Within the automotive industry one of the most used materials for user comfort is animal skin, this material is used to coat pieces that will have contact with the consumer. One of the most important problems that arise with the handling of the skin in operations of coating and assembly within plants of the automotive sector is the lack of resistance. A treatment that must be applied to the skin to improve its conditions of resistance to mechanical tension, is in function of two factors: percentage of moisture in the skin and amount of surfactant applied. In the present investigation, optimal operating conditions are established for the handling of the skin used in processes of the automotive sector based on a 3k factorial experimental design. The application case was carried out in a company dedicated to manufacture armrests for high-end cars. The results of the investigation show an improvement of 97% in operations where the resistance of the skin is required to meet the quality standards established in the automotive industry.