Rising export demand and fresh orders from blue chip companies such as Aston Martin and Emirates is creating jobs at Scottish Leather Group.

The Paisley-based business has invested £13m over the past year after seeing demand increase by 75%.

More than 380 staff have been recruited since the start of 2021 with an extra 60 roles required to help meet the demand this year alone to help it fulfil its pipeline of orders from the likes of Aston Martin, JLR, Polestar, Lucid, Emirates and Spring Air.  

The family-owned firm, which can trace its roots back 500 years and eight generations, recently purchased the Chivas Regal bottling plant in Paisley.

It has been converted to a leather cutting facility for the world’s automotive and aviation sectors. It also has its very own R&D sew trim facility to help customers tailor their own seat designs. 

The Covid 19 pandemic and the requirement for many businesses to offer additional cleaning and hygiene services saw the demand for leather increase dramatically. Scottish Leather Group, which offers the lowest carbon leather in the world has been at the forefront of this emerging market.  

Nicholas Muirhead, chief commercial officer said: “Demand for high quality, low carbon leather is close to an all time high across our core sectors.

“Our investment plan across all four of our businesses is not only substantial in our commitment to Renfrewshire but also a marker for belief in the local workforce. 

“We plan to recruit 60 staff over the coming months, ranging from senior executives to recent graduates and apprentices.

“It is a really exciting time for our company and, with the new clients coming on board from growing industries across the globe, we are looking forward to growing the team and building on what we can deliver for our clients.

“Around £13million has been committed to our Bridge of Weir plant which will see our entire business become a true net zero organisation by 2025 – well ahead of industry standards and Scottish and UK Government targets.”