Scottish leather eyes US sales surge

Bridge of Weir Leather Company, part of Scottish Leather Group, is launching an office in Detroit as it tries to grab a bigger slice of the American car seat market.

The firm, which was founded in 1905, has appointed Tom Kiepper to the newly-created role of vice-president of sales for North America. He joins from rival Eagle Ottawa, where he worked with Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.

Sales director Jamie Davidson said the Scottish company wanted to match its success in the leather car seat markets in the UK, Europe and, most recently, China.