Trouble at Holmes Halls
All 100 staff at Holmes Halls in Hull, United Kingdom, were put on 90 day’s redundancy notice during February, possibly signalling an end to production at one of the UK’s oldest names in tanning.
The company, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in October 1999, provides work for around 100 people and produces leather for soles and car upholstery. 90 people were made redundant at the factory last December, following redundancies made during the previous year.
Speaking for Holmes Halls last week, Edward Stanners commented: "In common with many, if not all, European tanners, we have found it very difficult to buy enough hides in recent weeks. Initially, the UK outbreak of Foot and Mouth made this situation even worse. But over the last week, as the outbreak has become increasingly widespread, we have had a number of approaches from the Trade which have made life easier. Some of those approaches simply want us to contract tan, but others are more complex. So that everyone’s interests can be considered, we are studying all the options available and expect to have a clearer picture before or just after [Asia Pacific Leather Fair] Hong Kong.
