LOOKING BACK WITH PRIDE - 1923 to today

Australian Country Spinners was formed in 1991 through the merger of Wangaratta Woollen Mills,
Cleckheaton and Panda Yarns. In 1998 ACS experienced further growth with the acquisition of Yarra Falls
and in 2000 ACS acquired Patons Australia and Shepherd.

Industrial Yarn Division

Australian Country Spinners is the largest worsted spinner in Australia producing a wide range of Industrial
Yarn qualities in natural or dyed form for machine knitting and weaving.
Using premium quality Australian Merino and Crossbred wools, our modern manufacturing facility creates
a range of single and twofold yarn counts from 9 Nm to 30 Nm for use by Australian and overseas clients.

Our undyed yarns are used in a wide variety of products, but predominantly in socks and thermal underwear, and into high quality woven commercial upholstery.

ACS has also invested heavily in its dye house facility and produces contract yarns to client’s requirements.
We can offer yarns which have been dyed on cone, dyed on hank, multi colour space printed yarns, and top
dyed yarns in an exciting range of Heather and Mixture / Marl blended colours.

Our yarns are used by all major knitters for finished products such as School and Corporate Knitwear,
Ladies and Men’s Fashion Knits, Hosiery and Thermal Underwear, Defense Force garments.

Australian Country Spinners is also the selling agent for Sorin Corporation, a Korean Spinner who specialise
in very fine count yarns used in fine gauge circular knitting and weaving.
Sorin Corporation is one of only two spinners in the world to be licensed to sell "Sportwool" to knitters
registered to produce premium performance fabrics for active sportswear.
With ACS’s long established Australian operations covering the heavy to medium count range in natural and dyed yarns, and through Sorin Corporations ability to offer premium yarns in fine counts, Australian Country Spinners is well placed to offer a complete yarn service to knitters and weavers.
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Wangaratta Woollen Mills
Wangaratta Woollen Mills began production of wool worsted yarn in 1923 and was soon acknowledged as
the most progressive spinner of high quality knitting yarns, growing to become Australia's largest mainland
mill. Since inception, the mills machinery and technology have been continually upgraded.

Yarra Falls
Yarra Falls Spinning was acquired in 1998 to add further strength to the Industrial Yarn Division of ACS.
Both Yarra Falls and Wangaratta Woollen Mills shared a similar history and have been major contributors
to the Australian wool textile industry. They were created in the early 1900's as major worsted and woollen
yarn spinners to meet the growing demand of the Nation for high quality knitwear and weaving yarns.
Yarra Falls was a Public Co listed on the stock exchange until the 1970's when it was taken over by W R Carpenter and Co, and again in the 1980's by the Griffin group.
Both companies continued to invest heavily in modern automated equipment to ensure they remained competitive in the market.
The 1990's saw significant rationalisation of the total textile industry in Australia and other developed
countries, and the acquisition of Yarra Falls by ACS in 1998 was a necessary and important move to
ensure the continuation of a large, modern, efficient mill to meet the yarn requirements of local and
overseas clients.
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hand knitting Yarn Division

Cleckheaton
Cleckheaton began its Australian history in1948, when an Australian knitwear manufacturer, Mr. Fred James, traveled to Yorkshire, England to purchase fine, pure wool worsted yarn, which had been in continual shortage in Australia. He bought the yarn, and much more: the entire worsted spinning mill, Cleckheaton (Yorkshire) Ltd.
A year later, the plant, together with managers and mill hands, was transported 20,000 kilometres to Shepparton, Victoria. Success followed. The company grew further through acquisitions, and in 1980 merged with Wangaratta Woollen Mills.
Cleckheaton's concentration on natural fibres and blends and an Australian pedigree has established a loyal following throughout Australia and New Zealand.
For the past two decades Cleckheaton has developed a status and position of a premium quality brand that exports Australian Yarns and designs all over the globe.

Panda Yarns
Panda Yarns began in 1963 as an importer of fashion hand-knitting yarns, but gradually shifted emphasis to supplying high-volume markets with basic synthetic yarns. By the late 1980’s Panda had grown to be the
largest supplier of hand-knitting yarn in Australia, concentrating mainly on locally-produced yarns.
Today Panda has a range of yarns that meet the changing needs of the craftsperson with basic to fancy yarns that offer quality at a price with a vast choice of colour, texture and fibres.
Panda's current range of qualities and pattern designs are distributed widely throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Patons Australia
Patons established itself in Australia with its first mill being built in Tasmania in 1923.
For decades Patons was the leading handknitting yarn brand, but due to the market contracting in the mid 1980's Patons felt the decline and eventually amalgamated in 1996 with Alliance Textiles in New Zealand. Patons Australia was acquired by Australian Country Spinners in 2000 where this Icon Brand found a new
and exciting home to move forward into the new millennium and once again emerge to be the fashion leader
of handknitting yarn in the region. Patons Australia is the sole supplier of the brand in Australia, New Zealand and to major countries in Asia.
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Shepherd
Shepherd remains New Zealand’s premium handknitting yarn brand.
Since its incorporation into Australian Country Spinners in 2000 it has grown in status in Australia and a
number of our export markets.
Prior to 2000 Shepherd yarns were produced by Alliance Textiles in New Zealand.
The Shepherd brand has a proud history of over forty years of supplying high quality yarns into New Zealand
and overseas.
The Shepherd range of yarns and design publications are focused on the 0 – 12 year olds with a strong emphasis on natural fibre.