FINNIE PRAISES SCOTTISH LEATHER GROUP

Written by Ross Finnie on Thu 23rd Jul 2009

FINNIE PRAISES SCOTTISH LEATHER GROUP

West of Scotland Liberal Democrat MSP Ross Finnie praised the Scottish Leather Group after a recent visit to its site at Bridge of Weir.

Commenting after the visit Mr Finnie said:

"I must praise Scottish Leather Group for the way in which it has handled the recession. In the teeth of a recession which has impacted on some of its major customers in the aeronautic, automotive and furniture industries it has managed to open up new markets and, as a consequence has been able to retain its core workforce albeit with periods of short-time working. In common with other companies that rely heavily on exports it has been hit hard by the credit restrictions imposed by the banks and by the withdrawal of export insurance. This is a matter the Government needs to examine as a matter of urgency"

"I also applaud the Group for continuing with its investment in a new Thermal Energy Plant, that aims to use all of its waste to produce energy to power the plant, making the tannery potentially zero waste and energy neutral."

"Government supports proposals that produce energy in a more sustainable way but Government should also be supporting projects like Scottish Leather's that actually reduces the demand for energy from conventional sources."

Ends

Notes for Editors

1. Scottish Leather Group Ltd is the largest manufacturer of bovine leather in the United Kingdom, it is a privately owned, independent company which employs around 450 people.

2. The Group is also constructing a Thermal Energy Plant which will use the waste from the hides to produce energy and remove the need for energy to be supplied to the site.