Reaction from local former students
Granville Steyn, Leather Business Manager, DyStar Africa (Pty) Ltd
Pietermaritzburg, KZN, SA – I started as a lab assistant way back in 1980 at The Western Tanning Company, in Wellington under Messrs. Gerald Tutt and Alan Sykes, just to mention a couple. In the meantime, Chris Black was already studying at Nene College, and on his return, Steven Smith also went to study there. I also wanted to attend Nene College because having started at Western Tanning I knew immediately that the leather Industry would be my future profession and passion. During that time, I developed business relationships with many visiting leather technicians from abroad like Casey Lutenhauer, John Basford, Albert Wezski, Wolfgang Swaiger, Fritz Zsilavecs, Pete Pommer, Maurice Parker and Arnold Neckel.
During those days it was very difficult for a person of colour to be given the opportunity to study abroad and be sponsored by your employer. Here I would like to pay tribute to Jim Moyes and Ian Stopforth for the opportunity. That opportunity shaped my life and career. I will always be grateful to them and all the mentors.
I have served the leather industry in Africa and Asia for nearly 44 years of which is 35 years have been with my current employer, DyStar Africa (formerly Boehme Africa).
My time at Nene College was certainly the best years of my life, and I made friends from all over the world.
By the way, the nickname for leather students at Nene College was the ‘Shoe Shiners’.
The closure is a sad day for the world leather community.
Ali Hakimi, director, Fusion Leather World (Pty) Ltd
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – It is sad to hear that Nene College has decided to stop offering the leather courses.
I believe that graduates from this college are well respected and have a very important function in the leather industry. I know many of the students from my year that have been very successful and are well known in the leather industry internationally. I personally attribute my achievements in the leather industry to study of leather science and practical experiments at the college.
- Apprentices, not graduates
Some time has passed now since the world has heard that Nene College (aka the University of Northampton's Institute for Creative Leather Technologies, ICLT) is to close. This is an unmitigated disaster, and the industry is thinking of the staff (past and present) who have poured their hearts and souls into that department who are now due ...more
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