WELCOME TO THE TANNERY

Seidel Tanning is built on a proud heritage of American craftsmanship, with over 80 years and four generations dedicated to the art of leather tanning. What began as a small, family-run operation has grown into one of the largest producers of high-quality leather in the United States. Our deep roots in the industry guide everything we do—from our commitment to traditional techniques and environmental responsibility to our focus on delivering custom leather solutions that meet each customer’s exact needs. That legacy of excellence continues to drive us forward, every single day.

Tuesday in the retanning department. This is where leather goes through a transformation. Dyes, extracts and fat liquors are added and the result is beautiful leather! #leather #madeinamerica #tannery

Rolling through the oil and wax station. This is where the leather gets its rich feel, deep pull-up, and that signature look that only gets better with age. #madeinamerica #l#leather #tannery

Oldtown folklore on the oil/wax machine. The goal is to pack in as much oil and wax as possible into this leather, then it's off to polishing to level out the surface. #madeinamerica #leather

This week in leather! Fresh hides, classic finishes. From pull-up to full grain, it’s all about quality that holds up. Here’s what’s been turning heads (and drums) at the tannery this week. #madeinamerica #leather

Using the buffing machine to polish leathers helps level out oil and wax. The result is a richer feel and level surface thanks to special polishing paper #leather #madeinamerica

It's finally Friday! We're celebrating the end of an amazing week of leather and gearing up for Summerfest in Milwaukee #leather #madeinamerica

Peanut Shrunken Bison finishing up. what would you make with this? #leather #madeinamerica

Tannery Tuesday is here! We've got a phenomenal selection of leathers coming through, and our team is putting in the hard work to make it happen #leather #madeinamerica

Wrapping up a productive week of leather Tanning! Looking forward to a chill weekend #madeinamerica #leather

Wednesdays in the tannery mean we’re deep in the process — drums spinning, colors locking in, and every side taking shape. #leather #madeinamerica

A light touch on the Mostardini. The satin roll provides a smooth finish and a hint of heat adds shine #madeinamerica #leather

Wet Blue Steer hides ready for splitting. These will be split down to thickness and then head to the shaver. After that it’s on to retanning #madeinamerica #leather

Wednesday in finishing #madeinamerica #leather

The unique grain of Bison leather. Its natural texture creates soft, supple articles. Each hide has distinct pebbling, making every piece truly one-of-a-kind #leather #madeinamerica

Thursday on the Pasting board. Trying to squeeze that last bit of stretch out of the leather! #madeinamerica #leather

Pale Ale Double shot on the mostardini. Final step to give the leather a nice shine before the last sort #madeinamerica #leather

Another Great week to making the best leather in the world. #madeinamerica #leather

Leather tanning takes time, but it’s all worth it in the end #leather #madeinamerica

Leather on the glass. Leather pasted and ready for the drying tunnel #madeinamerica #leather

Friday on the spray line #leather #madeinamerica

Leather everywhere #madeinamerica #leather

Tuesday morning at the tannery. Bringing leather visions to life #madeinamerica #leather

Slow Motion: the robot arm of the power slicker stretching out leather on the pasting Board. This helps increase yield and also helps give the leather a consistent thickness

🩸 Blood Core American Bison 🦬 a true shrunken grain and a nice read cut. Time to earn some patina @rose_anvil @jkboots

The coloring department: where art meets science. We utilize small and medium drums for sampling and experimenting with new leathers. Once we've perfected the engineering, we can seamlessly scale up to our large production drums #madeinamerica #leather

After vacuum drying, we give the leather some air. It needs a brief rest. To remove any remaining moisture, we hang the leather on a conveyor. For thicker leathers, this air drying step provides a necessary cooling period before undergoing a second vacuum dry. #leather #madeinamerica

Sneak peek at Redwood Mirage on the spray line! 🌿✨ Finish systems are all about layers - multiple coats that bring dyes or pigments together to give leather its unique vibe. #leatherlove #leather #redwood #madeinamerica

Toggle drying is a game-changer for our bison leather articles! By securing the leather to a board and passing it through a drying tunnel, we prevent shrinkage and enhance the natural texture. It's the perfect way to showcase the unique characteristics of bison hide.#leather #madeinamerica #tannery

Red Dog Oiltan. As indicated by its name, oil is integral to this tanning method. 8-8 1/2 oz requires a heavy veg retan. The surface oiling process ensures a uniform distribution of oil throughout the hide, yielding a leather with a rounded feel. Despite being a heavy-duty work leather, its design prioritizes a supportive yet supple final product #madeinamerica #leather

Monday Mostardini. A busy week of leather work ahead, starting with the roller press! #leather #madeinamerica

Friday air off. Vacuum drying done, now leather needs air time on the hanging conveyor for the last bit of moisture to evaporate #madeinamerica #leather

Tannery Tuesday! Another great week to get creative with leather! #madeinamerica #leather

Friday at the Pasting unit #leather #madeinamerica

Chocolate Ranch Hand stands out as a favorite western leather. Its exceptional quality comes from being made with completely aniline steer hide, carefully finished with a light layer of hot melt wax for a beautiful burnish. #leather #madeinamerica

Toggle dry mode activated! 🔄 Leather gets clipped onto a board, then stretched to perfection. 🔩 Finally, it cruises through a drying tunnel! #leather #ToggleDry #madeinamerica

There’s nothing quite like the grain character of bison.
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Peanut Rushmore Bison #madeinamerica

New sample finishing up! What should we name this color?!? #madeinamerica

Quality check. Checking weights (thickness) throughout the process is critical. Weight gushes are used in order to measure thickness. Thickness is measured in Ounces. .25 of an ounce is the thickness of a sheet of paper. #madeinamerica

Burgundy Madone in shipping. One our favorites. Subtle while indoors but a deep burgundy in the sun #madeinamerica

Leather being piled out of the drum after the retanning process. Leather will be stacked on a pallet and will cure overnight before starting the drying process. #madeinamerica

A variation on our to tobacco stampede. No surface finishing. Just a hot iron to give the leather some nice pull-up #madeinamerica

Thursday staining. Some leathers need a final color adjustment. A light spray stain can help dial in the final color #madeinamerica

Pearl Glove ready for Dry mill #madeinamerica

Roll coating oil and wax. An important step to impart a rich feel and depth of color #madeinamerica

The art of the throw. Piling leather completely flat on the first throw takes quite a bit of skill. Practice makes perfect perfect #madeinamerica

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Get in Touch

1306 E Meinecke Ave.

Milwaukee, WI 53212

414-562-4030

WELCOME TO THE TANNERY

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Get in Touch