Woolrest International Limited

Abstract

The case study describes an entrepreneurial company that developed a key product - the Woolrest sleeper underlay - and sold this product to five overseas markets. In 1985 Woolrest International Limited was bought out by Jarden Corporation. In 1987 there was a buy-back by the original shareholders. By this stage the competition had grown and the deregulation of the export market by the New Zealand government, with the removal of export incentives, put Woolrest in a challenging position. The company's organisation would need to move to a new stage of development to compete on the global market. Management and organisation structures are analysed and critiqued in this case study with a timeline of development in the appendix section