Contact: Antonia Ferrier (202) 224-5344
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) today announced that Meriturn Partners, LLC have finalized a transaction to acquire Irving Tanning Company, located in Hartland, Maine. Snowe worked closely with local groups and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bring this deal to fruition. At Snowe’s urging, USDA approved a loan guarantee for Wells Fargo’s $2 million loan to Irving Tanning, which cleared the way for Meriturn Partners to acquire the company.

“This is great news – Irving Tanning will now finally begin to re-emerge from bankruptcy after years of re-structuring and intensive planning,” said Snowe. “After working with Irving Tanning, the USDA and community groups for so long to get to this point, I am pleased that the company’s employees and the town of Hartland will not have to confront the closing of one of the largest employers in the area.”

A consortium of community organizations and lenders constructed a new financing plan after Irving’s current creditor said it would liquidate the company if new financing were not arranged. A liquidation would have eliminated the jobs at the company, and would have been a devastating blow to the employees, their families, and the town of Hartland.

The Irving Tanning Company, which was founded in 1936, is one of the largest, most modern, and lowest-cost tanneries in the United States. Irving’s largest customers include the U.S. military: Irving currently serves five of the eight manufacturers that produce leather goods for the U.S. military. These manufacturers have suggested that Irving is the highest-quality supplier of leather for the U.S. military, which purchases millions of square feet of finished leather each year for boots, clothing, and other uses. The leather tanning industry has been decimated in Maine and the U.S. over the past 20 years by overseas competition, and while much of the world’s leather production has moved to Asia and South America, Irving’s skilled workers have allowed it to remain competitive by offering a high-quality product, new product development, consistency, and efficient methods.

###