Foam production unit to occupy refurbished SLG site in Glasgow
Scottish Leather Group (SLG) has completed a project to refurbish its manufacturing facility in the city of Glasgow. It will now use the site, at Dunn Street in the east end of the city, to produce biofoam materials.
SLG introduced a biofoam product, BioPRO, for aviation customers in 2025. It began to offer the foam to customers in the automotive industry in February this year.
The group has described the new product as being a protein-based, moulded foam, which incorporate protein recovered as a by-product from the leather manufacturing process. This protein content, which comes from collagen from cattle hides, can replace fossil-derived chemicals, including melamine, bromine, titanium phosphate, graphite and PFAS, in the foams aviation, automotive companies and others are using in their seating systems.
Group chief executive, Nicholas Muirhead, commented: “BioPRO represents a step-change in sustainable seating materials and producing it in a facility shaped by more than 150 years of manufacturing heritage feels fitting. This investment not only strengthens our manufacturing operations but also creates opportunities within the local community and secures the future of this historic building.”
Originally a textile factory, the building was transformed into a specialist tannery in 1870, when Andrew Muirhead & Son (now known as Muirhead) began operations on the Dunn Street site. The group recently moved Muirhead’s leather production operations to its main site at Bridge of Weir in Renfrewshire.
World Leather will publish an in-depth article on SLG’s biofoam business in the forthcoming April-May 2026 issue.
