For a small country Lithuania features prominently in New Zealand’s wool export statistics.

Two factories in a field outside Raseiniai, a small town in the country’s south west, account for much of the New Zealand wool consigned to Lithuania. Each factory is Danish owned, by Ege Carpets and Danspin, customers of PGG Wrightson’s international sales and marketing business Bloch & Behrens.

Though Ege produces carpets in Denmark, using high-tech printing techniques, its spinning facility, Litspin, is in Raseiniai.Danspin is one of the world’s largest users of New Zealand wool, much of it supplied by Bloch & Behrens. Danspin also re-located its spinning mill to Lithuania, producing carpet yarn for global export. If Danspin were using New Zealand wool only, this facility could spin around ten per cent of our entire national clip.

Bloch & Behrens general manager Palle Petersen recently visited Danspin in Lithuania, along with the company’s European manager Hans Bering.