Success of scoured wool requires more storage

Success of scoured wool brand necessitates increased storage capacity

Demand from international carpet manufacturers for Purelana, New Zealand’s only brand of scoured strong wool, has encouraged its owner, New Zealand Wool Services International, to increase warehousing capacity in both the North and South Islands by 200 per cent.

Additional wool storage is necessary to cater for increased throughput of the raw wool processed for the brand, says Purelana brand manager Malcolm Ching.

“Since we launched the brand four years ago, Purelana wool has developed an excellent reputation among carpet manufacturers in China, India and Europe.

“Manufacturers now specifically request the Purelana branded product for use in their carpets: an important shift away from purchasing strong wool on the basis of price alone.

“Our strategy for Purelana is based on exclusive supply contracts with New Zealand woolgrowers.  We agree to take all of their wool direct, rather than them facing the expense and inconvenience of sending it through the auction system, and we pay a premium price in return for an assurance of quality,” he said.

Malcolm Ching says reducing the gap between New Zealand woolgrowers and the international manufacturers who turn their raw product into carpets has involved some logistical challenges.
“We have had to upgrade a number of systems to reduce the gap and strengthen the links between our suppliers and our customers. In order to deliver the benefits our customers are coming to expect from the Purelana brand, we need to be able to guarantee delivery on time and to strict specifications.

“To achieve those standards it is necessary to ensure we have adequate stocks of wool on hand from our contracted growers, which they consign directly to us once they have completed shearing.

“To help accommodate the various needs of all parties, we recently took over a storage facility near our Kaputone Wool Scour at Belfast, north of Christchurch. This store has capacity for 15,000 bales, which will assist handling wool consigned for processing into the Purelana brand, as well improving flows to supply the scour.

“In a similar move, late last year we also took over a large modern storage and wool handling facility in Whakatu Industrial Park, adjacent to our North Island wool scour in Hawkes Bay. This replaces a smaller store in the same complex that we had used previously. We now have capacity for 25,000 bales at Whakatu.

“Storage capacity is among a number of logistical issues that we have upgraded as the Purelana initiative has gained momentum. These are key to the smooth operation of both our wool scours, enhancing our ability to control quality branded product from farm gate through to our clients’ factories.

“Additional staff and equipment have been taken on at both locations to operate each fully integrated wool storage and handling facility.

“New equipment, more space and automated systems have significantly increased our storage efficiency and capability, with turn-around time for handling wool through the Purelana system greatly enhanced.

“This is particularly important as demand for the Purelana brand continues to grow,” he said.

New Zealand Wool Services International exports around 40 per cent of New Zealand’s strong wool clip, and is the only exporter of New Zealand wool with its own scours, enabling an integrated supply chain.

ends

© Scoop Media