Tannery of the Year is an awards programme for the global tanning industry, launched in 2009 to celebrate the production of leather and to help promote the material’s use throughout the world in footwear, furniture, car and aeroplane interiors, handbags and other accessories, gloves, and other applications. Background The awards represents a response to the call from the International Leather Forum, an industry gathering that took place in Paris in September 2007, for companies in every part of the industry to speak up for leather, to celebrate its beauty and usefulness, its history and its future. With the focus on corporate social responsibility, the Tannery of the Year programme will identify the two best tanneries in China, the rest of Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Finalists for 2009 The finalists are as follows: Europe — Bridge of Weir Leather Company Limited, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and Josef Heinen GmbH & Co KG, Wegberg, Germany. Africa — Pittards Ethiopia Tannery Share Company, Nazaret, Ethiopia, and South Cape Ostrich Tanning Limited, Mossel Bay, South Africa. China — ISA TanTec, Guangzhou, and Simona Tanning, Huizhou, both in Guangdong Province. Americas — Curtiembres Fonseca, Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Procesos Húmedos de León, León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Asia excluding China — PrimeAsia Vietnam in Bà Rịa, Vũng Tàu, Vietnam, and the Tata International tannery in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India. An inaugural awards dinner will take place in Hong Kong on March 29, 2010, at which the winner for each region and one global winner will be announced. The idea behind the Tannery of the Year programme came from World Trades Publishing, a business-to-business publishing company based in Liverpool, United Kingdom, which publishes a leather industry trade magazine called World Leather. Result for Tannery of the Year 2009 On March 29, 2010 in Hong Kong, the Ethiopia Tannery Share Company emerged as the winner of the regional competition for Africa, and later as the overall global Tannery of the Year. The tannery, close to the village of Ejersa, is now owned by the Pittards tanning group. It took over ownership of the company in December 2009, having run it as a partner of previous owners, the Ethiopian government, since 2005. The five regional award winners were: Africa—Ethiopia Tannery Share Company Americas—Curtiembres Fonseca, Argentina Asia excluding China—PrimeAsia Vietnam China—Simona Tanning Europe—Bridge of Weir Leather Company, Scotland. Tannery of the Year 2011 A second round of the Tannery of