Gabor Leather
Best leather for our quality shoes

...as they frequently travel abroad and hardly spend more than one night in one place? and all day long they attend to the most important material for shoes: The Gabor leather acceptors. Gerhard Olsacher is one of them. Why does he in spite of its many strains still love this profession after 26 years? His reply leaves no doubts: "Leather is my passion."

A leather acceptor's job would be easy if all came down to saying "yes" or "no". However, Gabor depends on leather supply not only of the desired quality and uniformity but also in the quantities required. Tanners on the other hand cannot always supply the desired quality. Their reasoning is: "leather is a natural material." Also, Italian shoe manufacturers ? Gabor purchases most of its leather at the Italian tanning centres around Verona, Pisa/Florence and Naples/Salofra? are more open to accept deviations. The regard the uniqueness as a particularly fashionable feature. Olsacher explains Gabor?s position and gives advice to tanners. He is consultant and diplomat as well. "Italian tanners have their pride", he knows from experience. Olsacher needs to advance his criticism of the leather with great care. With the tanners, he considers if and how the material can still be used and what can be done to improve future qualities. »I make a proposal«, Olsacher says. The responsibility, however, is with the tanner. If a proposal for improvement proves successful, on the other hand, additional trust is established. The "worst case", a repeated production cycle, would mean a three week delay, as tanners do not produce to stock. From purchase order to shipment, lead times are usually one month. "Three weeks are the absolute minimum", says Olsacher.

At least weekly, the leather acceptor visits his Italian tanners. A regular, frequent contact is essential for effective collaboration. During the sampling phase, co-ordination with the central purchasing department is particularly close. Usually, a small quantity is produced under serial conditions first. The leather acceptor is required to supply feedback in detail ? optimally saying: "perfect!"

Olsacher acquired his expertise from the renowned Reutlingen, Germany, tanners school and during internal training at Gabor at the incoming goods department, in leather sorting, in cutting and in production. His education was, however, not enough to prepare him for interaction with various people and cultures. "I was glad then to have an experienced colleague at my side." It takes two years of experience on the job until a leather acceptor is considered good. Now, Gerhard Olsacher himself offers guidance and advice to a young colleague. "His experience and his sensibility to leather are a valuable asset«, purc"asing manager Andreas Bobbert confirms.

"You must love travelling", Gerhard Olsacher, who is fluent in English and Italian, mentions another prerequisite for his profession. He likes to stay at time-tested hotels to which he is a regular guest. For a married family man it is not always easy permanently to be on the road. Most of his time, he spends in Italy, as the Italians are leading suppliers of the leather qualities currently in demand. The list of countries he travels for Gabor, however, is long. He has been to diverse countrys in Asia, South America and Europe. Thus, Olsacher has gathered much experience dealing with cultural specifics. Still he holds: »Work for me is the same regardless«. This is because the focus is always the material for the shoes: The leather.