Prominent leather industry figure dies
A prominent figure in the tanning industry in Switzerland and Belgium, Tibor Greschler, has died at the age of 96.
Mr Greschler was born in 1924 in Slovakia, where he learned the tanning trade. After World War II, he moved to Switzerland to become general manager of Gerberei Minger. He stayed there until 1962, when he moved with his family to Belgium to become managing director of leather manufacturer Utamo in Malmedy, a town with a long history of tanning. He worked at Utamo for 25 years and helped it achieve global renown.
After retirement, he returned to Switzerland but continued to take an interest in developments in the industry and kept up his membership of the Swiss leather technologists’ and chemists’ society, VESLIC.
His son, Michel, who followed him into the leather industry and is currently a sales manager in Australia for leather chemicals manufacturer Trumpler, said of his father: “He was always looking at new ideas and continuous improvements. He always followed developments within the industry. Each time I saw him we talked at length about technical innovation and how to resolve technical issues. I will miss him.”
