Muirhead opens £14m ‘Super Tannery’

Transport leather manufacturer Muirhead has opened its £14 million ‘Super Tannery’.

The landmark project has taken seven years to deliver. It forms part of the group’s 20-year strategy and commitment to continuous improvements in sustainability.

Tanning is a crucial part of the leather production process, whereby the raw hides are treated in drums filled with water and tanning agents to transform them into Muirhead’s durable, high-performance leather material. The new site’s 14 new ‘super’ drums replace 30 conventional hide drums, enabling Muirhead to process greater batches while unlocking significant improvements in environmental performance. The tannery’s hide processing technology has brought about a reduction of 82% in energy use and 42% in water use compared to the group’s previous equipment.

The new Super Tannery is now fully operational and is expected to enhance Muirhead’s sector-leading Life Cycle Analysis, which provides operators with an independently verified, quantifiable assessment of the leather’s overall environmental impact.

To further underscore its commitment to sustainability, Scottish Leather Group’s newly released 2023 ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) report details its commitments and progress around environmental performance, Health & Safety, compliance, and traceability. Among the highlights are a 90% reduction in the carbon intensity of its leather over the last 20 years, as well as 100% supply chain traceability.

“This will provide our customers with further evidence of our position as the leader in the supply of the world’s lowest carbon leather” – Nicholas Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Leather Group

Nicholas Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Leather Group, said: “Since 2003, we have continuously invested in strategic initiatives designed to optimise and improve productivity, quality and sustainability.

“The new Super Tannery is the latest significant milestone on that journey, a state-of-the-art facility that builds on the considerable savings we have already made in reduced energy and water use, improving our efficiency, and futureproofing our production. This will provide our customers with further evidence of our position as the leader in the supply of the world’s lowest carbon leather.”