Kenyan tannery wishes to ‘improve image of the leather industry’
18/08/2014
Athi River Tanneries was set up by two brothers in 2010, after taking over the site of a former tannery built in the 1960s.
It produces a 500,000 square feet of wet blue hides per month, 120,000 sq ft of wet blue goat skins 30,000 sq ft of sheepskin.
“Being a young company, our long-term vision has been very strong towards improving the image of the leather industry in East Africa,” managing director Saqib Munir told leatherbiz.com.
The company pays full or partial school fees for employees’ children and has plans to build an on-site clinic as the business expands.
“With intensive training and supervision we have managed to empower basic wage workers and equip them with technical knowledge from various departments ranging from production to waste management,” said Mr Munir. “These employees are now able to train other workers.”
He added they are working on a project to make gelatine out of raw hide and skin trimmings. “We are encouraging other Kenyan tanneries to do the same rather than dumping into landfills.”
Athi River Tanneries exports to Italy, China, India and Pakistan.
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