Proof the wool trade is still alive and kicking (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Proof the wool trade is still alive and kicking

10:31am Wednesday 13th October 2010 in Business By Chris Holland

This week, the world’s most famous and prestigious tailoring location was closed to traffic as dozens of sheep grazed in a specially-laid pasture.

Watched over by two farmers, wearing bespoke suits made from fine British cloth, the flock wandered around Savile Row in London’s West End.

The stunt marked the start of Wool Week, which is part of the Campaign For Wool, whose patron is the Prince of Wales. Visitors attended open-house events and tours of the most famous tailoring houses to learn how wool is used by British mills and inspires the world-class bespoke tailors of Savile Row.

They also heard more about the qualities of wool as a sustainable fibre.

Some of the UK’s top designers, retailers and wool manufacturers have combined this season as part of Wool Week, which features a series of events and product launches to celebrate the diversity of wool in fashion, furnishings and the home.

Wool Week is being organised by The Campaign For Wool, a coalition of industry groups to educate consumers about the benefits of wool and to highlight its premium quality.

The campaign was initiated by Prince Charles, a strong supporter of Britain’s upland hill farmers.

He was concerned about the low prices UK sheep farmers were getting for their fleeces, which are auctioned in Bradford by the British Wool Marketing Board. Between 1997 and 2009, the average price fell from 97p a kilo to 68p, although there has been some recovery more recently.

The five-year Campaign For Wool also throws the spotlight on the continuing activity of UK wool processors and manufacturers, which many people believe are an extinct breed.

One of the leading lights in the campaign is Curtis Wool Direct Ltd and its Norwegian partners Nortura, which supplies Viking Wool from Norway, part of the main funding and organising body.

The firm is proof that the wool textile industry is alive and kicking in this part of the world. The firm recently moved into larger offices at the Dowley Gap business park, Bingley, as it continues to expand.

The new premises have been named Lawrence House after the company’s founder, the late Squadron Leader Lawrence Curtis, who flew with the Dambusters Squadron during the Second World War. Curtis has become the leading merchant, scourer and combing company in the UK and includes Haworth Scouring in Bradford, which processes the vast majority of the British wool clip every year.

New investment continues in the state-of-the-art effluent plant, efficient water-usage systems and the development of the new ENco global testing laboratory. A new wool and combed top-sampling department is also planned.

Joint managing director Simon Curtis said: “We want to keep the offices from which we trade wool and tops separate from our wool-processing activities at Haworth Scouring and Haworth Combing in Bradford.

“We needed more space and we have got this at our new location. The move gives us much more flexibility and allows us to recruit additional staff as they become available.

“At present things are very encouraging, and I’m more confident about the business now than I have been for a long time.”

The new offices are furnished with pure British wool carpet that was developed by Curtis Wool for inclusion in the 2012 London Olympics construction programme.

Simon said: “Our intention was to try and give all the sheep farmers from the UK a stake in the Olympic Games. We wanted to make a range of carpets that would not only be gold-medal quality, but that would also be environmentally-friendly, have a superb carbon footprint and be a truly British-made product.”

The international nature of fibre-processing which made Bradford known around the globe is maintained by Seal International, which trades in speciality fibres.

The family-run firm imports fibres such as mohair, alpaca, camel and yak hair, angora and cashmere, and processes it at its 165,000 sq ft base at Ladywell Mills in Wakefield Road. The business also has offices in far-flung places such as China and Mongolia.

The end-uses for the processed speciality fibres include scarves, accessories and garments produced by the some of the world’s top fashion labels such as Polo, Pierre Cardin, Yves St Laurent and Chanel.

Three years ago, Seal International, which employs 230 people, acquired worsted cloth manufacturers William Halstead at Dudley Hill to add to its growing stable of operations, which includes the famous John Foster brand – once based in the Black Dyke Mills at Queensbury – whose brand is used for cloth for ‘high-end’ suitings.

Seal also incorporates the historic woollen manufacturer Joshua Ellis, of Batley, which dates back to 1767, added as part of a planned diversification from the original fibres business founded by chairman Ray Seal in 1970.

Managing director Andrew Seal said: “Business is good and we managed to remain healthy, even through the recession, as much of our product is at the higher end of consumer demand, which was vulnerable to the downturn. Also, we export more than 80 per cent to countries around the globe, including the rapidly-emerging markets of India and China, which lessens the risk of exposure to economic trends.”

Seal has continued to recruit and train youngsters, taking on eight apprentices in the past year.

Andrew said: “Today’s Yorkshire wool textile trade operates in niche pockets rather than on a large scale. But it still offers the prospects of a good career for those who are willing to learn and develop their skills.”

Bulmer & Lumb, at Buttershaw, remains the only vertical wool textile mill in the UK, where raw material goes in at one end and cloth comes out of the other on the same site, although its spinning operation is in Poland these days.

The company, which was the subject of a management buy-out ten years ago, has seen increased activity this year after a quiet 2009. Veteran industry figure Bill Waterhouse, managing director, who entered the wool trade in 1962, said quality British fabric remains in demand in long-established markets such as Japan, as well as Italy and the Middle East.

The likes of China and India offered potential on a huge scale as consumers there grew wealthier.

Bulmer & Lumb, which turns over around £19m a year, acquired Huddersfield fine worsted producer Taylor & Lodge five years ago, a prestige name at the top end of the market.

The company, which exports about half of its production, employs 230 staff in Bradford, 30 in Huddersfield and 200 at its Polish spinning plant. It has continued to invest on average £500,000 a year in equipment up to 2009, when demand slackened.

Mr Waterhouse said: “UK textiles remain among the best in the world and our brands are renowned. So long as the exchange rate remains favourable, as it is now, we can compete in most markets.”

Peter Ackroyd, who has spent 40 years promoting Britain’s wool textiles, said the way forward for producers these days was to acknowledge that they operated in a niche industry focused on high quality.

The Campaign For Wool, in which he is playing a leading role, was an essential part of reminding consumers of the breadth and quality of the remaining industry, which continues to operate in West Yorkshire, Scotland and the West of England.

He said: “Many of the well-known names such as Hield and Clissold in Bradford remain at the forefront of the industry, and Pennine Weavers in Keighley is working flat out as a commission weaver to meet demand for good cloth.

“The Campaign For Wool brings together producers, leading fashion houses and retailers in an effort to raise the profile of a fabric that is natural, sustainable and meets all the environmental and quality requirements of today’s consumer.”