In 1870, Camille Poirier started a shoe and leather goods store in Duluth, Minnesota. His first pack, the #3 Duluth Pack, that was available only in olive drab, was patented by Poirer in 1882. He expanded the products offered, to include wagon covers, auto packs, and shell bags for hunters. In 1911, he moved his shop to a larger building. During the Great Depression, more repairs were performed than new packs produced, but in the 1940's when the economy prospered and recreation soared, sales of new packs rose. The style of the original pack was been applied to other products such packs to clamp the running boards of cars, gun cases, purses, small day packs, and eventually for laptop computers cases. In 1991, using one building doubling
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Leather in its raw form is attached to a cow, grazing in a field. The process for altering an animal hide into leather is a complex process called tanning. There are several ways to tan leather, the more common method is called chrome tanning. Animal skin is made up of three layers: the epidermis, which is the outside layer; the dermis; and the subcutaneous tissue, which is one type of adipose, or fatty, tissue. When making leather, only the strong and flexible dermis, is used. Before beginning the tanning process, the hide is preserved with salt to keep it from rotting. When the hide is ready to begin processing, it is soaked in water to soften and to remove any dirt or salt. A special knife that is built on a roller is used to remove any excess flesh and fat. Enzymatic cleaners are added to remove any remaining organic debris. Next it is run through rollers to remove excess water. The hide is re-tanned with different materials depending on whether it needs to be firm or soft, and it is also dyed the desired color. After dyeing, the leather is oiled so that it will remain flexible and soft. Finally, the leather is dried, mechanically treated to make it soft, and buffed so that it will have a smooth and attractive surface. Leather treatment used to be a highly polluting industry but it is no longer accompanied by environmentally unfriendly business practices. Tanneries now recycle the liquids used in the tanning process and refrain from chemical
Leather in its raw form is attached to a cow, grazing in a field. The process for altering an animal hide into leather is a complex process called tanning. There are several ways to tan leather, the more common method is called chrome tanning. Animal skin is made up of three layers: the epidermis, which is the outside layer; the dermis; and the subcutaneous tissue, which is one type of adipose, or fatty, tissue. When making leather, only the strong and flexible dermis, is used. Before beginning the tanning process, the hide is preserved with salt to keep it from rotting. When the hide is ready to begin processing, it is soaked in water to soften and to remove any dirt or salt. A special knife that is built on a roller is used to remove any excess flesh and fat. Enzymatic cleaners are added to remove any remaining organic debris. Next it is run through rollers to remove excess water. The hide is re-tanned with different materials depending on whether it needs to be firm or soft, and it is also dyed the desired color. After dyeing, the leather is oiled so that it will remain flexible and soft. Finally, the leather is dried, mechanically treated to make it soft, and buffed so that it will have a smooth and attractive surface. Leather treatment used to be a highly polluting industry but it is no longer accompanied by environmentally unfriendly business practices. Tanneries now recycle the liquids used in the tanning process and refrain from chemical