IULTCS president meets society heads at APLF

The International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies president, Professor Jaume Cot, met with a number of key national heads of technical societies during the APLF in Hong Kong at the beginning of April. His aim is to increase and improve international relations between the various international leather societies within the IULTCS, especially in regions where the leather industry is rapidly growing, such as China and India. During the fair, Prof Cot met with Dr S Rajamani of India's Central Leather Research Institute and chairman of the IU's environmental commission, Madam Zhang Shu Hua, vice president of the China Leather Industries Association (CLIA), Su Chaoying, secretary-general of CLIA and Masatoshi Toyama, director, Japan Leather Industries Association (JLIA). The IU is a standard-setting body for the leather industry and the only organisation recognised by ISO for this purpose. The purpose of the meeting was to evolve a strategy to widen membership in Asia by enlisting Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia as member countries. Professor Cot is also keen to increase IULTCS membership in Africa and is actively seeking to build relationships across the continent. Contact: Prof Cot at jcceco@iiqab.csic.es or visit [http://www.iultcs.org] for further details.