River City Leather expanding operations

Founded in 2011, River City Leather is a family-owned business that manufactures leather goods products such as purses and bags.

River City Leather President Aaron Buckley found leather work as a hobby while recovering from a motorcycle accident, but it quickly became more than that. Starting in a spare room, then a shed, a small studio, a garage workshop, a retail store with a workshop and shoe repair in downtown Gallipolis, Aaron and his co-owner Erin Buckley now work from a 5,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

Recently, the company has experienced growth in its private label manufacturing as well as its UV printing and laser services.

“With this grant, we are intending to replace outdated equipment and be able to further compete with overseas manufacturing. Automation, and the skilled labor to run it, are crucial to growing our abilities within the pet industry and other future opportunities with UV printing on coated webbing and leather. We are grateful to be able to invest locally,” said Aaron Buckley.

“We’re thrilled to help a homegrown company like River City Leather continue to grow and invest in Gallia County. Their success is a testament to their team’s creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and it shows what small businesses can achieve in our community,” said Cole Massie, director of Economic Development and Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College. “This is yet another great example of the JobsOhio Inclusion Grant and OhioSE being tremendous assets to small businesses in Gallia County that are growing their operations.”

“Local companies like River City Leather demonstrate that entrepreneurship is alive and well in southeastern Ohio,” said OhioSE President Mike Jacoby. “We are glad to see River City Leather continue to expand its business in Gallia County through the JobsOhio Inclusion Grant. This grant program definitely has made a difference in our region.”