Located in Warwick, new site will push the boundaries of leather as an automotive interior material.
Bridge of Weir, supplier of Fine Automotive Leather to the world’s most-respected luxury car brands, has announced the establishment of its new Advanced Design Studio.
Based in Warwick, in the UK Midlands, the new site will push the boundaries of leather and offer a showcase of Bridge of Weir’s design-led innovations and collaborations for automotive interior applications.
Operating as a design ‘skunk works’ in the heart of the UK automotive industry, the key objectives of the Advanced Design Studio are to accelerate and expand the capabilities of leather as an automotive interior material – and to bring those developments closer to Bridge of Weir’s many automotive OEM customers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Polestar and McLaren, as well as new customers.
Building on the company’s long-established multi-million-pound state-of-the-art tannery, located near to Glasgow, Scotland, the Advanced Design Studio in Warwick offers automotive OEM Colour, Material and Trim (CMF) teams the opportunity to have easier and more frequent engagement with Bridge of Weir’s expert designers.
Staffed by leading material specialists, the Bridge of Weir Advanced Design Studio is focused on the very latest in leather trends, from advances in colour palettes to new types of leather finish, advanced surface-decoration processes, embossing and digital printing techniques, and innovations in sustainability.
James Muirhead, Sales Director at Bridge of Weir Leather said: “On behalf of the entire team, I am delighted to officially announce our new Advanced Design Studio, which is in the heart of the UK automotive industry in the Midlands. This new site will not only push the boundaries of leather as a material but will enable our customers, the world’s leading automotive luxury brands, to engage with our innovations more readily for the benefit of both sides.”
Bridge of Weir Leather ensures that its leather production starts with responsible sourcing, with 100% traceability and zero risk of deforestation in the raw hide supply chain. The company’s leather is the ultimate upcycled material, created through a ‘circular’ low-impact manufacturing process. Bridge of Weir utilises raw hides from the local beef and dairy industries, with over 98% sourced within the UK and Ireland. This upcycling approach prevents these hides from ending up in landfills, where they would emit hundreds of tonnes of harmful methane emissions each year.
Since 2003, Scottish Leather Group, of which Bridge of Weir is a part, has reduced the average carbon intensity per hide by an impressive 90%. The group achieves this through the use of 100% renewable electricity and the conversion of process waste into energy. A new £14 million Super Tannery has also just been opened to further accelerate its sustainability leadership by investing in advanced tanning equipment that reduces energy and water use by 82% and 42% respectively.
Bridge of Weir Leather is the material of choice for the world’s leading automotive luxury brands, thanks to its quality, durability, versatility, and sustainability.
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