Curtume Cobrasil, the Brazilian unit of the Codina Group, is celebrating forty years of activity in 2025, consolidating its position as a global reference in the tanning sector.
With roots dating back to 1941 in Vic (Barcelona), Spain, one of Europe’s main tanning centers, the Codina Group was born from the entrepreneurial vision of Joan Codina Deordal. Joan, founder of Curtidos Codina and grandfather of current director Jordi Codina, began a journey that crossed borders and decades.
The company started importing leather from Brazil in the 1970s, when it was still being dried for export, a practice that was soon replaced by salted storage. The scenario changed drastically at the end of the decade when the export of raw leather was banned in Brazil. Seeing an opportunity, the Codina Group decided to invest directly in the country.
In 1978, it began its activities in Brazil by leasing an existing tannery in Juazeiro, Bahia. Seven years later, in 1985, it consolidated its presence by acquiring the former Curtume Adolfo Quirino in Piauí, Parnaíba, and began operating as Curtume Cobrasil Ltda – a combination of the Codina and Brazilian names.
From Commodity Supplier to Industry Leader
In its early years, the Brazilian unit operated as a beam mill exporting fresh blue to Codina Spain and other European tanneries. Over time and with expanding operations, the Codina Group moved all production to Brazil by the end of the first decade of the 2000s.
Today, Curtume Cobrasil stands as a strategic pillar of the group, which employs around 150 people and processes around 8,000 hides a day at its Parnaíba plant.
International Expansion
The Codina Group’s growth has not stopped there. In addition to the Parnaíba unit, the group has operated a plant in Novo Hamburgo (RS) since 2009 and is further strengthening its global presence in the tanning industry with another plant in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, which opened in 2019.
With a journey marked by innovation, adaptability and excellence, the Codina Group continues to celebrate its achievements, consolidate its heritage and prepare for the next chapters of its story in Brazil and around the world.
