Morocco is a land of leather: the historic tanneries of Fes and Marrakech, the industrial zones of Casablanca, Tangier and Agadir, and shoe and leather-goods factories concentrate heavy machines and whole tanks in stainless steel, steel, cast iron and brass. Tanning drums, dyeing tanks, splitting, wringing, drying and finishing machines, presses, industrial sewing machines and cutting lines: when a tannery modernises, when a workshop moves to less polluting processes or when an old unit closes, tonnes of metals must be managed cleanly, taking into account one constraint specific to the sector — tanning chemicals.
What makes this sector special is indeed chemistry. Skins pass through lime baths, chrome salts, vegetable tannins, dyes and greases, and the machines that treat them carry residues that must neither be mixed with other metals without precaution nor sent to an unsuitable channel. Added to this constraint are tanning effluents and sludges, which belong to dedicated treatment circuits, never to the metal itself. This guide reviews the metal stocks of Moroccan tanneries and the leather industry, the sorting and depollution to apply, and the organisation of collections compatible with your workshop shutdowns.
The metal stocks of a tannery
A tannery is first and foremost a plant of tanks and rotating machines. The heart of the process — soaking, liming, tanning, dyeing, fatliquoring — uses wooden drums banded with steel or fully metallic drums, soaking and tanning tanks in stainless steel or composite materials with metal frames, fleshing, splitting and sammying machines, vacuum dryers, staking machines and toggling machines, mostly mounted on steel or cast-iron frames, with cylinders, blades, rollers and motors. Added to these machines are boilers, compressors, water-treatment plants, electrical installations and copper cabling, plus the structures of the wet halls.
The second stock is finishing and packaging: sanding, polishing, measuring, laser or die cutting machines, finishing presses, sorting and quality-control lines, and the whole handling fleet — trolleys, metal pallets, racks. Chemical storage tanks, dosing pumps and bath piping networks complete the lot, as do aluminium joinery and drying chambers. During a modernisation, an entire tanning line often comes out at once: a large, mixed lot to sort on site before loading. Our guide to sorting metals in business gives the basics of this sorting, and our article on scrap metal from textiles and clothing completes the picture of processing industries.
Leather workshops, shoes and leather goods: cutting and sewing machines
In leather, shoe and leather-goods workshops, metal is found in cutting machines — die-cutting presses, splitting, skiving and bevelling machines —, in industrial sewing machines, gluing, lasting and finishing machines, and in control and packaging lines. These machines, often compact but numerous, concentrate steel, cast iron, aluminium and copper in motors, with blades, guides and wear parts in special steels that must be separated from ordinary steels.
Moulds, shoe lasts, cutting dies and metal templates are a stock apart: often steel or aluminium, sometimes brass for precision parts, they are sorted by metal before loading. Workshop trolleys, racking and storage structures complete the lot. One point common to the whole sector: parts that held glues, solvents, dyes or finishing products must be identified before collection, so that chemical residues are managed through the right circuit and do not contaminate other metals.
Stainless steel, steel, cast iron and brass: sorting without mixing, after depollution
The step that changes everything in a tannery is separating stainless steel — after cleaning. Tanks, metallic drums, dyeing machines and bath piping are stainless steel, while frames, structures and supports are most often carbon steel or cast iron. Mixed together, they all leave as ordinary scrap; separated and cleaned, stainless steel keeps its specificity and is recovered through its own channel. A magnet is enough for the first sort: austenitic stainless steel is barely magnetic, unlike carbon steel. Our article on stainless steel buy-back explains the differences to know.
Brass is found in taps, valves, fittings and some precision machine parts; copper in motor windings, electrical cabinets and cabling. These non-ferrous metals deserve their own containers, sheltered from damp. For copper in particular, our guide to copper buy-back recalls best practice. And composite items — motors, pumps, complete machines — are treated separately, without wild dismantling: we then separate each stream towards its channel.
Tanning chemicals: drain, rinse, isolate
Every piece of equipment in a tannery has been in contact with chemicals: lime, sulphides, chrome salts, tannins, dyes, greases and finishing products. Before any collection, tanks, drums, piping and dyeing machines must be emptied, rinsed and cleaned under the workshop's procedures, and cleaning effluents join the tannery's treatment circuit, never the ground or the stormwater network. Tanning sludges, bath remains and concentrated products never leave with the metal: they belong to dedicated waste channels, coordinated with the site's environmental manager.
In practice, plan a preparation phase before collection day: full draining, rinsing with clean water, draining of tanks and lines, then drying, with identification of parts that held chrome products or solvents. For equipment that held concentrated chemical products, check the safety data sheets and isolate the items concerned. A clean, identified lot means faster loading, more reliable weighing and a channel that accepts the metal without reservation — and a workshop that stays compliant with its environmental obligations.
Working during workshop shutdowns, in complete safety
The intervention window is short: workshop shutdowns in a tannery or leather factory are planned around orders, fashion seasons and skin campaigns, and maintenance teams need access and working areas. So plan the collection as soon as the shutdown is announced: lot inventory, cleared consolidation area away from wet flows, truck access, lifting equipment for heavy items — drums, tanks, machine frames — and a named contact on site to validate the inventory and coordinate with maintenance.
Safety deserves particular attention in these workshops: slippery floors in wet areas, irritant or corrosive chemicals, bladed and roller machines, steam and compressed air. Before any dismantling, lock out energy sources — electricity, steam, compressed air, hydraulics — wear protective equipment suited to the products encountered, and forbid hot cutting near solvent or flammable-product storage areas without a hot-work permit. Boilers and pressure equipment follow their own decommissioning rules, with dismantling by qualified workers. MOUMETAL collects on site throughout Morocco, with loading equipment suited to industrial access.
FAQ — Scrap metal from tanneries and the leather industry
When should a collection be scheduled in a tannery or leather workshop? During a planned workshop shutdown, when the lines concerned are stopped and accessible. Plan ahead from the shutdown announcement: inventory, consolidation area and truck access are prepared before maintenance teams arrive.
Must tanks and drums be cleaned before collection? Yes: full draining, rinsing and draining under the workshop's procedures. Remains of baths, sludges and chemical products must not leave with the metal.
Do tanning sludges and baths leave with the scrap metal? No, never: they belong to dedicated waste channels, coordinated with the site's environmental manager, and must not contaminate metal lots.
How do you recognise stainless steel in a tannery? With a magnet first: austenitic stainless steel is barely magnetic, unlike the carbon steel of frames and structures. Appearance helps too: stainless steel keeps a bright finish and does not rust, even in a wet area.
Does MOUMETAL cover all leather regions? Yes: Fes, Marrakech, Casablanca, Tangier, Agadir and all of Morocco — with on-site collections and full lot traceability.
Have MOUMETAL recover metals from your tannery or leather workshop
Tanneries, leather workshops, shoe and leather-goods factories: MOUMETAL collects and recovers your metals in Morocco, with collections scheduled on your workshop shutdowns and full traceability. To go further, read our guide to sorting metals, our article on scrap metal from textiles and clothing and our scrap metal buying page. Contact us: +212 660 690 806 — contact@moumetal.com.