MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Punta Arenas Standard Wool back in business

Standard Wool from Punta Arenas is looking ahead to a full year's work in spite of the blaze which razed its wool deposits and equipment in February 2004.

Carlos Calisto, Standard Wool General Manager told the Punta Arenas press that the company is involved in the final stages of discussions with the insurance company and should be collecting the policy cheque in the coming weeks.

"We're currently in the demolition process of the area destroyed by the fire and in two/three weeks we expect to begin working in the new plant with a team of specialists we are in the process of selecting", revealed Mr. Calisto.

If all works out as programmed the company should start building the new plant and deposits towards the end of next September.

Mr. Calisto also revealed that the idea of moving the company to Argentine Patagonia has been abandoned, "it's definitive we're staying and rebuilding Punta Arenas".

"The new plant with basically the same industrial processing equipment should be running by April/May 2006", indicated Mr. Calisto.

Standard Wool in spite of total losses has continued in the business by shipping local wool to Montevideo, Uruguay, where it's processed and eventually exported.

"Our volume of operation hasn't suffered that much and in Montevideo we have access to virtually the same productive capacity we had in our plant in Punta Arenas", said Mr. Calisto, adding that England and Italy are the main markets for Magallanes wool.

On February 28, 2004, the Standard Wool plant caught fire and it took fire brigades two days to extinguish the blaze. Losses included industrial equipment and tons of wool stored and ready to be processed.