Joint venture for wool scaled down

Wool Interiors, a company offering promotion, research and development, and technology services for carpet wools, will start work on January 1.

The latest version of the joint-venture company between the Wool Board and the Wool Research Organisation is a scaled-down model of previous proposals.

Wool Interiors head Garth Carnaby said the company now had the support of big Australasian companies.

There had been two or three attempts to see what the market would bear, but initial proposals tested with the industry had proved too expensive or inflexible, he said.

The company aims to ensure carpets made from New Zealand wool retain their lead in a market dominated by synthetics.

Dr Carnaby said companies in New Zealand and Australia had confirmed they would be participating members of Wool Interiors. "These companies generally use 100 per cent New Zealand wool, and between them consume 30 million kilograms of strong wool in their factories."

The companies' participation meant that the services provided, supported by grower levies, would definitely influence the demand for this big slice of the clip.

Some companies valued mainly the research and development and technology services, while others placed emphasis on market services such as the Wools of New Zealand brand, he said.

"This freedom to buy into only the parts of the package most relevant to their own company strategies appears to have been a major factor in tipping the balance in favour of participation."

The company has had a rocky ride with the suspension a month ago of John Grainger, managing director of the Wool Board's former promotional arm, Wools of New Zealand, and the man charged with selling the concept overseas.

Mr Grainger, who reportedly disagreed with the board's direction, left after a settlement with the board.

The president of the Wool Exporters Council, Charles Hall, said exporters' main concern with Wool Interiors was that the Wool Board was handing over farmers' assets and that most would go into research and development and little into promotion.

"I think we do need to do something somehow [for promotion], but I don't know if it will happen."

Mr Hall questioned whether Wool Interiors had the amount of support from companies that Dr Carnaby claimed.

Dr Carnaby declined to name any of the companies.

- NZPA