Sandnes Uldvarefabrik AS was established near the fjord in Sandnes in the western part of Norway in  1888. In 1978, due to a wide spread fire, the factory was rebuilt in Foss-Eikeland, where it is still presently operating. In 2006, the company changed its name to SandnesGarn AS.

Production

The factory produces both hand knitting and industrial yarn. Industrial yarn is sold to factories who produce blankets, knitwear and carpets. The most important part of the factory is production and sales of hand knitting yarn representing a high percentage of the turnover.

In former years Norwegian wool dominated the market, but due to its coarse texture we increasingly began buying wool from South American countries, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, we purchase Alpaca from Bolivia and Peru, as well as cotton from India. We mainly buy these products as  white raw  material on cones and then dye it before transferring it into balls. The total production is estimated at an annual 650 tons.

The production process begins with scouring the raw wool before it goes through carding, spinning, twisting and making hanks for dying . Finally the yarn is  either transferred to balls for hand knitting or on cones for industrial use. As a result of huge investments in machinery and equipment reaching 10 million dollars in value, the factory is currently one of the most modern in Europe.

How we sell

While  industrial yarn is sold  directly to factories, hand knitting yarn is sold to shops in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. In Finland, Island,  USA  and Canada the yarn is sold through wholesalers.  And now, SKD YARNS Ltd from England is appointed as Wholesaler and Retailer for UK and Ireland, and as a Retailer to the rest of the World.

Design

As good designs are of vital importance for sales, the factory has its own department which specializes in developing knitting patterns for knitting catalogues. Further design patterns are purchased from freelance designers.

Key data

The factory has local owners and there are currently 98 people employed by SandnesGarn.

The turnover in 2009 was 21 mill. USD and in 2010, 25 mill. USD.  

Aims

The factory aims to be the leader in knitting design in Europe and to expand its sales to new clients worldwide, keeping artificial fibers to a minimum and concentrating on quality natural products. In addition we plan to continue investing in the most up to date, modern machinery with special attention on our dying, ball making and packaging machinery.