Lehner Wool is the specialist for 100% virgin sheep's wool. Our great strength lies in our knowledge of the special properties of sheep's wool and the purely mechanical processing of this versatile natural product. We are driven by the vision of developing innovative solutions for all areas of life: sustainable, healthy and unique. Because the chemical structure of the wool fibre brings with it so many advantages from which we benefit in product development.
Since 1969, Lehner Wool has been all about sheep's wool, because we are fascinated by the unique raw material of sheep's wool, one of the most recycled and reuseable fibres in the world. Sustainable, renewable and compostable. The protection of humans and animals is the focus of our actions. We only use mulesing- and chlorine-free wool for our products. "Mulesing" is the term used to describe a gruesome practice of removing the skin around the tail of sheep - without any painkillers. No one needs it and certainly no sheep.
What language do our sheep speak?
We source our unique raw material virgin
sheep's wool through our long-standing supplier network. With long-term
cooperation and responsible purchasing practices, we create secure purchasing
structures for our sheep farmers. Growing wool is not a day job, but a way of
life, and the health and happiness of a wool farmer are inextricably linked to
the health and happiness of the sheep they care for. Depending on the type of
wool and its intended use, our wools come from Europe, Turmenistan, New Zealand or Argentina. In Austria, for example, about 410,000 sheep of various breeds
are kept, and the annual wool production of a sheep is 2.50 - 4 kg shearing
weight, depending on the breed. During the growth of the wool, the sebaceous
glands produce the body's own fat, lanolin, which coats each wool hair and holds
the hairs together so that no moisture gets onto the skin. We source special
natural melanges as needed from different regions of the world.
Colourful sheep?
We use wool from white sheep, but of course also from
black sheep. However, to ensure that your wool products have such beautiful
colours, we have the wool dyed according to the REACH regulation, which
corresponds to the Oeko-Tex standard. For years, it has been important to us to
use sustainable dyeing for our virgin wool. Instead, we look for clean
processes and refrain from using harmful resources. We want to be a role model
and show other industries how easy sustainability can be. Why do we do this?
Dyeing processes are under pressure all over the world due to their harmful
effects on our planet. This is especially true for non-degradable substances,
such as heavy metals. Furthermore, many dyes contain parts that affect people's
health, both in the dyeing process and in the use of dyed fibres.
The wool cycle
From raw wool to the finished product
Are you wondering how thread, felt, insulation rolls or carpets are actually made from the wool of numerous happy sheep? Here you can get a first glimpse behind the scenes of our wool halls. The wool for your wool product is delivered to us freshly washed from the laundry in bales and stored in the dye wool warehouse or our tent hall, whose roof supplies our production with energy through photovoltaics. Depending on the brand and product sponsor, the wool is processed in a wide variety of machines, resulting in the unique LEHNER wool products.
Wool preparation
STYLIT
For STYLIT - our creative brand, the coloured raw wools of different wool types are processed into wool cords in different thicknesses, lengths & inner life (jute/wire), felts with a wide variety of widths and finishes or other decorative products. Here, our wool is weighed, blended according to the recipe and then prepared in large sacks for further processing.
Wool
refinement
STYLIT
The wool team fills these sacks into the picker. This is where the wool processing takes place. At the core of the carding machine are one or two large hook rollers. The disordered (sheared) wool is fed to the rollers, taken along by the hooks and runs around the roller. Wolfing serves several purposes: removing impurities, refining large gathering blocks into smaller tufts, opening up the fibres and the preparatory stage for combing the wool. In addition, the wool hairs are loosened during this process.
Spiders
& Needles
STYLIT
Now the loosened wool is either made into a variety of felts or cords. This is done either by needling or spinning. The cords go into the spinning machine. During spinning, a uniform thread is produced by distorting and twisting together individual short fibres. The base is usually a jute core, sometimes also a wire core - this is how the wool fibres are wound around the core to form a cord. The felts are made in a special needling machine. Here, several layers of wool fleece are laid on top of each other and then needled.
Packaging in the Sheepworld
STYLIT
In Sheepworld it's then a matter of making up and packing the goods. Felts are cut to size, wound up and finished. Cords are wound - whether on a spool or in a box. At the end, all the goods are carefully packed and checked.
ISOLENA production process
At
ISOLENA, we do not need coloured or very fine wools and, unlike in the textile
industry, many different types of wool can be used for production. To produce
the high-quality insulation material, the raw wool is fed directly into the
machine via the baling press. There it also passes through the carding machine
to loosen it up and to sort out vegetables. The individual wool flocks are then
turned into a thin fleece by a roller, which is then activated with the wool
protection Ionic Protect. Immediately, these fibres, as long as they are vital,
no longer represent food for keratin-digesting insects. Afterwards, the wool
webs are needled together by a needling machine.
Silentum production process
For
the Silentum acoustic felts, the process is a mixture between ISOLENA and
STYLIT, because here, too, coloured wool is used, which is then run over a card
and later needled into a strong wool felt.
FELICE weaving process
Traditional
weaving craftsmanship is practised at our FELICE brand. For the FELICE modular
and design carpets as well as the classics Doppia, Mozart, Bravo & Kärnten,
the spun wool yarns are rolled by the Allround team to give them a firm and closed
surface, make them more resistant and stop them fluffing. Fulling means treating
the yarn with water and heat. In a broader sense, the process includes winding,
washing and drying the yarns. We weave the unique carpets by hand on our
flexible looms, which we can adjust individually to produce desired lengths and
widths.
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Features of our product variety
Fascination sheep's wool
The natural animal product wool, like all animal fibres, consists of keratin: these are proteins that are also in human hair, skin and nails. Wool is valued above all for its diverse properties:
Colourfast
You don't have to worry about the felt
losing colour in the blazing sun or rain. Due to our natural dyeing according
to the REACH regulation, our wool retains its colour.
Washable
Our felt is
washable, but changes its structure in the process. Our carpets are not
washable, but can be vacuumed with a smooth nozzle, dust and dirt can also be easily
brushed out.
Lightfast
Your rug will retain its colour even in bright light
and strong sunlight, so you can use it in your conservatory or other outdoor
areas without worry.
Hardly combustible
Wool as a keratin fibre has the great property of
suffocating in itself when it comes into contact with fire. This means that the
fire does not spread any further but is suffocated. You can imagine this as
with hair: if you set fire to a strand of hair, it only stinks but does not
burn any further.
Tear-resistant
Our products are very durable due to the jute core,
which makes the cords hard-wearing. Each carpet edging is also previously
rolled and thus has an even stronger structure.
Waterproof
As sheep's wool is water-repellent, you can
also use Lehner Wool products optimally in covered outdoor areas. If a little
moisture gets on the carpet, that's no problem at all.
Renewable
Sheep's wool is a renewable raw material that is available worldwide.
We source it as regionally as possible in Austria, Switzerland and Europe t. As
long as there are sheep, there will be great wool.
Kompostierbar
Sheep's
wool can be recycled and is compostable. As we do not use any additives, our
products can be disposed of without concern or cost.