Abstract

I thank you for inviting me and am honored to represent California today. As you may know, we think of California as a separate country in the U.S. When Dr. Alexander called to ask if I would speak at this meeting, I said, “surely you’ve made a mistake. Do you know how much leather we make at Salz? How could I possibly entertain, let alone interest a distinguished band of leather technologists and chemists?” He insisted, by phone, by fax and in person, so I ask that you please bear with me today. My talk is on how we have changed the corporate culture at Salz, dragging it kicking and screaming into the present century. But before I get into the details, I want to share with you a brief history of Salz. We have the unique distinction of being the last remaining California tannery. When I started in the business in 1978, there were ten. Today, our closest competitor is over a thousand miles away.