Conversation with The Natural Fibre Company

Ally Allington and Nicola Bray recently visited The Natural Fibre Company, meeting the Managing Director and owner, Colin Spencer Halsey, and Account Executive, Beki Gilbert. This was a welcomed invitation to hear about the challenges and opportunities within the manufacturing sector.

The Natural Fibre Company is a specialist woollen mill, based in Launceston, Cornwall. Their core activity is turning shorn fleece into processed fibres and yarns suitable for weaving, knitting and crochet. Being the only company in the country that spins both wool and worsted yarns within one building, the service they offer is efficient and their ability to scour, card and spin all under one roof reduces their carbon footprint.  
 

Upon arrival at their offices, Beki’s enthusiasm was immediately palpable, which was the case throughout the whole visit. Colin purchased the company jointly with a business partner in December 2019, becoming the sole-owner in April 2022. Over this period, he has worked hard to change the culture within the company. Giving employees responsibility and ownership of their roles has led to increased engagement and the waiting list in place for their services is testament to the fantastic team Colin has built.

The services the company offer encompass both business to consumer and business to business, the former being mainly through their e-commerce offering, via Blacker Yarns. They are soon to be re-opening their dye plant, which has proven to be a popular service in the past, and there are many areas of research and development ongoing, to ensure this sustainable fibre is being used to its full potential.
 

From a tour of the factory and discussions held, it is clear that one of the company’s core values is to care for the environment. The company has a strong commitment to a circular economy – many of their waste materials are either available for purchase or donated to charity and they have achieved Carbon Reduction accreditation. They are always looking for ways to do even more in this area, and it is refreshing to see a company who view this as so integral to their operations.

Of course, as with many businesses, the company is facing some obstacles in achieving their goals. One of these is machine reliability. The machinery used is often what Colin refers to as ‘museum pieces’, which perform the job well, but inevitably break down and are expensive to fix when they do. One other issue that compounds this is the quality of the fleece supplied to the company, which varies considerably by customer.

They process small batches, so this requires frequent machine changes, slowing the process. The company are keen to focus on building the commercial arm of their business, as this often means the fibre received is of better quality and as each batch is processed individually, this means fewer changes in the process. They have customers based all around the world and with new enquiries reaching between 6 – 18 per week, this customer base is extending.
 

One point of discussion was how to ensure that the consumer is aware of the good that is being done by the company, and to ensure the quality and environmentally friendly products they produce are valued. The key to this is education, which is something that their website certainly provides. The staff at The Natural Fibre Company are willing to talk about wool and what they do all day long, and collaboration is something they welcome.