Terra Lana applied New Zealand research to promote the healthiness and cost-effectiveness of the natural fibre.
It was a kind of commercial proxy for work the Wool Board used to do.
The business would drain its supplier’s stocks if just 5% of all NZ homes had wool insulation, general manager James Gallagher said.
Terra Lana originated from commercialised Wool Research Organisation (Wronz) research in the 1990s.
Nearly 20 years ago Andrew Everist and other partners took it over from the now-defunct Kaiapoi Woollen Mills in North Canterbury.
Terra Lana had a tough few years after the global financial crisis then rallied when the previous government subsidised retrofit insulation for a large number of older, generally cheaper homes.
The programme petered out once the most accessible were insulated and Terra Lana’s order book had about half of the subsidy-driven peak volume.
Gallagher said the company now targeted a smaller number of higher-value homes, like modern family homesteads or retirement pads.
The business had a comfortable at 1-2% of the new home market but the aim was for more premium properties, he said.
“If we could just get 3-4% in new builds people would start saying ‘just use Terra Lana’.”
Gallagher, a physics graduate, said builders and architects calling the shots on materials had to be convinced a woollen blend could do the job well enough and for a long time at the right price.
Modern NZ homes were well sealed but in a temperate climate they were vulnerable to condensation as warm indoor air moved outward to the cold.
“Wool is hydroscopic so it will absorb that moisture.”
Sadly for Terra Lana and farmers, builders and home designers would try to save about $6000 by opting for synthetics.
Terra Lana’s insulation had a 50-year warranty and was backed it up with commissioned reports from building industry assessors like Branz and work by AgResearch.
But complex tests could cost tens of thousands of dollars so the company had to be sure the scientific inquiry was worth it.
Gallagher said it was pointless trying to knock synthetics off its perch – the competition’s marketing and research budgets were too big.
Besides, Terra Lana blended polyester into its woollen fibre for shape and support.
Financially, the Bromley-based manufacturing and retail business couldn’t survive on wool demand alone, which was why it had a sister operation, EnergySmart, offering synthetic insulation products.
To put the relative sales in perspective, Terra Lana had 20 staff and EnergySmart had 40 to 55.
“We’re pragmatic, not purists,” Gallagher said.
“We’re getting good traction (in wool) but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Gallagher said unfortunately demand for wool insulation wouldn’t make farmers rich because Terra Lana bought it fairly cheaply as carpet by-product.
Still, the wool had numerous uses like mulch mats and pipe lagging.
The only part of a fleece Terra Lana didn’t use was dags, which were too smelly.
Gallagher said it remained to be seen whether the Labour-NZ First Government would try to stimulate household and commercial insulation but he wouldn’t bank on it.
Meantime, the Building Code wasn’t particularly friendly to woollen wraps or to addressing the problem of trapped water vapour in wall linings creating ideal conditions for mould.
The code simply required windows that could be opened, Gallagher said.
A more complete answer – apart from wool insulation alone – was double-glazing, better joinery and ventilation cavities.
Rather than looking at one product or another as the panacea for moist homes, Gallagher preferred a building systems approach combining compatible products.
As an example, because wool was a sustainable fibre, Terra Lana never recommended it be put against cement board. The right partner for wool was wood, Gallagher said.
