Reda: Italian textile maker marks 30 years in New Zealand

Celebrating 30 years of farm ownership in New Zealand are Fabrizio, Ercole, Francesco and Guglielmo Botto Poala. Photo / The NZ Merino Company

Luxury Italian textile maker Reda has celebrated 30 years of farm ownership in the central South Island.

A function to mark the anniversary was held recently at Otamatapaio Station, between Otematata and Omarama, which was the first property Reda bought in 1993.

Reda also owns Rugged Ridges in the Waitaki Valley and Glenrock in the Mackenzie District, with a total area of 30,000ha.

Based in Biella, northern Italy, the company was founded in 1865 by Carlo Reda and later sold in 1919 to brothers Albino and Francesco Botto Poala.

In a statement, Reda chairman Francesco Botto Poala said the move to invest in land in New Zealand was born from a desire to understand more about wool and the people who grew it.

“We set off in the early 1990s to discover New Zealand’s landscapes and the people who work in close contact with nature and animals, to understand more and more where the fibres came from, and from there I fell in love with this extraordinary land and a strong relationship was born that still lasts today,” he said.

Reda also holds long-term supply contracts with more than 100 merino growers through the ZQRX wool-sourcing programme offered by the New Zealand Merino Company (NZM).

Botto Poala credited Reda’s involvement throughout the supply chain, from fleece through to finished product, with giving the company the edge to consistently maintain excellence in its merino fabrics, while continually improving sustainability outcomes.

It was among the first in the world to obtain B Corp certification, before moving to become a benefit corporation.

NZM chief executive Angus Street said Reda’s achievements were an example of the success that could be achieved when brands truly understood the source of their raw materials.