With the APLF exhibition in Hong Kong not taking place in 2020 and being postponed until November this year, the organisers have set up a digital sourcing platform called Sampleroom and have arranged an extensive series of seminars and online discussion panels to coincide with its launch.

With APLF Academy as the heading, the programme of online seminars began on April 20.
A highlight on April 21 will be a roundtable discussion called What Makes the World’s Leading Tanners Successful? It focuses on three leather manufacturing groups that have won the Tannery of the Year global award: Pittards Ethiopia, Wollsdorf Leather and Interhides.

Participants include Reg Hankey and Tsedenia Mekbib from Pittards Ethiopia, Andreas Kindermann from Wollsdorf and Chris Thumrongsakunvong from Interhides. World Leather editor, Stephen Tierney, is the moderator.

World Leather’s chief executive, Simon Yarwood, said on introducing the discussion: “The World Leather and leatherbiz team launched a new global awards programme for the tanning industry called Tannery of the Year in 2009. The idea was that we would celebrate best practice in the industry, particularly around corporate social responsibility. We wanted to give tanners a platform to tell their positive stories and are very grateful to our sponsor Buckman and to the International Council of Tanners and the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies for their continued support.”

Mr Yarwood said the team at the magazine had no idea at the start of the programme how much prestige and recognition success in the Tannery of the Year awards would bring to the leather manufacturers taking part. He said the roundtable discussion with three of the winners of the global award provided an opportunity for them to share their experiences and explain how their commitment to corporate social responsibility had helped drive their businesses forward.

The discussion can be accessed here. It starts at 17.00 Hong Kong time, 10.00 UK time.

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