When Faribault Woolen Mill Company closed its doors in 2009 it seemed that one of America’s most venerable blanket-makers would be left to history. However, such concerns were premature: two enterprising Minnesota businessmen have given the firm a second life.

Just before the turn of the 20th century America’s Upper Midwest was home to some 800 woollen mills. Minnesota’s Faribault Woolen Mill Co, founded at the close of the American Civil War in 1865, would ultimately become the region’s most successful. The original “one-man mill” consisted of German-born Carl Klemer and his simple horse-powered operation, which would later grow to produce as many as 350,000 blankets for American soldiers during the world wars. At its peak in the 1950s, the mill is said to have produced half of all wool blankets sold in America.

Despite the fabled manufacturer’s success, recent years have been less kind. Over the last few decades the mill was sold twice as increased competition from abroad coupled with unprofitable diversification left the company on a path toward bankruptcy. The mill closed in 2009 and as the company went into foreclosure proceedings many were left to believe that the ageing factory wheels would stop spinning forever.

As residents of Faribault struggled with the loss of a brand that had put the idyllic Minnesota town of 23,000 on the map, rumours swirled as to what would become of the factory. Faribault’s equipment, including machinery dating back as far as 1905, was to be sold to a Pakistani textile manufacturer and the local consensus was that the mill itself would be razed. Then, nearly two years after Faribault’s last days, Minneapolis entrepreneur Paul Mooty convinced his cousin Chuck, a retired executive, to pay the mill a visit.

“After five minutes on the factory floor it was clear the challenge we’d be facing,” says Faribault’s now-president, Paul. “But when we spoke to the mill’s former controller and a consultant who’d worked for Faribault in recent years we were convinced that by refocusing on the company’s historic core business – high-quality wool blankets and throws – we’d be able to make it happen.”

The Mootys bought the company out of bankruptcy and production resumed in September last year. Machinery has been overhauled to make operations more efficient and around 85 staff have been hired, nearly a third formerly employed by the previous owners.

While 90 per cent of the textiles woven in the mill today are American wool, Faribault also uses Ingeo, a sustainable corn-based material developed by Cargill. This year, Faribault is on track to process 160kg of wool, with demand driven by the retail sector. In fact, there’s a contract from an American retailer for 100,000 blankets, in addition to growing demand from hotels such as New York’s Bowery and the Waldorf Astoria.

“This is a real craft,” says Paul, fingering one of their new blankets. “The number of hands that touch this piece of wool from the moment it comes in the door to when it ends up as a blanket… there’s a lot of care here.”
faribaultmill.com

The process

1. Carding
   Raw wool fibres are combed and aligned then pulled into individual pencil roving and wrapped onto a spool.

2. Spinning Spinning frames are loaded with spools as centrifugal force winds the yarn tightly onto individual bobbins.

3. Weaving
   
The fabric starts to form as yarns cross in the loom. Warm water and lubricant cleans and pre-shrinks the cloth.

4. Cutting and sewing
   The blanket yardage is laid onto cutting tables and shaped to size before being labelled, folded and packed for shipping