AgMatch is using member’s wool to make jerseys, socks, carpet and carpet underlay, which is then sold via the members and the AgMatch website, earning growers up to $40/kg net for the wool used.
The group’s newest venture is floor coverings, with suppliers recently taking delivery of 900 lineal metres of carpet manufactured in Australia, enough for more than 40 homes.
Most has already been sold for $300 a lineal metre.
AgMatch manager Ken Algie says this project has returned supplying farmers about $10/kg net, with most carpet sales made to farmers.
There is interest from a housing developer in Canterbury and also from architects looking to use safe, sustainable wool carpets.
Algie says now that they have ironed out supply chain issues, carpet manufacture and sales is a business that could potentially grow.
Algie has spent 40 years working in the wool industry and is especially enthusiastic about the new wool carpet underlay.
“It wears better than insulation, it’s fire retardant and, a known issue with synthetic underlay, is that it becomes compacted and degrades, whereas wool will still be there in 30 years’ time,”Algie said.
When underlay becomes compacted the carpet wears more quickly, and Algie says the natural resilience and bounce of wool should prevent that.
The trial wool underlay, using bellies and pieces, has just arrived in New Zealand and its performance will be assessed.
Experiments to produce crossbred yarn from various processes have been trialled, which has enabled the development of a product that is finer than what has previously been achieved and can be used in jerseys and socks.
“We’ve been able to get fabric for next-to-skin products out of crossbred wool, which does not have a prickle issue,” he said.
“I’m not knocking Merino wool, it is a great product, but this is also a good product.”
The key is to get a product, in this case jerseys, that performs well, and Algie says they have done that.
One AgMatch member estimates he has worn his crossbred jersey for 6000 hours and it still looks new.
“If we made garments that pilled or bubbled we’d be wasting our time – these don’t,” he said.
New opportunities for wool are being investigated, such as in high visibility clothing to utilise the breathability and comfort of wool, and a wool-based velour (a wool-based polar fleece).
New wool processing methods adopted provide yarn yields of 89%, superior to what has historically been achieved, but that yarn is also performing better than previously at 92%.
Algie says this means yarn makers are yielding more usable yarn and when it is run through machinery, there are fewer problems such as breakages.
The support of farmers is crucial to their success and suppliers have grown from nine at the start to 40 nationwide now.
They supply one to several bales of wool for product manufacture but in doing so, must meet stringent specifications especially vegetable matter contamination.
They also market and sell the products themselves or through the AgMatch website.
“One farmer has sold 150 jerseys, including those using his own wool, and he loves it,” he said.
A further factor that is helping are changes to the NZ knitwear and wool manufacturing industries.
Previously wool would pass through three or four hands, each adding a mark-up before reaching the consumer.
Algie says that meant compromises in areas such as quality to keep product prices competitive, but industry rationalisation means that the system is more streamlined and those remaining manufacturers are innovative.
Algie says jerseys and socks are both made by NZ companies.
