World Leather announces Tannery of the Year winner
29/03/2010
The winner of the inaugural Tannery of the Year Awards programme has been announced.
At a gala dinner in Hong Kong on March 29, the Ethiopia Tannery Share Company emerged as the winner of the regional competition for Africa, and later as the overall global Tannery of the Year.
The tannery, close to the village of Ejersa, is now owned by the Pittards tanning group. It took over ownership of the company in December 2009, having run it as a partner of previous owners, the Ethiopian government, since 2005.
Accepting the global award, managing director, John Moriarty, said: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of all the people who work at the tannery. I hoped we might win the regional award for Africa, but I didn't dare dream that we might win the global award.”
He said he thought the tannery’s commitment to its people, to the rural community that lives near the site, and to working towards top-class environmental practice had been the main reasons for the judges’ choice. He went on to say that he believed the Tannery of the Year programme was an excellent platform for the whole of the leather industry to tell its positive success stories, and that more tanneries should take part if given the chance.
The five regional award winners were:
Africa—Ethiopia Tannery Share Company
Americas—Curtiembres Fonseca, Argentina
Asia excluding China—PrimeAsia Vietnam
China—Simona Tanning
Europe—Bridge of Weir Leather Company, Scotland.
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