In 1985, Gary saw an advert for a job as a colour matcher at Charles F Stead & Co Ltd and applied despite having no idea about the industry. He enjoyed it from day one and after 29 years, has no plans to leave the company.

His current role has a broad remit of technician for colour control, ensuring that the product is right before it leaves the tannery, and research and development, developing new products for the tannery. His job is demanding and different every day as he has great freedom to develop new ideas for finishing leather. Those that are approved will go in to full production and he gets great satisfaction from seeing something he has developed go out at as a full order for a customer.

His work is never repetitive as he is always working on new things. He enjoys the freedom he has to move around the factory and follow the ideas that come to him. However, even for the routine tasks, there is enough variation to keep it interesting. Gary thinks ‘It’s a bug you get’ and people usually stay in the industry for a long time.

Gary left school with A levels and, as he didn’t want to go to university, he had planned to be a draftsman. However, he would recommend the leather industry as a career. He says the industry is different and is changing all the time. He is proud of his work and gets a ‘buzz’ from seeing a product he has developed being sold.