J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. have recently come second in the small business category of the Positive Steps Award. East of Scotland Water and Zeneca Grangemouth initiated this award to encourage long-term improvements to the environment by industry within the East of Scotland. The award recognises the contribution made by industry towards reducing pollution, minimising waste and encouraging sustainable use of resources.

The award was open to 700 companies in the East of Scotland, all of whom work with the Industrial Pollution Control division of East of Scotland Water. Members of the East of Scotland Water, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, visited the Company, interviewed the management and inspected the premises.

At the prize giving, J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. was commended as a company with operated in a very environmentally aware manner. In particular we were singled out as an excellent example of a firm using a substitution policy. This involves substituting safer alternatives in the place of hazardous materials and thus reducing risks not only within the factory but also on the environment. Mention was also made of our record in the recycling of materials and of our consistent use of sustainable products. Mr. Marsden of SEPA mentioned that our tannery gave him a totally different view of how environmentally friendly tanneries could be! Regrettably we were beaten for first place, and the prize of two thousand pounds, by Masslam Systems Ltd., a printed circuit board manufacturer.

Curragh Goatskin - Bagpipe Leather

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd are pleased to present their new "CURRAGH" goatskin for the production of bagpipe bags.

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. have been the sole tanners in Scotland of sheepskin for the production of bagpipes for nearly twenty years. During the last few years, there has been a steady decline in availability of suitable sheepskin pelts. As a result we have decided to use our expertise in the tanning of both sheepskin bagpipe leathers and vegetable tanned goatskins to develop what we believe to be a superior leather for making bagpipe bags.

Our new leather is a vegetable tanned goatskin that has been re-tanned using the best parts of the bagpipe sheepskin process. Potassium alum is added and the skins are then oiled with our special bagpipe recipe. Finally the skins are dried flat and softened prior to dispatch.

The advantages of the "CURRAGH" leather are:

• Vegetable tan/aluminium combination tannages have been proven to have enhanced ageing properties when compared to either vegetable tanned leathers or aluminium tanned leathers.
• Goatskin is a considerably more durable leather than sheepskin. It has a tighter fibre structure and will not delaminate during use, a problem that is quite common with sheepskin. When taken in conjunction with the improved tannage we would therefore expect a goatskin bag to have an increased lifespan.
• We believe that our "CURRAGH" goatskin should not suffer from the problems of drying-out that occur with the sheepskin bags in dry climates.
• This leather will be available direct from the tannery at very competitive rates. Since we already deal directly with the public, we will gladly accept orders for this leather down to one skin. We accept payment by credit card, and are delighted to send skins to any destination in the world.

A New Range of Wooden Bindery Equipment

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new range of wooden bookbinding equipment. We now have in stock our newly designed nipping press and a choice of three sizes of sewing frame. Our new Laying Press, Plough and finishing Presses will be available very soon.