AN Australian woolgrower has once again won the coveted Loro Piana Challenge Cup for producing one of the world's finest wool bales in 2011.
The Australian Highlander Ultrafine Farm in Tumbarumba New South Wales, owned by Suzanne Triplett, took out the prestigious award for a second time.
The 11.1 micron bale has set a new record for the finest wool bale ever produced in Australia.
Every year, luxury fashion retailer, Loro Piana, engages Australia and New Zealand woolgrowers in the challenge, involving a jury formed by the Presidents of the Australian Superfine Wool Growers’ Association and the Director of the New Zealand Stud Merino Breeders Society, to judge certified bales of wool that must comply with specific weight, length and strength standards to be allowed into to the competition.
The 2011 winning wool bale from Highlander boasts the incredible fineness of 11.1 microns (1 micron = one thousandth of a millimetre) bringing the Loro Piana Challenge Cup to Australia for the 14th time.
The Award Ceremony took place in New York, where Loro Piana hosted an exclusive dinner to honour the commitment and professionalism of Australian and New Zealand woolgrowers.
Australian Wool Innovation and Woolmark chief executive officer, Stuart McCullough, said the win highlights the constant endeavour by Australian woolgrowers to produce the best Merino wool, boasting unique natural qualities such as fineness, softness, renewability, elasticity and versatility.
“This record win, setting a new national standard, re-affirms the leading inspiration of our marketing campaign ’Merino Wool. No Finer Feeling’," Mr McCullough said.
CEO of the Loro Piana Group, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, said this award goes to the professionalism, to the skills and the passion "so typical of these farms".
"Thanks to their constant efforts, the wool industry can count on quality and fineness, which was inconceivable 10 years ago. It is indeed 2 microns lower compared to those days," Mr Piana said.
Loro Piana established the Challenge in 2000 to promote quality by supporting breeders in their pursuit of excellence.
The Challenge Cup invariably sets an annual record, which is often also a world record. Every Record Bale is archived by Loro Piana and until a finer wool bale is purchased, the previous one cannot be used.
