Yiz Leather - Tannery

Yiz Leather was founded in 1905 by Hekimoğlu Mehmet Efendi in the Gerede district of Bolu, Turkey. Since its establishment, the company has been operated by five generations, successively led by İsmail Gür, Mehmet Gür, Zeki Gür, Yunus Nadi Gür, and Mehmet Zeki Gür, and continues to this day. Since its inception, Yiz Leather has focused on research and development (R&D) and innovation, introducing revolutionary advancements in the leather industry, and has become a leader in its field. R&D MILESTONES 1993 The world’s first washable leather was developed by our company after more than 9,000 research and development tests. 2011 In collaboration with German chemical giant BASF, we successfully introduced the use of reactive dyes on leather, resulting in the production of the first reactive-dyed leather. 2016 Using specially formulated chemicals developed in-house, we have applied a "botox system"to correct imperfections on leather surfaces, improving their appearance and texture. 2017 While many manufacturers today mask the presence of the carcinogenic compound CR6 using various chemicals, our R&D efforts have identified the root cause of CR6 formation and eliminated it from our production process—ensuring leather that is completely free from carcinogens. 2018 We identified and eliminated the primary cause of visible veining in leather through our research. CURRENT STATE Yiz Deri operates across three facilities in Gerede, Bolu — 9,000m² + 9,000 m² + 4,000 m²—totaling 22,000 square meters of production space. As of 2025, Yiz Leather employs over 150 staff members across all operations. Our factory, specially designed by Swiss and German engineers, has reduced manual labor in the tanning process by 90% through advanced automation systems. All our leather is produced in accordance with the Reach standards, without harming the ecological balance.