Media contact:
Misti Preston
Phone: (573) 751-8596
Misti.Preston@mda.mo.gov

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2006

Prime Tanning Corporation Earns Exporter of the Year Honors

(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) – Prime Tanning Corporation of St. Joseph, the largest wet blue leather factory in the U.S., has been chosen as Missouri’s top agricultural exporter for 2005. The company was picked from more than 600 Missouri businesses involved in exporting agricultural products.

Gov. Matt Blunt presented the Agricultural Exporter of the Year award to Gary Gagnon, Vice President/General Manager, and Craig Scotland, Sales Manager, during the May 10 ceremony in Jefferson City. The award, administered by the Missouri Department of Agriculture, is given each year to a Missouri firm that has demonstrated successful overseas marketing strategies and a commitment to international trade.

Prime Tanning Corp. began in 1910 when a young Russian immigrant came to the U.S. with $40 to his name and started his leather business in the basement of a relative’s home. Today, Prime Tanning Corp. has 220 employees that produce over 3 million pounds of wet blue hides per week for customers in the handbag, footwear, upholstery and military industries. Additionally, Prime Tanning Corp. has earned ISO-14001 Certification at its St. Joseph facility as a result of managing operations to minimize the impact on the environment. Prime has also earned ISO-9001 certification for its quality management system.

The Agricultural Exporter of the Year award has been presented to Missouri agribusinesses for 15 years. A committee of international marketing experts selects the winner from nominations submitted by the department’s international marketing staff. Other nominees for this year’s award were Perryville Stave of Perryville and Ralston Foods, St. Louis.

The nominees were judged on management’s commitment to export marketing; use of international promotions, advertising and innovative techniques to position products; flexibility to alter products or management structure for export markets; use of federal and state international marketing programs, and overall contributions to Missouri’s economy.

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