Newspaper Article 2012 – Sock firm’s factory upgrade seals deals

Sock firm’s factory upgrade seals deals

By Christine McKay
[email protected]

“We feel really good being a New Zealand company supplying to our own defence force, especially in this extremely competitive market. For this business to be retained within New Zealand is a big coup.”
Wayne Russell, of Kiwi Sock Company.

In an extremely competitive market-place, Norsewood’s Kiwi Sock Company is making giant strides to keep ahead.

The company is jointly owned by general manager, Wayne Russell, Dannevirke-community owned lines company Scanpower, headed by Lee Bettles and John Hughes of the Manawatu Knitting Mills and is now into its fourth year of a capital expansion programme which is paying dividends.

“We grew our sales last year by 10 per cent which is great in such a competitive business,” Mr Russell told the Dannevirke News.

Last year the Kiwi Sock Company won the contract to supply Norsewear-branded socks to 90 PGG Wrightson stores in New Zealand.

“PGG Wrightsons realised this was what their customers wanted, the traditional range of Norsewear socks, and that’s what business is all about, what the customer wants,” Mr Russell said at the time. Now the company has secured a contract to supply socks to the New Zealand Defence Force for another three years.

“The Defence Department wanted a revolutionary type of sock to meet the specific needs of its personnel and we were able to deliver,” Mr Russell said.

“We feel really good being a New Zealand company supplying to our own defence force, especially in this extremely competitive market. For this business to be retained within New Zealand is a big coup.”

Buying three new sock knitting machines has helped the company secure its lucrative contracts, and it now employs 17 permanent staff and three seasonal workers from within the district.

“The new machines are the very latest in knitting technology in the world,” Mr Russell said. “One of the machines can knit a sock, take it off the machine and then sew the top itself.

“Continuing to invest in the company gives our customers faith in our ability to supply and that’s certainly been the case in winning the defence force contract. Our customers depend on us to deliver a top-quality product on time.”

The company starting back on full shifts tomorrow; running from 5am to 9.30pm.

Photo captions –

SOCK IT TO THEM:   Inspecting one of the new sock knitting machines at the Kiwi Sock Company in Norsewood the company’s joint owners, Wayne Russell, general manager (left); Lee Bettles, the chief executive of Scanpower; and John Hughes of the Manawatu Knitting Mills.
PHOTOS/CHRISTINE MCKAY   DAN012409

LATEST TECHNOLOGY:   Kiwi Sock Company employee, Terence Ahern, of Norsewood, works on one of the three new knitting machines.   DAN012410