Feltex Carpets (originally Felt and Textiles Limited) is an Australian manufacturer of residential and commercial carpets. The company began its manufacturing operations in Australia in 1921, as Felt and Textiles of Australia Ltd. The company was publicly listed and acquired by Australian and New Zealand carpet manufacturer

Godfrey Hirst Carpets Godfrey Hirst Carpets is the largest manufacturer and exporter of residential and commercial carpets in Australasia. The business was founded in 1888 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, by Godfrey Hirst, an English immigrant from Meltham, West Y ...

after going into receivership in 2006. Its well-known residential brands in Australia and New Zealand include Feltex, Redbook and Redbook green. Commercial ranges include Feltex Commercial, Feltex Woven Axminster and Feltex tile. Henri Van de Velde became managing director of Felt and Textiles in 1924, holding the position until his death in 1947. During this time the company expanded its product range and opened factories in New Zealand and South Africa. Felt and Textiles expanded into New Zealand in 1929 with the establishment of a subsidiary in Wellington called New Zealand Slippers. A subsidiary of the company started weaving

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe, Devon, River Axe which ...

carpets in Sydney in 1938, the first time that woven carpet had been manufactured in Australia. The company also had wool-scouring mills and factories for processing cow hair for underfelts. By 1945, Felt and Textiles Australia and its subsidiaries were manufacturing carpet, many kinds of felt, including "Feltex" moth-proof floor coverings, cotton wool and wadding, woollen clothing and slippers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company made military boots and special hard felt for shell cases. South African operations began with a slipper factory established in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1931, and, by 1941, the company claimed that most of the shoes and slippers worn in South Africa were made by Feltex. Around 27 percent of the company's net profits in 1960 came from South Africa, where it had 3,250 employees. By 1966, Feltex products were being sold in 49 countries. In 2000, Feltex Carpets became Australasia's biggest carpet manufacturer after it bought out US-based Shaw Industries but, by 2005, the company was struggling and it went into receivership in 2006. Factories in New Zealand were at

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

(closed 2009), Foxton (closed 2009), Kakariki yarn factory (closed 1997) Kakariki wool scouring plant (closed 2006), Gracefield in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scot ...

(opened 1948, closed 2006) and

Wainuiomata Wainuiomata () is a large Commuter town, dormitory suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area in New Zealand. Its population was estimated as being as of with a density of 1,600 people ...

(closed 1997) Factories in Australia were at

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

Hallam Hallam may refer to: Places * Hallam, Victoria, Australia ** Hallam railway station UK * Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England, UK ** Royal Hallamshire Hospital ** Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency) ** Sheffield Hallam Univer ...

, Braybrook and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in Victoria. In 1997, when the Wainuiomata and Kakariki yarn plants closed, the chief executive of Feltex Carpets stated that carpets made up 92 percent of Feltex's business while yarns were just 8 percent. The yarns business was struggling due to the high value of the dollar, a decline in hand knitting, and less use of wool in fashion fabrics.

Community activity

From 1970 to 1985, Feltex sponsored the New Zealand Feltex Awards, which recognised technical and artistic achievement in television.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website1950 overview of company and its subsidiaries
Textile companies of New Zealand Textile companies of Australia Carpet manufacturing companies 1921 establishments in Australia 1921 establishments in New Zealand Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne 2006 disestablishments in New Zealand 2006 disestablishments in Australia