Mindhive

27/07/2026

91% accuracy. 360 hides an hour. 4 seconds per decision.

Mindhive BlueSelect has been running at that standard in tanneries across nine countries. At SIMAC 2026, we're showing how that same verified data extends through to finished leather with Mindhive FinishSelect, developed with Zünd.

See it on video at C44, Pavilion 14P, and let's talk about what it means for your operation.

19/07/2026

Milan calling again. Mindhive Global is back at SIMAC Tanning Tech 2026 (15-17 September), sharing a stand with Zünd at C44, Pavilion 14P.

This year the stand is focused on two solutions, one data record. Mindhive BlueSelect at wet-blue, Mindhive FinishSelect at finishing, developed with Zünd.

Come find James Bayly and Dion Bettjeman on the stand to talk through what verified hide data looks like end to end.

22/05/2026

20 million hides graded. We had to stop and sit with that for a moment.

It's a big number, but what it really represents is thousands of decisions made faster, more accurately, and with less friction, for the people running tanneries and the teams working the lines globally, every day.

This milestone belongs to every customer who took a chance on a different way of doing things, and every person on our team who made it work.

The leather industry runs on quality. We're making sure that quality is something you can prove.

15/05/2026

A grader with 20 years on the floor carries knowledge that took a career to build. Pattern recognition that no spec sheet captures. That expertise is irreplaceable.

The problem isn't the grader. It's that their call vanishes once the hide moves on. It doesn't travel with the leather. It doesn't reach the customer. It doesn't protect the tannery when a dispute comes back.

The best operations we work with have found a way to keep that expertise and build a record around it. The grader's judgment stays. The decision becomes traceable.

We followed one hide, from a Brazilian cattle station to a Chelsea boot upper, to show exactly why that moment at the grading line determines everything.

Read it here → https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Sbxf0

29/04/2026

Every leather product you have ever owned passed through a grading line. Most people never think about that moment. We think it's one of the most important in the whole journey.

This World Leather Day, we've published a piece that follows one hide through the leather manufacturing process - from early-stage processing through to the decision that determined what it became. We used a hide from Brazil to tell the story, but the journey is universal.

It's about craft, about the skilled work that has always underpinned this industry, and about what happens in a traditionally manual process when quality can finally be demonstrated rather than assumed.

Today the industry celebrates what leather is. We want to talk about what makes its quality possible.

Read the full story: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Pr-S0

Make it leather. Make it worth making.

Follow the journey of a hide from a Brazilian cattle station to a Chelsea boot upper to see why the grading decision at wet-blue is one that matters most.

21/04/2026

The question isn't whether to build the data infrastructure. It's how quickly you can start.

At the APLF Leather Supply Chain Conference, Mindhive COO Ray Connor and JBS Couros Head of Global Quality, Sergio Sfreddo discussed what verified hide data means for large-scale tannery operations, and why the window for early movers is closing. Real conversation, proven at real scale, across 13 sites in Brazil and counting.

Ray's take: “The sooner you start, the sooner you’re going to see the value.”

Watch the clip

17/04/2026

The leather industry grades millions of hides every day. Most of those grading decisions disappear the moment the hide moves down the line. No record. No way to check. No way to prove what was sent matched what was promised.

That's not a technology problem. It's a data problem. And it's been the industry's quiet cost for decades.

When a customer disputes a grade, the conversation defaults to relationship rather than evidence. The tannery that can show its work wins that conversation. Most can't.

That's the gap we work in. We're building the evidence layer the industry needs.

08/04/2026

If you missed the Leather Supply Chain Conference at APLF last month, this is worth catching up on.

Sergio Sfreddo Head of Global Quality at JBS Couros, joined our COO Connor on the panel to share first-hand insights from deploying AI-powered grading technology across their operations. Hearing the practical realities directly from the people running it at that scale made for a genuinely informative session.

The full discussion is now on our YouTube channel: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0K_Zv0

What does it actually take to standardize quality across ten wet-blue sites, multiple shifts, and millions of hides a year? In this panel from the Leather Su...

29/03/2026

Sergio Sfreddo (Head of Global Quality, JBS Couros) and our COO Ray Connor sat down for an exclusive panel conversation with Martin Ricker from ILM to talk through their AI grading rollout across Brazilian sites at APLF.

Some things that stood out:

The defect catalog from their US pilot had 16-20 classes. Brazilian hides needed 30+. Then regional variation within Brazil meant each site needed its own adjustments. They weren't designing for one site, they were designing for ten.

Sergio expected resistance from graders, which didn't happen. Their role shifted from being checked by supervisors to monitoring the system.

They're nearly done with phase one (consistent grading across all sites). Phase two (intelligent order fulfillment) is what verified hide data makes possible: cross-checking inventory against orders, optimized allocation, eliminating re-inspection.

Ray's advice for other tanneries: start sooner, but invest in the design phase first. "That work is harder to rush than it looks, and skipping it costs more later."

Worth reading if you're thinking about this path:

JBS Couros shares their AI leather grading journey across 10 Brazilian sites with Mindhive Global. Exclusive APLF 2026 panel.