About Hawtan Leathers: Custom Leather Manufacturer & Distributor

History of Hawtan Leathers Supplier

Based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Hawtan Leathers has been a leather manufacturer and leather distributor for over 70 years. In addition to offering fine custom leather and naked leather products , Hawtan Leathers operates one of the largest tanneries in the Caribbean under the name Cuirs Hawtan, S.A.

Cuirs Hawtan S.A. tans animal hides sourced from the Caribbean, North America and Latin America, including goatskin, hairsheep, cowhide, calfskin and deerskin primarily for the production of industrial glove leather, garment leather, sole leather, handbags, wallets, shoes, sandals and other leather accessories. Our tannery, situated on five acres along the ocean in a suburb southwest of Port Au Prince, Haiti, has the capacity to tan 700,000 square feet of custom leather and naked leather monthly, which is sent to our warehouse in Newburyport where it is re-sorted and shipped to glove and garment leather manufacturers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.

The majority of our hides and skins are purchased through a vast system of collectors and suppliers throughout Haiti and the Caribbean. We tan to customer orders and specifications and our customers buy leather with confidence in the quality, dexterity and consistency of our product, which is offered in a variety of colors and textures.

Hawtan Leather’s predecessor company, Hoyt & Worthen Tanning Corporation, was founded after WWI by Aaron Hoyt, a New England industrialist from Haverhill, Massachusetts. His son, Chuck, later moved the tanning operations from Haverhill to Haiti in 1970. He changed the name to Hawtan (Hoyt and Worthen Tanning) Leathers and hired Egon Kneivel from the Goldsmith Leather Company to run and co-own the operations. The merchandising and administrative offices remained in Haverhill, along with a 6000 square foot warehouse until 2003, when Dan Gallagher purchased Hawtan Leathers and Cuirs Hawtan (Haitian operation) from Chuck and Egon, and moved the corporate offices, warehouse and distribution facility to Newburyport, Massachusetts. Dan Gallagher is the third generation of the Gallagher family in the leather distribution business with experience in trading, tanning and finishing and has continued Hawtan’s fine tradition of tanning high quality leather at affordable prices. His son, Daniel Gallagher, III joined the company in 2011 upon graduation from Marquette University with a degree in international business and is the General Manager of the Tannery operation in Haiti.