AWN From humble beginnings to now employing almost three-hundred staff, AWN, one of the country’s largest agri-services businesses, has much to celebrate as it reaches its twenty-five year milestone.
In a nod to its wool specialist beginnings, AWN co-sponsored last night’s International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) cocktail event in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary. The event which was held at Adelaide Oval drew delegates from around the world from all stages of the wool textile pipeline, ahead of the start of the ninety-third IWTO conference.
AWN Managing Director and founder, John Colley, delivered a short speech at the IWTO cocktail event, sharing the story of AWN.
AWN, which was formerly known as Australian Wool Network, was founded in 1999 by a small group of wool specialists with a vision to unite each step of the wool pipeline from grower to consumer.
“The mutually beneficial connection of wool growers and processors was a key driver behind the foundation of AWN. It was something that we were hearing consistently from both clients and international processors, but no one was offering it,”
Mr Colley said that the idea was born out of seeing a gap in the market for producers who wanted a connection with the supply chain, and processors who wanted to build relationships with Australian growers to ensure the supply of quality wool.
“The mutually beneficial connection of wool growers and processors was a key driver behind the foundation of AWN. It was something that we were hearing consistently from both clients and international processors, but no one was offering it,” he said.
The business grew rapidly, expanding into Queensland and then Victoria, followed by Tasmania, South Australia, and then Western Australia, where it became the majority shareholder in WA-based brokers, Dyson Jones. It wasn’t long before AWN became the largest independent wool broker in Australia.
Expanding into livestock and property was a natural progression for the Australian-owned business, which began providing livestock services in 2003.
In 2020, AWN began a significant expansion of its livestock and property business, acquiring nine successful livestock and property agencies, and establishing a further four greenfield sites across the country.
“I’m proud of the business that we have built over the past twenty-five years, and I am excited for the business to continue to grow and support more clients across rural Australia. It’s been twenty-five years, but we are really only just getting started.”
In 2023, AWN acquired a 10.1% shareholding in The New Zealand Merino Company, the business behind the ZQ and ZQRX programs, of which AWN had been the preferred partner of in Australia since its launch in the country.
Despite now being one of the largest agri-service providers in the country, AWN has remained independent and Australian-owned.
Managing director of AWN, John Colley attributes the company’s success not to any one person but the input and hard work of many.
“The success of AWN today, and how we operate, is a combination of ideas which have been morphed together with a singular vision to bring competition and innovation to rural Australia. Our business is different in every state it operates, which is important, and many people have played a role in making it a success,’’ he said.
“I’m proud of the business that we have built over the past twenty-five years, and I am excited for the business to continue to grow and support more clients across rural Australia. It’s been twenty-five years, but we are really only just getting started.”
