20.500.12556/DKUM-96867 Current state and production characteristics of the Polish tanning industry: a case study This article presents the results of a study on the current state and evaluation of the Polish tanning industry, focusing on its production characteristics. The research sample included 220 companies that were contacted to gather information about their operations. Some of these companies have been suspended, liquidated, or have changed their business profiles. Approximately 30 % confirmed that they are still active in leather manufacturing, indicating that the Polish tanning industry is experiencing a process of deindustrialization. Surveys conducted in 20 companies revealed that Polish tanneries operate on national, European, and global scales. Most of them are micro or small enterprises with annual revenues of up to PLN 5 million. The primary factor defining their competitiveness is the high quality of the products and services they offer. They mainly process calfskin and cowhides sourced from Poland and abroad, primarily for the footwear sector. Polish tanneries are aware of global trends, including the industry's shift towards ecological practices, the adoption of modern technologies, and the introduction of innovations. Given the current challenges facing the Polish tanning industry, it is essential to take action to improve the health of this sector of the economy. Polish tanning industry leather manufacturing micro and small enterprises ecological transformation deindustrialization competitiveness product quality survey mala in velika podjetja proizvodnja usnja industrija strojenja true false true Chair of Production Engineering (CPE), University of Maribor Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik https://apem-journal.org/ Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Članek v reviji 2026-01-30 11:11:39 2026-01-30 11:11:40 2026-03-20 07:05:03 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2024 0 0 str. 239-252 no. 2 Vol. 19 June 2024 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2024-05-22 2024-07-13 2024-08-29 658.5 266724355 10.14743/apem2024.2.504 1854-6250 APEM19-2_239-252.pdf APEM19-2_239-252.pdf 1 8C733206701D515C549F36A3269BA23A 05eeda9c64ecd4e19ee0413eabf475798b0752482602a3c573eb555de4ed01b7 620976ca-fdc4-11f0-8805-00155d00018d https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=202844 https://apem-journal.org/Archives/2024/Abstract-APEM19-2_239-252.html 0 65ee14a4-fdc4-11f0-8805-00155d00018d https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=202845 Fakulteta za strojništvo Advances in production engineering & management 0 0 0