. A better choice for the environment without compromising on leather performance.

Nera stands for ‘NEw eRA’, as our tanning solutions mark the beginning of a new era: an era of truly sustainable leather manufacturing, throughout the entire leather value chain.

Nera, a brand of Smit & Zoon

Nera is the newest brand of Smit & Zoon. Smit & Zoon is a worldwide leader in providing chemical solutions for the leather industry. At Smit & Zoon we are dedicated to make the leather value chain more sustainable, environmentally and socially. Until 2020 we mainly focused on Wet-End and Finishing. However, to really make a difference in the leather value chain, we knew there was a part missing: sustainable chemicals for leather tanning, because tanning is a crucial part in the leather making process.

Nera has worked on Zeology for four years, based on a patented technology. During this period, Nera has extensively tested the solution from lab to commercial scale, while investigating it from a scientific, environmental, application, leather and performance perspective. Nera has worked with over 25 external partners on this innovation, including research institutions, external labs, suppliers, brands and experts. Most importantly, we have worked in close partnership with a number of leading tannery groups on the validation and scale-up of the Zeology process and leather.

In October 2020 we have launched Nera Tanning and its product Zeology with a bang.