Ledoga
The “name” for chestnut tannins, the oldest tradition in Silvateam’s production range
The story of Ledoga is an old one. It was founded in 1868 by Roberto Emilio Lepetit and his partners Alberto Dollfuss and Augusto Gansser (which surname initials stand for the acronym of the company name). The company quickly became the main Italian producer of chestnut extracts.
At present, Ledoga is still the leader of this sector with a market share of 60% and a production volume of around 15,000 tons per year of chestnut extracts that are used for manufacturing shoe soles for high-quality footwear.
There exists a very close relationship between the company and high fashion Italian production. So much so, that the historical brand of the Silvateam group is the main sponsor of the advertising campaigns run by the Consortium Vero Cuoio with its new Cuoio di Toscana brand.
Today Ledoga uses around 350,000 m3/year of chestnut wood and has production facilities in Piedmont and Tuscany.
The main factory is based in San Michele Mondovì (province of Cuneo, Italy), where Silvateam has been established for a long time at its administrative center, at the foot of the Alps, a location allowing easy access to the valuable raw materials in the Piedmont.
The Tuscan facility is located in Fornoli Bagni di Lucca. It is also in a strategic position in relation to the raw materials and the distribution of tannins, in liquid form, to the most important leather producers in the world, Santa Croce sull’Arno and Ponte a Egola.
Another Group activity at Ledoga involves the production of pellets from the residues of the chestnut wood after the extraction of the tannins. The pellets, registered under the Bruciabene® brand, are 100% natural, without any added binding and bleaching agents and are used for private and industrial heating.