Major fire devastates Ecco Leather factory in Dongen
In the night from May 4 to 5, the leather factory of Ecco Leather in Dongen, the Netherlands, was completely destroyed by a very large fire. The entire complex, including production and storage halls, went up in flames. This was reported by the local press, including the Brabants Dagblad and Omroep Brabant.
The first flames were observed at the building on the Vierbundersweg around 21:45 CEST. The fire brigade allowed the building to burn down in a controlled manner and had the fire under control around 5:30 CEST. Little to nothing of the 14,000 square metre building remains. It is not clear how the fire at Ecco Leather started.
The fire means the loss of the last tannery in the municipality of Dongen — a village with a rich history in the field of leather processing. Mayor Hans Slagboom speaks of a great loss for the community: 'The soul of Dongen suffers if the tannery disappears,' the mayor told Omroep Brabant. He hopes that Ecco will rebuild the factory.
According to the Brabant Historical Information Centre, Dongen had seven tanneries in 1816. The favourable location near cattle breeding areas made the village an important player in the leather industry. In 1891, there were 85 active tanneries. After the crisis years of the previous century, that number quickly decreased, until eventually only one remained: Ecco Leather. Ecco Leather: An innovative tannery
Founded in 1991, Ecco Leather started out as part of the Danish footwear brand Ecco. Today, the tannery operates as a separate division. The company develops over a thousand unique types of leather each year and employs over 1,750 people worldwide. Ecco Leather is known in the fashion and footwear industry for its innovative approach to leather production, with a focus on sustainability and technical development.
Ecco Leather has leather factories in the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia and China and works with customers and partners all over the world. The factory in Dongen played an important role in this as a knowledge centre and production location. The leather factory is known for its progressive approach to production, both in terms of design and sustainability. In 2020, the organisation collaborated with Bonne Suits for a series of made-to-order leather suits. Ecco Leather is also a partner of the Dutch fashion company and LVMH Prize finalist Zomer.
Whether the company has plans to rebuild the factory is not yet known. In a message to FashionUnited, Ecco Leather states: "We are now fully focused on our employees and resuming our operations so that we can continue to serve our consumers around the world." Response from Schoenenkwartier: 'Deep traces'
The destruction of the factory affects the broader creative and craft sector. From Waalwijk, the Schoenenkwartier reports that it is deeply affected. On LinkedIn, the organization writes:
'The fire at Ecco Leather BV in Dongen has left deep scars. A place where years of work have been done on leather innovation and craftsmanship has been destroyed in a short time. Ecco is part of our partner program — a collaboration in which we greatly value their vision on material, sustainability and design. The team and volunteers of the Schoenenkwartier in Waalwijk express their support to the entire team of Ecco Leather. In the creative industry, we are connected.' A look from Zomer's SS25 collection in collaboration with Ecco Leather during Paris Fashion Week. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight
This article was amended on Wednesday, May 7 at 11:50am. More information was added following a response from Ecco Leather. This article was translated to English using an AI tool.
FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@fashionunited.com
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