PGG Wrightson appoints respected wool trader

Respected wool trader Craig Smith has joined PGG Wrightson Wool to further champion the cause of New Zealand sheep farmers and drive up the returns for wool. He has been appointed Business Development Manager for PGG Wrightson Wool to service their fine and strong wool businesses and will be based out of Christchurch in the South Island.

Craig Smith’s expertise in the fine wool sector, in particular, is widely appreciated in New Zealand and abroad and the new role will see him focus on strengthening existing relationships and generating new business. His international career included 10 years with a firm of well- known wool merchants and exporters in sole charge of their Japanese markets.

General Manager of PGG Wrightson Wool, Cedric Bayly, said Craig Smith enjoys working at the forefront of the wool industry and is keen to expand his influence in promoting wool and its commercial viability.

"He is totally passionate about the product and has been his whole life, having grown up on the family sheep and beef farm in Elsthorpe, Central Hawke’s Bay, founded by his great grandfather, Doug Smith.

"Craig has carried his wool message to high places having visited Clarence House in London for tea with Prince Charles in June this year as part of a Campaign for Wool promotion. He was delighted to represent New Zealand’s wool interests at this function and to meet Prince Charles, who is patron of the Campaign, directors and others who are actively involved in spreading the word about wool on the international stage."

Cedric Bayly said that Craig Smith will, in his new role with PGG Wrightson Wool, continue to promote the importance of wool as a natural, renewable, biodegradable resource which offers numerous technical and ecological benefits.

"He understands that this is a two-way street and as consumers make the move back to natural fibre - so too the farming community will need to grow their sheep numbers to maintain supply.

"Whether sharing tea with you in your wool shed or in the gardens of Clarence House - the subject matter will be the same - to get in behind wool and make sheep farming more profitable," Cedric Bayly said.