NZ Silver Fern Farms Coop purchases 12% stake in WoolWorks NZ

Silver Fern Farms Cooperative Limited shareholders have purchased a 12.5% stake in WoolWorks New Zealand Ltd from Mr David Ferrier. Nigel Hales, WoolWorks New Zealand Limited Company President said that WoolWorks is excited to have such a large group of sheep and beef farmers investing in WoolWorks’ world leading wool processing facilities.

‘This is an extremely positive move for the wool industry in general’ he said, ‘and a logical progression for the forward-thinking farmers who make up the Silver Fern Farms Co-operative Limited Group. Effectively, this will be a vehicle for them to achieve greater benefits from their wool clip’.

The move positions farmers vertically into a more integrated early-stage supply chain.

WoolWorks is New Zealand’s sole supplier of scouring services, handling approximately 80%, or over 100 million kilograms, of the New Zealand wool clip. WoolWorks Ventures, a division of WoolWorks New Zealand Ltd, has identified an emerging opportunity for a differentiated wool supply line from the farm through to the manufacturers who are requiring additional environmental credentials for their wool, such as low carbon attributes, underpinned by a traceable supply chain.

Globally, regulators and commercial building specifiers are looking far more seriously toward natural products as sustainable alternatives to what is currently available. The feedback that we are receiving is that this shift is happening very quickly in some markets.

Over time, and in a controlled and measured way, WoolWorks will facilitate a channel for the SFF farmers whom would like to participate in a more direct and efficient wool supply line that rewards them for the extra effort taken to maintain the required environmental credentials.

In preparation for this event, WoolWorks Ventures has established a grower direct farm model for direct supply from the farm to the scour to facilitate this new model. Over time, the WoolWorks direct farm team will work with the Silver Fern Farms Co-operative Limited shareholders to realise these emerging opportunities.

WoolWorks Ventures was established in July 2023 to help develop new opportunities for New Zealand wool growers and WoolWorks New Zealand. The venture benefits from the significant infrastructure and logistical footprint that WoolWorks already has established across New Zealand.

Source: N Hales President WoolWorks New Zealand Ltd