Geoffrey Mawer retired as president of the International Shoe Trades Golf Championship last December, after being president for 19 years since 1991. Mawer has served on the committee since 1960, in the roles of golf secretary and chairman, for 50 years. The Mawer family association with the championship goes back to its formation in 1946 when Dennis W Mawer, Geoffrey’s father, founded the organisation, and served as chairman and patron until 1996, making an amazing total family commitment to the championship of 100 years. Geoffrey is a vice president and will, therefore, still serve on the committee, along with his son John Mawer who is the honorary auditor. As a tribute to the enthusiasm shown by Geoffrey, often known as ‘Mr Championship’ he was unanimously elected as the patron of the championship. Mawer has been working in the leather industry since 1951 covering a range of senior roles for several companies. In 1981 he created G W Mawer Leathers and became an independent leathergoods trader and agent until he retired from full time work in 2006.

Gordon A Wilson (left), incoming president, with Mawer

Members of Boxmark’s engineering centre maintenance department from Feldbach, Austria, visiting Tanning Tech in Bologna. Left Franz Wagner, centre manager, Boxmark, Antonio Antoniazzi, managing director, Equitan, Josef Neubauer, centre manager, Boxmark, and Andreas Raidl, centre manager, Boxmark, on the Equitan stand at Tanning Tech.

The executive committee of the IULTCS awarded the 2009 winner of the prestigious IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry to Professor Tony Covington, Emeritus Professor of Leather Science at the British School of Leather Technology (BSLT) of the University of Northampton, UK, at the IULTCS congress in Beijing, October 11-14. Covington receives the award from Elton Hurlow (right), president of IULTCS and professor Bi Shi, incoming president of IULTCS and head of the State Key Laboratory at Sichuan University, China

During the annual election of the central executive committee of Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) held September 29, Gulzar Firoz, owner of Firoz & Co, Karachi, was elected as chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association unopposed for the sixth time. Firoz is also chairman of the FPCCI's environment committee and was a recipient of a civil award ‘Tamghe-I-Imtiaz’ by the president of Pakistan.

At the board meeting held in Sao Paulo on August 13, Wolfgang Goerlich was elected executive president of CICB, the Brazilian Center of Tanners which represents the Brazilian Leather Industry.

China based tanner, Shanghai Richina Leather (SRL), a subsidiary of Richina Industries, announced several organisation changes effective September 4, 2009.
Kerry Brozyna will be leaving SRL after managing SRL’s bovine operations for the past 14 months. He will return to the US to pursue other opportunities. Ronda DeBie, vp of sales and Paul Gagne, vp of product development-marketing will now report directly to SRL president & ceo, Bob Moore

Following the retirement of Rob Morgan, Simon Botterill has been appointed Satra's finance director. Botterill has extensive experience of working at board level and has been responsible for a number of business areas including finance, human resources, estates management, administration and IT.
Botterill qualified as an accountant while working for his first employer, RDL Contracting, which operated in civil and structural engineering. Most recently he worked for seven years as director of finance and estates at North Hertfordshire College.

Muhammad Naseem Shafi, founder and ceo of the Shafi Group of Industries was selected in the Leather International Top 20 Power List published in our last edition. The company have wasted no time in promoting Shafi’s inclusion as seen on their stand at the Le Cuir A Paris show in September

Andrew Tinnion died at his home on August 28, 2009. Tinnion started work at Columbia, the Morlands Tannery in Bermondsey, London. He organised the relocation of the tannery to Redruth in Cornwall and moved to Somerset when he became director of both the Glastonbury and Redruth tanneries.

Leather Wise have announced that Christine Powley-Williams will be leaving the company at the end of August to take up a senior position at Satra Technology Centre Ltd. Powley-Williams states ‘My departure is entirely amicable and, with Amanda Michel’s expertise, Leather Wise will continue to grow its successful training and fault diagnosis services to the industry’. Co-director of Leather Wise, Amanda Michel, said ‘I would like to thank Christine for her contribution in setting up Leather Wise and wish her every success in her new career and am looking forward to working with her again in October when Leather Wise and Satra have a joint leather training course’.

Simon Paver has joined the BLC technical services team as chemical support and regulatory advisor. Paver, who graduated from the University of the West of England, Bristol, in 2005, obtained a first class honours degree in biological and medicinal chemistry with a final-year project focusing on the synthesis and analysis of complex antimicrobials.

Natuzzi, the world leader in leather upholstery, has appointed Matt Gayleard as country manager for the UK. Gayleard will report directly to regional manager, Cosimo Cavallo. Gayleard has worked with Natuzzi nearly three years, initially appointed as head of product and marketing, and most recently as UK brand director.

Satra have expanded their range of environmental services after announcing that Mark Buckley has been appointed to the newly created role of health, safety and environmental manager at the company's Northamptonshire base.

Dr Alberto Sofia retired at the end of June 2009 having served a long career with the Argentine Leather Research Centre (CITEC) spanning 57 years. During this time he made many friends in the leather industry and at other academic institutions around the world. Sofia has been instrumental in developing and encouraging new leather technologies within the Argentine and Latin American leather industries and institutions.

During a global teleconference the IULTCS executive committee unanimously appointed Dr Dietrich Tegtmeyer as the new head of the IULTCS Research Commission (IUR). Dr Tegtmeyer takes over from Dr Volkan Candar who helped found the commission in 2006.

On October 1, 2009, Dr Markus Eckert assumed global responsibility for the leather chemicals business of speciality chemicals group LANXESS. The current head of the corporate development group function will succeed Dr Bernhard Wehling who is to begin working part-time from this date.
PhD chemist Markus Eckert joined the Bayer Group in 1999 as a laboratory manager and project manager in the research & development section of the fine chemicals business unit.

The De Vere Slaley Hall resort near Hexham, Northumberland, UK provided the location for the 64th International Golf Championship of the Shoe, Leather & Allied Trades tournament.

Mark W Hamilton has been elected vice president of global supply chain for Buckman Laboratories, based in Memphis, TN, USA.

Tony Covington, Emeritus Professor of Leather Science, British School of Leather Technology (BSLT), The University of Northampton, has published his first book entitled ‘Tanning Chemistry: The Science of Leather’ on June 30 by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The publication encompasses the chemistries and mechanisms of tanning, together with the latest thinking on the fundamental principles of collagen stabilisation. It is the only current text on tanning science.

The British School of Leather Technology (BSLT), part of the University of Northampton, held their annual student prize giving ceremony at the Leathersellers’ Hall in London on June 9. At the ceremony students were awarded with prizes relating to academic studies over the past academic year. The ceremony also highlights BSLT’s international flavour with most students attending the courses from outside the UK.

Commodore Jonathan Cooke OBE retired in May as clerk of the Leathersellers’ Company which is based in the financial district of London. Cooke was selected for the position of clerk from more than 200 applicants in February 1996 following a long and distinguished career in the British navy stretching more than 35 years. Leathersellers’ is a traditional livery company, which owns approximately four acres of land in the city of London, which is some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

Okke Koo, a member of the Clariant executive committee and responsible for the Pigments & Additives Division, will leave the company on June 1, to return to his native Netherlands and pursue other career opportunities. Marco Cenisio, head of the Coatings Business Unit, will head the Pigments & Additives Division in the interim reporting to executive committee member, Dominik von Bertrab. Clariant ceo, Hariolf Kottmann said, ‘I would like to thank Okke Koo for his contributions since being appointed to the executive committee in 2007. Koo joined the company to lead reforms in the Pigments & Additives Division and to improve profitability. He achieved this with significant success by driving down costs, increasing productivity and focusing growth on high-value segments. I wish him well in his future career.’

Julian Osgood has been appointed sales director of leather chemical supplier, Abstract Polymeric, based in the UK. He has joined Darren Strafford who has been manufacturing leather chemicals since 2001. With Osgood’s appointment Strafford will concentrate on his area of expertise in production and R&D.

With great sadness, Stahl have announced the death of Willi Vaskovich at the age of 70. A highly respected past president and chief executive officer, he will be greatly missed by everyone who worked with him and by the leather industry across the world where he had so many friends.
Known affectionately by the staff as ‘WV’, Vaskovich provided Stahl with an outstanding vision, determination and commitment that drove the growth and development and prosperity of the company to its current size, form and success. He was well known and respected by colleagues worldwide and by many people in the leather and coating businesses, including the management of Stahl and its past owners.

The executive committee of the IULTCS has announced that the 2009 winner of the prestigious IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry is Professor Tony Covington (GRIC, PhD, CSci, CChem, EurChem, FRSC, FSLTC), (retired) Emeritus Professor of Leather Science at the British School of Leather Technology (BSLT), at the University of Northampton, UK.
‘Through his more than thirty years of dedicated research, teaching, visiting lectures and numerous presentations at various leather industry events and publication in leading journals, Professor Covington has had a lasting impact on our basic understanding of the leather making process. He is especially well known and respected by leading leather scientists around the world for his insights and contributions towards a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of tannage.
‘Professor Covington has also given of his time to various professional leather organisations and served as president of the IULTCS in 1995-7. He has also made valuable contributions to the SLTC and has served on other leather industry committees and commissions’, the executive committee commented.
The IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry will be awarded to Professor Covington at the 30th IULTCS Congress in Beijing, to be held from October 11-14, 2009. Covington follows Dr Robert Sykes, who was the first winner of this biannual award. The award was established in 2004 and is the highest recognition of excellence made by the IULTCS. The IULTCS secretary, Dr Campbell Page, commented that four exceptional nominees were put forward for consideration in 2009 and it is unfortunate that the Executive Committee can only select one. He said further that he hopes to see the names of some of this year’s candidates who did not win the award put forward by their associations once again.











Professor Tony Covington

Derek Dickins, APLF director, was presented with a special award during the APLF 25th anniversary celebrations at this year’s show in Hong Kong. Dickins is credited as the founder of the show, which was originally called the Hong Kong Leather Fair when it was first established in 1984. It later became known as the APLF. Dickins, who was then managing director of the Hong Kong Trade Fair Group, credited the late Bill Carey with his initial support for the event when receiving his award from fellow APLF director, Michael Duck (left). See page 13.

Jesus Brasileiro has been announced as the winner of the Buckman Laboratories’ Edward Weiss Memorial Award. The merit is given annually by Buckman in recognition of individual excellence in the fields of research, application, technology, marketing, technical support and sales.
Brasileiro has been an employee for Buckman for more than twenty years and is well known in the Brazilian leather industry for his expertise in the beamhouse and wet-end process areas. He travels widely for the business providing technical support for large tanneries and has earned the respect of his peers in the industry.

Peter Jessop retired at the end of 2008 after a having a valuable career with Stahl which spanned 32 years and took him to many countries producing leather. During this time he met and made friends with customers all over the world as he sought to develop and encourage the use of Stahl products and technology within the leather industry.

When planning her final year collection entitled ‘Nature's Baroque', BA (Hons) Fashion (Footwear and Accessories) Jody Parchment (a Year 3 student) knew she needed a special type of thin leather for her bags, shoes, gloves and belts.

With great sadness, Stahl have announced the death of Jon Bouchard, president of the Performance Coatings Division. Jon joined Stahl over forty years ago and spent his entire career at the USA company at Peabody, Massachusetts.

Shri Harbans Rai Malik of Malik Traders, Mumbai, was awarded the ‘Doyen of the Leather Industry' in the CLE export awards 2008. Malik has been associated with the Indian leather industry for more than five decades.

The board of CTC named Yves Morin as chief executive officer on January 1, 2008. He succeeds Marc Folachier.

The supervisory board of BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Ludwigshafen, has appointed two new members to the board of executive directors: Dr Harald Schwager and Dr Wolfgang Büchele. The appointments will take effect on January 1, 2008. In addition, the contracts of two current members of the board- Dr Kurt Bock and Dr Andreas Kreimeyer - were extended until the annual meeting in 2012.

Stefan Rydin is now with the European Commission, working at the European IPPC Bureau in Sevilla where he will be responsible for the review of the Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for the Tanning of Hides and Skins (BREF for tanneries). The review of the BREF document will start this year.

Swift & Co announced that president and CEO Sam Rovit relinquished all executive and director responsibilities immediately following the sale of the Greeley, Colorado-based company to Brazil-based JBS SA.  Rovit, who has been with Swift since July 1, 2005, is succeeded by Wesley Mendonca Batista, who is currently the executive director of operations of JBS SA, Latin America's largest beef processor.

Clariant have made a number of key senior management appointments which they herald as changes to strengthen their commitment to world-class performance. Two of four divisions - PA and TLP - are to be led by externally-recruited executives and there will be increased focus on people management. The head of group technology is to retire by year-end and the search for a replacement underway.

John Hubbard has been appointed to lead Satra's research team, adding his experience in chemistry to enhance the group's all-round capabilities. He worked previously in Satra's chemical analysis team and has regularly led seminars in the UK and Far East on managing restricted substances in many types of consumer product.

On June 29, 2007, the awards ceremony for the fourth Global Communications Project, an international competition for public relations and communications students, was held in Lisbon, Portugal. This year, the project was sponsored by global specialty chemicals suppliers Cognis.

At the late June meeting of ASSOMAC, the national association of Italian manufacturers of footwear, leathergoods and tannery machines, held in Vigevano, Giovanni Gaia, stepped down after two years. The four years with Gaia as chairman have been the hardest for the sector: 'The harsh data may have been initially disconcerting but forced us to ask ourselves questions and look for new ways to reassert our right to compete on all markets', said the outgoing chairman.

Jean-Luc Chirat, formerly with Mercier Freres in France and in recent years living in China where among other things he and his wife represented Leather International, died suddenly earlier this year. His Chinese wife Zhao Xiao Yan (Shelley) continues to represent us.

Guy (Buzz) Grove of Twin City Hide Co, died at home in his sleep. Buzz was a pioneer in many aspects of hide processing and marketing. His industry leadership led to his being honoured by the USHSLA in 2004 by his election to their Hall of Fame. He built Twin City Hide from a small business salt packing hides that was started by his father to become one of the largest hide processors in the US. He was innovative in establishing a wet-blue tannery next to his hide plant as well.   

Chris Flear, formerly with Lincoln Hide and Skin Co Ltd, died earlier this year. He was a past president of the National Federation of Hides & Skins Markets and always supported the Fellmongers Association annual dinner. He was expected at the dinner in 2006 but simply never arrived. According to his long-term friend C P (Patrick) Hird he never recovered from the failure of his company.

This year's graduates from the BSLT received their awards at a ceremony held on June 12 at Leathersellers Hall in London. The following prizes were awarded to Graduates of the BSc programme: 1st prize: Tanveerul Amin; 2nd prize Ankit Sondhi; 3rd prize Eldon Leo.

Trumpler International and their Taiwanese agent C H Sam & Co. Ltd., in collaboration with the Taiwan Bulls Golf Association held their second annual golf competition at the Agile Golf and Country Club in Zhongshan City, Guangdong, in March. The event was a huge success with its 68 participants, in terms of the outstanding golf played as well as a social gathering of tanners from Taiwan and China. In addition, through the generosity of the sponsors and players alike a substantial sum of money was raised which was donated to a well deserving children's charity.

At a recent ceremony in Campinas Brazil, Steve Buckman, CEO of Buckman Laboratories International, presented the Edward Weiss Memorial Award to Telmo Seganfredo. The Edward Weiss merit award is given annually in recognition of individual excellence for contributions in the fields of research, applications technology, marketing or technical support and sales.

Stephen Braude, president of Braude Brothers Tanning Corp, Woburn, USA, from 1954-1985, died on May 3, 2007, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Shanghai Richina Leather Co Ltd have announced the appointment of Neil Perrin to be the general manager for bovine production, reporting to Roger Wang, office of CEO, effective March 19, 2007. Neil brings with him a wealth of experience in the leather industry; he spent 16 years with Pittards in the UK, and ten years with Prime Asia and Prime Tanning.

The Rohm and Haas Company board of directors has elected Brian McPeak a vice-president of Rohm and Haas Company.

Michael Vennard, who joined Clariant just over seven years ago, has decided to take up the opportunity of moving to Thailand to join the agent of Clariant as a partner. In this way he can retain his ties with Clariant while taking up a new challenge ('perhaps my last chance to try something new and challenging. I sincerely wish that Clariant will continue to grow and prosper and be more and more successful in the future').

At LANXESS, Dr Werner Breuers has succeeded Dr Ulrich Koemm on the management board. Dr Breuers takes up his duties on May 14, 2007. At its meeting on May 8, the supervisory board of LANXESS AG agreed to Dr Koemm's request that he leave the company prematurely. Supervisory board chairman Dr Rolf Stomberg comments: 'The supervisory board and management board of LANXESS AG would like to thank Dr Koemm for his enormous contribution to the company's success, and especially for his work to strengthen the businesses for which he was responsible.'

According to TFL, the company are starting 'with a new spirit' by rearranging their management board: Dr Peter Amann, Dr Christian Csaki and Eugen Katzenstein are sharing the presidents' responsibilities in addition to their current functions. All of them have substantial experience in the leather field and have been with the company for many years.

Ernesto Moos (right) has received the latest Frank Johnston Award for services to the hide, skins and leather industry. The presentation was made at the annual dinner of the International Council for Hides Skins and Leather Traders Associations which is held annually in Hong Kong the night before APLF opens. Ernesto is one of the oldest members of the trade who are still actively engaged in the business and he was a friend of Frank Johnston and later his son Michael, both past presidents of the association.