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Initially
a tannery
Everything started in
the late 19th century,
probably a little before
1874 ;a legalised document
dated September 03, 1874
certifies the sale by Maître
Cambray, from Mr. Gréhan
to " Mr. Eugène
Singer, tanner and currier
merchant and to Dame Clarisse
Scottey his wife" of
property located Quai des
Tanneurs.
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In "Les Affiches" dated June
11, 1949 (the La Gazette
of the time) is announced
an increase in the capital
of the Singer Frères
company ; and that very
document states the establishment,
on May 14, 1902, of a
partnership company, "
whose purpose is the operation
of a business including
currying, tanning and
the trade of leather and
skins " in the centre
of Saint-Omer, in Pas-de-Calais
(Northern France).
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Two brothers
at the origin of the tannery :
Achille and Maurice Singer.
The quality and suppleness of
the leather curryed there are
already very much sought after,
just like the finish of the saddlery
objects made by the Saint Omer-based
company. |
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Protective gloves
for the Social Security
With WWI came the first changes
; the company acquired the Bogres
et Gachon tannery and currying
company in Clermont-Ferrand.It
then makes leather items for
the French Cavalry. At the end
of the war, the company moved
back to its source in Saint-Omer.
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25
years later, the tannery
stopped operating
after the allied bombing
of 1943, which tore down
the buildings. With willpower,
courage and perseverance,
the Singer brothers recreated
their company to make
protective leather gloves,
to meet a request from
the Social Security. It
was the beginning of what
would later be called
PPE (Personal Protective
Equipment).
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An
office in Hong-Kong back in
1975
When Michel and Etienne Singer,
Maurice Singer's two sons, took
over the family business in
1958, Singer Frères protective
gloves are already highly appreciated
and sought after for their suppleness,
resistance and comfort. Simultaneously
to making leather gloves, a
woven cotton glove business
is started. The opportunity
of importing good quality, low
cost cotton gloves from Mauritius
is seized by Michel Singer.
The opportunity was renewed
when Alan Chapron, acting as
an intermediary, and Louis Tsui,
a Chinese businessman, suggested
that Michel Singer open a branch
in Hong-Kong. At the time, that
was a " pioneering "
project, knowing that the Saint
Omer company was one of the
very few small French companies
maintaining a business relationship
with Popular Communist China.
Later, that sourcing business
helped identify several PPE
production units in Asia (China,
India, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan etc.).
Those companies still work in
close co-operation with the
Saint Omer-based company. A
true trusting relationship has
been maintained for over two
decades
An independent
company
Pioneers and visionaries, the
successive Singer brothers have
always shown a rare ability to
adjust, thereby ensuring the
independence and soundness of
their company. This legacy has
been both protected and increased
by Patrick Singer, Chairman and
his brother Laurent, GM, who
have run the company since 1992
(now located in Craywick, in
the outskirts of Dunkerque),
in order to address the future
with confidence and serenely. 
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