Following the retirement of Roger Birkin last September and Barrie Birkin at the end of June, the management team of Joseph Clayton & Sons in Chesterfield which will be taking the company forward consists of Barry Knight, sales manager (21 years with the company), Matthew Abbott, technical manager, and in-coming general manager John Avery.
After more than 40 years of service to the company Barrie Birkin has now retired. Together with his brother Roger, the Birkins have brought the company from their father’s day to be the bespoke and speciality tanners of heavy leather seen today. Clayton are one of the last remaining pit-tanners in the UK and were established in 1860. Industrial leathers and equestrian products have been the mainstay of the business.
Avery (29 years in the industry) has held a number of senior managerial and technical roles during his career to-date, including BLC Leather Technology Centre, Pittards plc, Holmes Halls Tanners Ltd and KVL in the Netherlands. He says: ‘It is very much business as usual, still making our time honoured leathers for our time-honoured key clients is our jumping-off point. We aim to develop new products in tandem with this and exploit new markets too. The nature of our small company gives us a distinct advantage in terms of flexibility. The team chemistry is good and we are looking forward to the future with great anticipation.’
