Leather upholstery has become increasingly popular with car owners for various reasons. More and more car owners now enjoy the luxury of leather sofas in their home, and want the same luxurious comfort when they drive. Compared to fabric, leather does not stain as easily, appealing to those who want easy cleaning. Leather also does not trap dust, appreciated by car owners who are concerned about h
ygiene. The offerings for automotive leather range from cowhide leather, semi-leather (combination of cowhide and vinyl) and vinyl leather. To qualify as automotive leather, the material has to meet automotive specifications
Thickness: To conform to general automotive specifications, materials used should range from 1.1mm to 1.3mm, although in some cases 1.0mm and less is acceptable. However, we would recommend that any material used should be no less than 0.8mm in thickness. Thickness for materials used in furniture varies from less than 0.8mm to more than 2.0mm. Abrasion Resistance:
Materials used undergo laboratory testing to determine their resistance to rubbing and scratching. In general, materials used for automotive upholstery have a higher abrasion resistance than those used for furniture. Colour Fastness:
Automotive upholstery is exposed to sunlight much more than furniture used in home and offices. Materials used for automotive purposes need to have higher colour fastness than materials used for furniture. Tensile Strength and Tear Strength:
Just like fabrics, leather is tested for its tensile strength which measures its ability to stretch without going out of shape and tear strength which measure how much force is needed to tear the material. In general, the technical specifications for automotive leather are more stringent than for furniture leather. Leather used for automotive are generally more expensive, thicker and stiffer than those used for furniture except in the case of very High-End Sofas. As one of the Carbi Deco Group, we are ISO certified (BS EN ISO 9001:2000) and manufactures automotive upholstery sets for the local OEM automotive market and for export. Carbi Deco uses state of the art equipment like Duerkopp Adler sewing machines with modern production and management techniques to meet the stringent requirements of OEM customers in Malaysia as well as export markets like Japan and Singapore. Great emphasis is placed on Quality Control. We are aiming to qualify for TS16949 certification in the near future. We plays a vital part in making the Carbi Deco Group one of the leaders in the Automotive Upholstery Market in Malaysia.
