According to the Alcantara SpA monopoly for the production of Alcantara, the production capacity cannot cope with the production of the required volume of raw materials. A decision was made to expand and temporarily restrict contracts.
Today Alcantara SpA is considered the only Alcantara manufacturer in the world. According to CEO Andrea Boranho, at a conference in Detroit, production plans to abandon 20% of contracts, since they simply cannot provide everyone with Alcantara. In the next 5 years, the manufacturer plans to double its capacity. The total investment will amount to about $ 368 million. The main plant for the production of Alcantara is located in Milan, Italy.
The production of Alcantara or, more simply, artificial suede, started back in 1972. In the same year, Japanese scientist Miyoshi Okamoto and Italian manufacturer Eci patented artificial suede. The company was named Alcantara SpA, hence the name of the material. Thus, the manufacturer became a monopolist in this area and showed positive results in terms of demand. The lion's share of Alcantara consumption is attributed to the automotive industry, aircraft and yacht manufacturers occupy an order of magnitude less, luxury gadgets like the IPhone and Microsoft close the list. The latter used Alcantara to cover the modern Surface 4 Pro laptop. In the automotive industry, Alcantara was first found in expensive luxury cars and only in top trims. Now it is often used in production cars for trimming interior parts, an example of which is Renault, Ford, Volkswagen and others. As a rule, Alcantara is used to trim the steering wheel, dashboard and dashboard, seats and individual interior details. Given this massive demand for Alcantara and Alcantara SpA's plans to expand production capacity, Alcantara upholstery in car interiors will become a standard option.
Today, according to the manufacturer, about 10% of production goes to the US market, about 60% is consumed by the European market and about 30% by the Asian region, while the Asian market is growing very quickly. The most important benefit of Alcantara is that it is 50% lighter than leather. A good example of this is the use of Alcantara on Lamborghini cars. Replacing the leather interior lining with Alcantara, the manufacturer has achieved a weight reduction of 5 kg, and this is significantly reflected in the aerodynamics and economy of the sports car. It is not yet known which contracts the manufacturer will terminate, presumably brands whose demand or popularity is not so high.
