ATC's new facilities

On July 6 at Montanay in France, numerous personalities from the leather industry gathered for the opening of ATC's new facilities. Among them were Marc Folachier, director general of the Centre Technique du Cuir et de la Chaussure and current president of AFICTIC (French Association of Chemical Engineers and Technicians of the leather industry), and Jean Pierre Gallet, director of ITECH, the French tannery school. Representatives from different companies, agencies and distributors from 30 countries around the world also attended, alongside representatives from the French and international trade press. Officials from ATC's two affiliates were also present - Mr Chanakit from T-ATC in Thailand and Mr Zulfe from ATC in Brazil. Future president of ATC Jean Pierre Gualino thanked the company's clients and contributors for their support and proceeded with the traditional ceremony of cutting the tricolore ribbon, followed by a guided tour and commentary on the new facilities. The new buildings correspond to ATC's wishes of increasing their global output to their national and international clients. The new application laboratory includes the latest equipment as well as a tannery workshop covering 600m2 which is equipped with different machinery for wet work and finishing. All the former laboratories are being passed over to research and development. On the same floor as the new commercial offices are two large meeting rooms which will welcome future participants in the training courses. Capacity for the production of powder and liquid products has also been increased, and the space available for storage has also been extended. All this is necessary if ATC want to develop their business, in particular the company's new range of finishing products. The new facilities are equipped with high-perfomance equipment which relates to an investment of more than Euro2 million (US$1.8 million) in 2001. The success of the day was completed by the 'Séminaire du 7' which reunited ATC's French and foreign customers for a series of meetings on the company's new commercial and marketing strategies and their latest technological developments, such as chrome-free leather, nourishing oils, waterproofing and finishing products, all of which will be on show at the forthcoming international exhibitions in Shanghai, China, and at Tanning Tech in Bologna, Italy.