Cruel summer for French tanneries
Leather manufacturer France Tanneries, formerly Tanneries Dupire, has closed down, according to reports from French media.
The company, based in Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe near Angers, had run for around 150 years. It specialised in high-end bovine leather and employed around 35 people.
In 2015, Tanneries Dupire filed for bankruptcy protection. It achieved new investment from a Paris-based group, Novalpina, and relaunched in 2016, but its revival has proved short-lived.
In the course of this summer, two other small French tanneries have said they would welcome new investment or new owners.
One is Tannerie Arnal, a specialist producer of equestrian leather, based near Rodez. The other is Valeix, a producer of vegetable-tanned bovine leather, which operates near Béziers.
