Wide effect from crimping expected

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32561, 22 March 1971, Page 17

Wide effect from crimping expected

The process of artificially crimping New Zealand crossbred wools was expected to achive world-wide penetration quickly, Dr G. Laxer, of the International Wool Secretariat, said in Christchurch at the week-end.

Asked when woolgrowers could expect improved prices from processes and projects that the secretariat had in hand to enhance the performance of products made from wool, Dr Laxer said that no matter what the development, the woolgrower would not feel the effect on the demand side until it was used by the textile industry throughout the world and the products were on the shop counters of the world. It was a serious problem to get a new process translated into commercial usage even where research, production and marketing were under the one management in an industrial organisation, but it was much more difficult for the secretariat, which could not influence the decisions of industrial concerns, except by persuasive and promotional techniques. There was no easy road to success—it required time, additional staff and funds, but by this he did hot mean more money from the growers, but rather a greater allocation of funds within the budget of the secretariat and perhaps more funds from’ royalties. Even where penetration was achieved on a worldwide basis, it was not the complete answer. It would be foolish to believe that new technology alone would overcome all of the difficulties facing growers, he said. Radical changes were necessary in the way in which raw wool ’ was brought to market and in the way by which it finally ended on the counters of the world. Dr Laxer said that the secretariat had also had tremendous success in the past year with shrinkprooflng of wool using a process developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. It was now being used in France, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. It involved treatment of tops for hand knitting and machine-knitting yarns and associated with it was a new dyeing process, which allowed shrinkproof wool to be severely laundered without bleeding or staining.

Later this year it was expected that significant amounts of hand-knitting yams and garments would be on the market under the name of “LW.S. super wash.” If the expected consumer response was received for these products, then it was proposed to introduce the process into Italy, Spain, Japan and India in the next year. Dr Laxer, who on July 1 will become responsible for the research department of the secretariat, said he had come to the meeting at Lincoln at the invitation of the chairman, Mr L. P. Chapman, and had discussed with the executive committee of the Wool Research Organisation the ways in which the secretariat and the organisation could better co-ordinate their technical efforts on behalf of both fine and strong crossbred wools.