Leather Cluster Barcelona attends the inauguration of the new Colomer 1792 centre in Osona

On 24 October the Chinese multinational Henan Prosper opened its new leather distribution centre in Les Masies de Voltregà (Osona) to supply the whole of Europe. The investment is expected to create 20 direct jobs. It is called Colomer 1792 SLU and is run by Gil Font from Osona.

The new facility covers 5,085m² and is the fruit of a €5 million investment. It has warehouse and office space (927m² for offices and changing rooms, and 4,158m² for the warehouse and a product showroom). The building was designed by the Osona-based company Colomer-Rifà and is located in the Torruella industrial estate in Les Masies de Voltregà.

The building, which will be the Chinese group's hub in Europe, will keep stock of raw, semi-finished (pickle and WB) and finished leather. It is intended to provide a better distribution and sales service to European customers in terms of finished leathers (nappa, DF and homecare), as well as to enter the market for purchasing fresh raw materials in Spain.

The opening was attended by the Secretary of Enterprise and Competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Joaquim Ferrer. Henan Prosper was represented by a significant delegation led by its CEO Michael Lyu. Representatives of local authorities, industry figures, suppliers, customers, as well as family and friends were also in attendance. In all, some two hundred people were present at the event.

Leather Cluster Barcelona was represented by a large group of members led by the president, Carles Riba Guixà, the secretary, Jaume Suriñach, the treasurer Jaume Ollé and the executive director Jordi Vidal.

In his remarks, Jordi Vidal, executive director of Leather Cluster Barcelona, stressed that 'the leather industry is a key part of the circular economy in that it makes effective use of a waste product from the food industry. The Cluster unites companies that cooperate and compete, seeking the synergies that must be forged to strengthen all the sectors of the industry that can be brought together'.