Innovative Peterborough-based Gen Phoenix is transforming sustainable manufacturing

Anyone who has ever travelled by plane, train or bus has most probably sat on a product made in Peterborough by a company at the leading edge of sustainability.

For the covers of thousands of seats in aeroplanes, trains and buses worldwide are made with recycled waste leather created by Gen Phoenix, located in a 220,000 square feet manufacturing centre at Peterborough Gateway, where it employs a team of about 170 staff.

Using leather waste from tanneries across the UK and Europe, a talented team of engineers, chemists, colour experts, operatives, technicians and many more use innovative technology and processes to turn the waste into numerous forms of recycled leather to suit a variety of products for a range of leading companies.

Gen Phoenix, which also has a factory in Sturrock Way, Bretton, is currently the largest supplier of seating covers to the global aviation industry and one of the largest suppliers of bus and rail seating - and you only have to pop into Peterborough train station’s LNER waiting room to check out some of the company’s specialist seating.

And now, a year after the company secured £15 million worth of investment from new partners, it is energetically exploring and developing new products and markets.

The new partners included some illustrious names.

Alongside the lead partner USE-based Material Impact was iconic footwear brand Dr. Martens, Jaguar Land Rover’s investment arm InMotion Ventures, and Tapestry, the house of modern luxury lifestyle brands that include Coach, Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade.

The funding round also included existing investors ETF Partners and the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund.

Mark Harvey, chief financial officer, said: “Covid was a challenging time for us and the aviation industry.

"Post Covid we raised additional money in a move led by venture capital firm Material Impact based in Boston, USA.

"They came and looked at the technology and loved what we were doing but were also really excited about what we could do next.

He said: "The existing business is still really important to us. We are aviation ambassadors and have been for 15 years and it is our core market.

"But we want to grow, innovate and continue to be recognised as leaders in the market.

"In addition, we see this waste material can be used in other applications such as footwear, leather goods and car seats.”

"Our partners can see the technology, can see what we can do and see the potential.”

Creating sustainable products and brands is the future for manufacturers faced with new commercial regulations and consumer demand for eco-friendly goods.

Mr Harvey said: “The global leather industry is worth over a hundred billion dollars worldwide but it has a significant waste issue as 50 or 60 per cent of that material ends up in landfill sites.

"But we take the waste material and reprocess it into a luxury material that is durable and can be adapted into alternative applications and then resold as recycled leather.

He added: “We are a great Peterborough business, doing something innovative and having an impact on large global markets that are demanding a more sustainable solution.

"We are confident we are building a business of meaningful scale and doing something good for the world.”