Press Release – COTANCE
The 2014 COTANCE General Meeting took place in Edinburgh on June 20 hosted by the UK Leather Federation. 26 delegates from Italy, Spain, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Sweden and Romania were in attendance. The encounter took place in the city’s prestigious George Hotel followed by a Gala Dinner in the Royal Castle and concluding in a sumptuous frame two days of intense work and debates on the outlook for the European Leather industry. Indeed, next to the Assembly General, COTANCE also organised the mid-term social dialogue project meeting of the "Leather is my Job!" operation supported by the European Commission, and the kick-off meeting of the EU Pilot on Leather focussed on the development of the Product Category Rules for the Environmental Footprint of Leather.
The most important point on the GA meeting agenda was the renewal of the COTANCE Presidency, as the 2-year mandate of President Rino Mastrotto (UNIC, Rino Mastrotto Group) had come to an end. Vice-President Jonathan Muirhead (UKLF, Scottish Leather Group) was unanimously elected to take over the leadership of COTANCE. He expressed his gratitude on behalf of all members for the time consented during his term in guiding COTANCE to improved levels of performance to the benefit of all tanners. In his speech COTANCE President Jonathan Muirhead assured Mr Mastrotto all his support in his mandate as ICT President, confident that this constellation will bring great benefits to tanners around the world.
At the same time Mr Jean Claude Ricomard (FFTM, France) was also elected Vice-President while Mr Badía (ACEXPIEL, Spain) left the COTANCE Presidency after Spain having completed the presidential cycle.
The open session of the COTANCE Meeting welcomed as keynote speaker Jean François Aguinaga, Head of the European Commission Unit in charge of the leather industry in the Directorate General for Enterprises and Industry. He commented the current economic momentum, illustrated the challenges and opportunities ahead and acknowledged the sound and timely initiatives taken by COTANCE notably in the area of the sector’s education and training, environmental footprinting and leather authenticity labelling. These are all in the core of EU Industry Commissioner Tajani’s objectives for an Industrial Renaissance in Europe and more concretely in the related Action Plan for the Fashion and High-End industries.
Over 100 guests from 11 countries were convened for the festive Gala Dinner in Edinburgh Castle celebrated with the support of the sector’s most renowned institutions and stakeholders and developed with the care and detail of best Scottish hospitality and tradition. In his speech of welcome to the guests, the new President thanked the following organisations for their valuable contribution in support of the General Assembly and Gala Dinner: The Leathersellers Company, The British Leather Industry Development Trust, Scottish Leather Group, BASF, Monarch Chemicals, Stahl, TFL and Trumpler.
