Knight Completes Remarkable Merino Story

Knight Completes Remarkable Merino Story

MEDIACOM-RELEASE-JADE

KNIGHT COMPLETES REMARKABLE MERINO STORY

Bologna, Italy. 13 June 2000. - Software entrepreneur Sir Gil Simpson tonight closes the loop on a remarkable supply chain that started under the gaze of Aoraki/Mt Cook and finished in front of European business and political leaders.

Sir Gil delivers an address overnight (1.30pm, Tuesday 13 June, Italian time) to an Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Business Symposium in Bologna, Italy, wearing a suit made in New Zealand, from merino fibre woven in Italy, created from wool grown near Aoraki/Mt Cook.

The OECD invited Sir Gil to speak on e-commerce and its implications for small to medium enterprises. "I therefore felt it was appropriate to take the opportunity to showcase a product of New Zealand's knowledge economy, New Zealand merino."

"The success of Merino New Zealand, and this country's merino growers, is due to the fact they use as much creativity and innovation to enhance their product as my programmers do to produce JADE."

Merino New Zealand chief executive John Brakenridge echoed Mr Simpson's comments, saying it was a proud moment for New Zealand merino growers to have someone of his stature within the business community choose merino for such an auspicious occasion.

Sir Gil's suit is made from one of the finest merino wools ever produced in New Zealand. At 13.8 microns, the merino fibre came from a record 1997 bale grown by the renowned Donald Burnett at his Mount Cook station.

Until last year's world record bale of 13.1 micron merino, the 1997 bale was the finest New Zealand had ever produced, and fabric crafted from the bale is worn by some of the world's most powerful people.

Sir Gil was gifted a suit length of the exclusive fabric by the internationally acclaimed Italian mill Loro Piana, which markets and promotes New Zealand's merino clip, and in return he donated $2000 to charity.

The fabric was handcrafted into a tailored suit by leading New Zealand company Cambridge Clothing, in cooperation with Christchurch store Ballantynes.

PHOTOGRAPH

A photograph of Sir Gil trying on the merino suit can be downloaded from www.simonbaker.co.nz/gallery.html, or by request from Greg Williamson, gwilliamsonjade.co.nz.

Ends

ABOUT JADE

JADE is a division of international software company Aoraki Corporation Ltd, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. JADE produces a software product of the same name. This single product is everything an organisation needs to build and run enterprise systems for electronic commerce.

Over 100 JADE Partners, including companies such as IBM, Ernst & Young, Hitachi Data Systems, Wang, Motherwell Information Systems and Cardinal use JADE in their product or service offering. JADE is used in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, India, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

For more information visit www.discoverjade.com

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