Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Design Spun: Napier woollen yarn producer to close, 26 job losses

By Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Multimedia journalist·Hawkes Bay Today·
9 Jul, 2025 10:31 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Design Spun's plant in Napier is set to close.

Design Spun's plant in Napier is set to close.

A spinning mill in Napier is set to close after decades of producing high-quality yarn for textiles and knitting.

Design Spun has announced the closure of its mill and dyehouse plant in the industrial suburb of Onekawa.

The closure includes 26 job losses.

Production will ramp down from August 31.

The mill has been operating at its current site on Husheer Place for more than 40 years and produces yarn from a variety of wool and fibres, including sheep’s wool, alpaca wool, silk and other natural fibres.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Design Spun owns a retail store and brand called Skeinz, which has a shop in Onekawa as well as an online store. Skeinz will remain open and continue to stock New Zealand-made yarn.

The equipment from the mill and dyehouse has been sold to a Christchurch-based company.

Design Spun managing director Brendan Jackson said, “This is a bittersweet moment for all of us”.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Design Spun managing director Brendan Jackson says it is bittersweet. Photo / Warren Buckland
Design Spun managing director Brendan Jackson says it is bittersweet. Photo / Warren Buckland

“While the sale means yarn processing will no longer take place at our Napier site, resulting in the loss of jobs for our team, we are proud to have achieved two of our three primary goals,” he said, of the sale of the company’s equipment.

“The equipment’s relocation to Wild Earth Yarns [in Christchurch] ensures yarn production remains in New Zealand and that a local supply option continues to be available.”

The company had hoped to keep operations in Napier to support the staff.

“Our initial preference was a business sale and onsite continuity to enable the executive director’s retirement and exit,” Jackson said.

“Unfortunately, that was not achievable.

“The next best outcome was a plant and equipment sale that would allow the manufacturing capability to remain in New Zealand.”

He said trading conditions had been “very challenging” for New Zealand businesses in recent years.

“While there is strong local sentiment for supporting NZ-made products, many consumers are budget-constrained, and lower-priced imports often prevail.”

Design Spun’s property on Husheer Place is leased and will be retenanted once operations conclude.

The company gave a “heartfelt thanks” to its team, customers, and the Hawke’s Bay community for nearly four decades of support.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The wool industry in New Zealand is facing challenges, and sheep farms have struggled in recent years with low wool prices.

In Hawke’s Bay alone, the number of sheep has dropped from about five million in 1990 to fewer than three million currently.

Jackson said that in his view, there was a growing interest in New Zealand wool.

“It is a natural, renewable, and high-performance fibre that meets modern environmental expectations.

“We believe strongly in the future of a New Zealand-based spinning mill embedded in a transparent, innovative, and resilient value chain.”

Of the 26 jobs affected by the closure, 20 are permanent and six are fixed-term.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay
Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Some roads remained blocked.

17 Jul 06:02 AM
'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues
Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

17 Jul 04:06 AM
Premium
Premium
Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP