Ask someone The truth about New Zealand and the opportunity is for them to say, “There are more sheep than humans.” That’s right, it’s 30 million sheep to 4.4 million people, so it’s no surprise that wool production is a major source of income for export, and national pride, to the world. But companies are falling sharply. All the export wool collapsed 30.2 percent to NZ $ 367 million ($ 251.3 million USD) in the year to January 2021, and very low fur prices can often cause farmers to shear more sheep than they can get when they sell wool.
We are not talking about Merino high heels here. Ultrafine yarn remains expensive, but it makes up only 10 percent of New Zealand wool products. About 80 percent of New Zealand wool is made of strong wool, green yarn that is widely used in the manufacture of carpets and rugs.
The popularity and popularity of man-made fibers means that New Zealand has a strong wool fleet — about 1 million tons are stored to keep prices going — but 26-year-old founder Logan Williams and his company. Shear Edge, hopes to reap the benefits of the most neglected items by cutting and using them to make boats, knives, fences, and whatever is currently made of plastic.
Williams has pioneered the process of adding fur to polymers, including bio-based PLA (polylactic acid), which is usually made from dry corn. The result is materials that not only use less plastic but are lighter and stronger — and, most importantly, the woolen plastic can be processed with existing plastic machinery.
Williams explains: “The wool is made of keratin protein. “This is one of the strongest natural resources in the world, so polymerization makes it very strong, and lightweight, so we can put a lot of wool in the polymer things that are lighter and less plastic. It will be needed.”
The pellets, manufactured at Shear Edge’s Hamilton factory, south of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand, can be used as a substitute for plastics without investing in new machines. “Our pellets can be used in almost all types of production,” says Williams. “This includes injection, extrusion, rotational molding, and thermoforming.
Shear Edge wool types have been tested by Scion research (New Zealand state-owned company that conducts scientific research for national benefit) to international standards of ISO and ASTM, and the results show that wool makes composites lighter and stronger, more durable and stronger.
Shear Edge currently produces 4 tons per day, and Williams hopes that by using shiny wool, it can provide farmers with money to buy items that are often considered useless, especially since they can use fur parts such as belts, parts, s and pieces that would be discarded. . Currently the company’s plan replaces 35 percent of ordinary polymers without reducing efficiency. It is also worth noting that, unlike materials such as glass fiber, it is 100 percent regenerative.
