Wool Academy with Elisabeth van Delden

Peter Morgan is the Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters & Processors and of the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia. In this episode, Peter gives insights into the Australian wool export industry and shares stories from his life long career and achievements for the overall good of the wool industry.

Dr Peter Morgan, like a number of members of the wool industry enrolled in the former Wool Technology course at the University of New South Wales. It was his first involvement with the sheep and wool industry. He joined the Western Australian Department of Agriculture after graduation in 1963, based in Port Hedland as a one man office. From there, he provided an extension service to the pastoralists over an area of 60,000 square miles, working mostly on sheep fertility problems and pasture management issues. He also had responsibility for the local Departmental Research Station, “Abydos”. While based in Port Hedland, Peter also completed an MSc on methods for improving ram fertility and lambing performance in the Region. Outside of his work with the Department of Agriculture, Peter witnessed the commencement of the transformation of the Pilbara from a pastoral small to medium sized mining industry based area to an iron ore giant. Peter received an Australian Wool Board Scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Western Australia in 1967. This time, in the field of early stage lamb mortality. He returned to the North West on completion of his PhD studies, taking a position in the Department’s Regional Office in Derby. From there, he resumed work on sheep fertility problems in the Pilbara Region and participated in the beef cattle research programme at the new Department of Agriculture Research Station at Fitzroy Crossing. Peter accepted an offer to join the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) as Regional Manager Fremantle in 1972. His friends from University days, David Ward and SAS Douglas were already at AWTA. The timing of his appointment coincided with the lift in wool prices after the very tough times from 1968 to 1971. It also coincided with a significant lift in testing volumes as the recently formed Australian Wool Commission began testing the stockpile prior to resale. His commencement at AWTA was only a few months before the completion of the Australian Objective Measurement Project (AOMP) that led to the introduction of Presale testing and Sale-by-Sample in July 1972. This, in turn, led a period of phenomenal growth and challenges at AWTA. He moved to Head Office in 1978, where he had a number of senior roles before retiring in 1999 as part of the phased transition in the senior management structure. Peter involved himself at all levels of the industry during his time at AWTA and is probably best remembered for his work in the development of IT systems to meet the ongoing growth of Presale testing and as a member of the Industry Committee which introduced electronic data transfer to the industry in 1984. This was a pioneering achievement for the wool industry in EDP terms and removed the costly, and error prone, need for sellers, private treaty merchants and buyers to re-enter data which was already recorded in other computers in the industry. On retirement from AWTA, Peter took up a part-time position assisting Bob Quirk at the newly formed Australian Wool Industry Secretariat (AWIS). This stretched to full time in 2002 when Bob moved to Australian Wool Innovation and Peter took on Bob’s former role of Executive Director. This made him Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters, the Australian Wool Processors Council, the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia and Secretary of the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations. He is also a Member of the Australian delegations to the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) Meetings. Peter continues today as the...

Garlita is a flat knitting company based in Lithuania with a vast experience in knitting wool garments. Together with their father, twin sisters Rita Haselwander and Rasa Stanevičienė have lead the company to success. The plant runs 24/7 and produces 1000 flat knitted pieces per week. In this episode Rita and Rasa explain the nature of their business and how they convince their customers to use more wool in their products.

Garlita is a family business and is run by a father and two daughters, each of them being involved in every aspect of the process. The venture of two generations has led local knitwear factory into the successful and innovative global business. It all began in 1970, when Lithuanian army, gymnasiums and schools were in need of knitted uniforms… Therefore, it is safe to say that the company was founded for a good reason - to dress the country. More than 40 years have passed until today when Garlita exports knitwear to France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Russia, Japan and many other countries around the globe.

Lorents Tvedt is the Product Development Manager at the Norwegian wool knitwear brand Dale of Norway. In this episode Lorents tells the interesting story of how Dale of Norway was founded and how the brand transformed into the famous brand it is today. Lorents furthermore explains the development of the Norwegian sweater patterns and how the brand clothes the Norwegian Olympic teams.

Lorents Tvedt is the Product Development Manager at Dale of Norway. Lorents started working for Dale of Norway when he was 16 years old. Ever since he started working, Lorents had different positions in the production, product development and sales department. He only took a short break to study textile engineering in Reutlingen in Germany in 1985.

Adam Dawes is the Senior Agriculture Advisor for the Falkland Islands Government. In his Wool Academy Podcast interview, Adam gives an introduction to the sheep and wool industry of the Falkland Islands. He gives insights into the benefits of the islands' wool as well as the struggles and opportunities the industry faces.

Adam Dawes is the Senior Agriculture Advisor for the Falkland Islands Government. He grew up on a superfine wool farm in Southern New South Wales (Australia). Adam studied Agronomy at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga before working as an agronomist, providing advice to sheep and cattle farmers near his hometown. Leaving agronomy Adam worked for 8 years in the Australian government in various roles relating to plant biosecurity. In 2015 Adam was attracted to a role working with the Falkland Islands Government seeking a career break and a once in a lifetime adventure for his young family. Adam has enjoyed the move back to the wool industry and is looking forward to the global wool industry developing as consumers begin to develop a well-deserved appreciation for the positive attributes and sustainability of our wonderful fiber.

Jacob Long is the CEO of US based worsted and woolen weaving mill American Woolen. In this interview, Jacob tells the story how he brought the once biggest weaving mill of the United States back to life. Jacob shares the challenges he faced and the opportunities he sees for the company.

Jacob Harrison Long leads American Woolen Company, Inc. He has a finance background with considerable experience in cross-border M&A, debt capital markets and consumer goods/retail turnaround investing. Jacob spent 20 years in Europe working in investment banking for BNP Paribas and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. While working in Milan from 2006 to 2012, Jacob developed extensive contacts in as well as a deep appreciation for the Italian textile and apparel industry with its focus on product quality and luxury versus the large-scale, commodity-oriented manufacturing that typifies the U.S. textile industry. He acquired the assets of American Woolen Company and Warren Mills in order to replicate the European approach to textile manufacturing in the United States.

Osman Kilic is the Executive Board Member of hand knitting yarn manufacturer Ormo. In this episode, Osman talks about the Ormo Group and how the business of hand knitting yarn works. Osman explains further how the hand knitting industry is set up and how trends influence hand knitting as a hobby.

Osman Kilic is the Executive Board Member of the Ormo Group. Osman joined the company in 1984. He has experience in marketing knitting and craft yarns and international market development. In addition, Osman is part of the Executive Committee of the International Wool Textile Organisation.

Giovanni and Marco Schneider are the leaders behind the wool processing company The Schneider Group. In this episode, father and son talk about what it means to run a family business. 

The Schneider Group is a family-run, multinational company based in the south of Switzerland close to the Italian border. The Schneider Group has been founded in 1922 by Giovanni Schneider as a wool trading company. When his son Marco Schneider joined the company he added early stage wool processing to the business. Today, his son Giovanni Schneider is leading the company forward. Schneider is a world leader in the processing and supply of high-quality wools and natural fibres. The Schneider Group operates combing mills in Italy, China, Egypt and Argentina.

Over the years, the Group has grown into a solid, integrated organization with production facilities managed by an independent Industrial Division. The sourcing and selection of raw materials in their countries of origin is handled by an extensive network of specialized laboratories performing quality tests and fully-owned purchasing organizations located in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, China, Mongolia and Iran. 

Jo-Anne Bester is the first and so far only female wool auctioneer in South Africa. In this episode, Jo-Anne talks about how the South African wool auction actually works and what it takes to work in the auction room. 

Jo-Anne Bester is the daughter of Eric Naude, one of the two breeders of the well-known Geelbek elite Merino stud. Having been raised on a sheep farm, she developed a keen interest in agricultural activities. Jo-Anne then went on to pursue her studies in agriculture at the Grootfontein Agricultural College outside Middelburg, which specializes in small stock management and offers an exceptional course on Merino’s. She received the prestigious award of Junior Merino Judge of the year in 2014 upon completing her diploma. Jo-Anne now works for BKB and is the first woman auctioneer in the fibre industry for both wool and mohair in South African history. She is also a qualified Senior Merino Judge and advisor. She is also an equestrian and achieved SA colours for Saddle Seat Equitation, representing SA against the USA in 2010 and 2011. 

Jimmy Jackson is a living legend in the wool industry. With a wool career of over 48 years in wool chemical processing, Jimmy Jackson combines knowledge and experience many companies seek out to have access to. In this Podcast Episode, Jimmy shares some of his knowledge on making wool machine washable and mercerizing wool. In addition, Jimmy talks about wool manufacturing in Asia, in particular, China and helps clarify some of the still existing prejudices around. Last but not least, Jimmy talks about the current trends and challenges the wool knitting industry is dealing with today.

Jimmy Jackson was born in Bradford, in West Yorkshire in the north of England. At that time Bradford was known as the “Wool City” as 50% of all the worlds wool supply was traded and manufactured in and around that city. Therefore growing up in such an environment it was almost inevitable that Jimmy would pursue a career in the wool industry. In 1970 Jimmy joined the Woolmark Company (Then known as the International Wool Secretariat) as a laboratory technician in their International Research, Development and design centre which was located close by. Jimmy worked a recent technology at that time on making wool machine washable and was part of a team who took the idea and made it into a commercial scale manufacturing process. After this Jimmy was responsible for transferring the technology around the world designing and commissioning plants. This took him to the four corners of the world, Japan, Korea, Australia, South Africa, South and North America as well as throughout Western Europe and Eastern Europe including Russia. Jimmy was also the co-inventor of the Mercerised process for wool, known as Mercerized Merino which is firmly established today. In 1981 Jimmy made his first trip to China, and has been a frequent visitor ever since, and continues to visit their multiple times each year. In 2005 Jimmy left the UK to be based in AWI’s HQ in Sydney where he took up the position of General Manager for Product Development & Commercialization. In 2016 Jimmy Left AWI, and started his own part-time business (International Wool Consulting Group), where today he works with some of the leading and world’s largest Chinese wool manufacturers. Jimmy was educated at the University of Huddersfield in England, where he gained an honours degree in Textile Technology, and he was awarded a Fellow of the International Textile Institute.

Wolf Edmayr is the Managing Director of South African based company BKB. BKB is the largest wool handler of the South African wool clip and service provider to South African wool and mohair growers. In this episode, Wolf Edmayr talks about the history and future of the BKB business and shares his perspectives on the potential of the South African wool clip as well as the agricultural industry.

Wolf Edmayr was born on 22 July 1956 in Delareyville. He matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein after which he obtained a B.Com Hon. degree at the Rand Afrikaans University. Afterward, he qualified as Chartered Accountant. He worked for the firm Deloitte & Touche in Johannesburg and later became an audit partner. Before joining BKB Ltd he also held the following positions: 1992 - Managing Director of Wooltextile Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd 1996 - Managing Director of Sweet-Orr and Lybro (Pty) Ltd 2001 - Managing Director of the HT Group (Pty) Ltd Wolf joined BKB Ltd in 2004 as Managing Director. He is a shareholder of BKB Ltd and part-time Free State farmer and is married to Birgit. They have three children.