Prime could acquire again
16/04/2008
Prime Tanning's recent merger with Shanghai Richina Leather (SRL) will have no immediate effect on the level of productivity or the number of jobs at the US tanner's main facility in Berwick, Maine, but chief executive, Bob Moore, has told local media that some extra jobs at a second Maine site, Hartland, could become available.
A third US tannery, at Kansas City, Missouri, takes 2.5 million hides a year to wet blue stage before shipping them to the east coast for finishing. Mr Moore said it was operating at full capacity. The two Maine tanneries are able to produce 55 million square-feet of finished leather a year, which means the Missouri site has been able to supply other tanneries with wet blue hides for many years. SRL was one such customer, which is how the idea of the merger began.
"We're currently looking for additional US acquisitions," Mr Moore said, which would allow the group to produce more finished leather from its own wet blue hides. "We're taking bold action to increase market share in a challenging environment. In a challenging economy, strong suppliers will flourish."
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