Our story
A Quiet Renaissance. 132 Years in the Making.
From heritage to innovation.
For more than 130 years, our family has worked alongside the wool industry in Tairāwhiti Gisborne. Wool was once the backbone of New Zealand’s rural economy. But as global manufacturing turned to cheap, oil-based synthetics, strong wool fell from favour. Prices collapsed, and farming communities carried the cost.
With five generations of wool handling behind us, we felt a responsibility to our land and our community to find a way forward. The problem was never the fibre. It was how the fibre was being used.
In 2021, we founded Wisewool™ to connect traditional land stewardship with modern material science.Through advanced fibre engineering, we transform natural New Zealand wool into Wiselayer™ - precision-crafted wool batting with controlled loft and density, and Wisefill™ - resilient wool spheres that create natural spring, loft and comfort without relying on synthetic materials.
Today, as global industries move away from plastics, Wisewool™ is at the forefront of that shift, proving that the future of advanced product design is grown, not manufactured.
1894
the foundation.
Englishman William Henry Smith established the region’s first wool scour on the banks of the Taruheru River in Hexton, Gisborne forming W H Smith Ltd. He begins sourcing wool from local sheep stations, forging multi-generational relationships with farming families that remain intact today.
1920 - 1945
Resilience through global shifts.
William’s son Albert takes leadership, steering the company through the Great Depression. During WWII the facility supported the war effort, pivoting production to wool for military uniforms. In 1945, grandson R B (Bruce) Hansen entered the business as a wool buyer at just 17.
1950 - 1970
the industrial boom.
As the global wool market peaks, W H Smith Ltd moves its scouring operations closer to the port at Awapuni’s Midway Beach. In 1970, Bruce Hansen commissioned New Zealand’s newest wool-scouring machinery and renamed the processing division the Gisborne Wool Company Ltd.
1980 - 2015
facing the synthetic downturn.
Fourth-generation brothers Henry and Andrew Hansen join the business. By the 1990s, the global price for strong wool collapsed as synthetics took over mass manufacturing. Through decades of low returns, where shearing often cost more than the wool was worth, the family kept operating and pushed forward.
2016
Consolidating regional strength.
To secure regional supply, Gisborne Wool Company Ltd merges with neighbouring Fred Tate Wools Ltd to form East Coast Wools Ltd, the largest wool broking and buying entity in the Tairāwhiti region.
2021
The birth of Wisewool™.
In response to global demand for sustainable alternatives, CEO Henry Hansen and the family explore new ways to add value to strong wool. Wisewool™ is launched. The family imports advanced machinery from the United Kingdom to begin product development. Great-great-grandsons Angus Hansen and Harry Urquhart-Hay join across operations and marketing, alongside Nicky Hansen leading product innovation.
2022 - today
global scaling.
To meet demand, manufacturing scales through a plant in Te Poi, Waikato. Today, Wisewool™ is a global ingredient brand, exporting high-performance material to the United States, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, India and Australia.
