Reda is a 4th generation contract manufacturing mill based in Valle Mosso (about a half hour from Biella) with strong ties to the New Zealand and Australian Merino Industries. To better understand issues with growing Merino fibre, Reda purchased three Merino properties in NZ (Otamatapaio, Rugged Ridges and Holbrook) transforming their operation into a vertically integrated business and providing better insight and control over the type of wool they desire.

Blog Part 7

Reda is a 4th generation contract manufacturing mill based in Valle Mosso (about a half hour from Biella) with strong ties to the New Zealand and Australian Merino Industries. To better understand issues with growing Merino fibre, Reda purchased three Merino properties in NZ (Otamatapaio, Rugged Ridges and Holbrook) transforming their operation into a vertically integrated business and providing better insight and control over the type of wool they desire.

In 1990 they also partnered with Vitale Barberis Canonico S.p.A  to create New England Wools (NEW) a wool buying company in Australia. NEW was set up to source the best wool to suit their particular needs from key geographical regions while providing a valuable link between the fabric mill and the merino growers.

Reda’s production processing supply chain starts with sourcing the best raw materials (NEW), scouring & combing, fabric design & development, yarn & piece dyeing, spinning, warping, weaving, mending and finishing. The plant is state of the art and probably one of the most automated in the entire industry. Their aggressive approach to capital investment in the production facility has been based on what Francesco Botto referred to as “taking out the hard jobs so our people can focus on quality. Quality is the most important word for this company”. Reda understands that quality starts with the raw materials and has moved to close the gap between the farmer and the consumer. This is also important because it’s their belief that one year of hard work by the farmer can be spoiled by one bad week of wool classing and sales.

I was truly inspired by our visit to Reda on many levels. Wool and fabric processing is very much viewed as an ‘art’ here and nothing demonstrates the passion they have for wool more than when Francesco opened his wallet and pulled out a staple of the finest wool. They also have what seems to be a very robust and precise wool blending program with specific recopies for crafting the various types of yarns and fabrics they produce. To put this into perspective, Reda buy approximately 250 different types of greasy wool which they then blend into only six types of top (where the average blend features 50-60 types of wool). It is this approach that governs their wool buying program through NEW and the wool production down on the farms.

Special thanks to Francesco & Fabrizio Botto.