Stalwart of the UK tanning industry to retire
After almost 40 years of service in the leather industry, Barry Knight, sales development manager at UK tannery Thomas Ware & Sons (TWS), has announced his retirement.
Mr Knight began his career at traditional pit tanning company Joseph Clayton and Sons in Chesterfield, England.
Starting on the shop floor, he worked his way up through the company, becoming sales director in 2004 and general manager in 2007.
He left in 2010 to join the Bristol-based TWS, where responsibilities included introducing traditional vegetable tanned leathers to the Far East.
He said: “I started out doing entry level jobs in a tannery and finished off becoming president of the United Kingdom Leather Trade in 2014, so guess I did OK. I could never have achieved so much without great support from the colleagues and the two companies that employed me, for which I’ll always be extremely grateful.”
Alistair Brearley, managing director at TWS, said Mr Knight brought fresh ideas to the company and his positive outlook rubbed off on everybody.
He said: “Barry brought with him a wealth of knowledge and experience of exporting leather all over the world. His tireless work in promoting TWS saw an incredible growth in our sales that was officially recognised by the company picking up a Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2018.
“On a personal note, Barry has been a huge support to me over the years. His commitment to helping people has earned him the love and respect of everybody wherever he has gone. It has been fantastic to get to know Barry and I am proud to call him a friend.
“We all at TWS will miss him but wish him all the very best.”
