Australian export case study
Australian wool – regarded as the best quality in the world – makes for a perfect night’s sleep.
From the United States to China, customers are snapping up a range of Australian-made wool-filled mattress overlays, quilts and pillows made by South Australian Wool Products, based in Naracoorte on South Australia’s Limestone Coast and sold under the label MiniJumbuk.
 Managing Director Darren Turner explained why wool helps people sleep.
“Wool is nature’s 'miracle fibre' – it has a complex structure which gives it unique qualities that make it ideal for bedding,” he said.
“Because wool is water repellent but moisture absorbent, it can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture, which is about ten times as much as a synthetic fibre.
“This means that when you use wool products in your bedding you will never feel damp or uncomfortable.”
Safer to use
Mr Turner said that wool is also naturally non-allergenic and flame-resistant, which makes it safer to use as a bedding material.
“We recently commissioned a study to test the benefits of a woollen underlay using the latest body pressure mapping technology and we found that using a wool underlay reduced the body’s peak pressure points by 30 per cent,” he said.
“This gives a dramatic improvement in comfort because your body can stay comfortable in one position for much longer, which reduces restlessness, and any aches and pains, during sleeping.”
Australia produces more than 30 per cent of the world’s wool – more than any other country.
“It was a natural progression for Australians to use wool for their bedding,” Mr Turner said, “and now people around the world are benefiting too.”
South Australian Wool Products recently shipped over $1 million worth of woollen mattress overlays, quilts and pillow to China.
Mr Turner said that Tradestart’s Bruce Rodda had helped with this sale, arranging for Austrade’s Qingdao-based Huang Yongtao to check that all was well when the shipment reached China.
Mr Rodda also helped with South Australian Wool Products’ recent sales into the United States, working with Laki Kondylas - who is a part of the Austrade US Agricultural team - to smooth the way.
“We sell under the brand 'Wul USA' in the United States,” said Mr Turner.
“People really appreciate the quality and consider our overlays, quilts and pillows very much the high end of the market.
“The demand is such that we have even air-freighted our products directly to the United States.”
South Australian Wool Products is also exporting to Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.
Company Information
Darren Turner, Managing Director
South Australian Wool Products
61 Smith Street
Naracoorte SA 5271
Tel: +61 8 8762 3677
Fax: +61 8 8762 3330
Email: d.turner@minijumbuk.com.au
Website: www.minijumbuk.com.au
February 2008
www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre
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