Australia
Remaining flexible in the new normal ‘The start of 2020 saw a dramatic drop in demand for greasy wool by most major wool buying countries, including China. At the end of the Q2 only a small number of Chinese companies were buying Australian wool. The latter months of 2020 has seen some European, Indian, and Chinese buyers return to the auction room floors’, says Evan Croake of Techwool Trading. ‘But this year we have actually bought more wool than in any other previous year’.
H Rod Franklyn Managing Director
Evan Croake Export Trading Manager
ow the Covid-19 pandemic will change the landscape for Australian wool buying companies, only time will tell’, says Evan Croake. ‘Companies with a solid reputation and strong financial positions will weather this storm better than others. ‘Like other businesses, we are of course effected by the disruption and uncertainty but we are here for the long term and our experience and customer base will see us through’, he says. ‘At Techwool we are taking a long term view. We are in the process of becoming RWS registered and our Australian Trusted Trader (TT) status is a further benefit to our customers. TT reduces red tape at borders and speeds up the flow of our orders out of Australia. ‘Traceability also matters’, says Evan Croake. ‘Our strong direct buying ability ensures that we can deliver fully traceable wool whilst ticking the boxes for non-mulesed, ethically produced premium wool’.
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Techwool exports all Australian wool types from 14 - 38 microns. It buys direct from farms and at all auction centres in Australia, purchasing a significant percentage of the Australian wool clip each week. ‘We are flexible and move with fluctuations in the market’. Techwool can offer all Australian wool types and blends with a minimum of fuss. Even in tough conditions its trading team shipped in excess of 250,000 bales to various countries throughout the year. ‘Every lot we source, whether direct from farm or at auction is physically inspected by hand, graded and valued according to our clients’ orders. At the end of the day, we take pride in what we deliver and make it our business to match this to manufacturer requirement,’ he said. ‘We believe that as every client is different we must cater to these differences every time’.
