History of the Schneider Group
In 1922, a group of business partners led by Giovanni Schneider starts a new wool trading company that soon becomes a successful business, thanks to the enthusiasm, commitment and good market insight of its founders.
MILESTONES
1922
1940
Schneider acts mainly as a trader of Australian greasy wool, focusing on high-quality merino wools particularly in demand by European-based textile companies.
1950
As a result of economic growth and major textile innovations, traditional wool traders gradually turn into top makers. Schneider, too, follows this path by investing in innovation and developing the technical know-how necessary to obtain high-quality combed slivers from the most refined wools.
1988
Together with Loro Piana, Schneider purchases Pettinatura Lane in Rieti, Italy, making its first industrial investment and transforming Schneider from pure trader into topmaker.
1989
Schneider purchases Pettinatura di Verrone, again together with Loro Piana, which will sell its shares to Schneider in 2002 to re-enter the partnership in 2012.
1993
G. Schneider New Zealand is founded for sourcing New Zealand merino wool.
1996
The Group purchases and subsequently revamps a cashmere dehairing mill in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The company’s name becomes Monital. It reopens with the first European standard water treatment in Mongolia.
1999
The Group builds the Argentinian combing mill in Trelew, in the prairies of Patagonia.
1999
The Authentico® brand program is established to build a direct supply chain with Australian breeders, which will give birth to the Authentico® Integrity Scheme.
2002
The Schneider Group acquires Fuhrmann 1735, a Dutch company and the world’s oldest wool trading company. Fuhrmann boasts a subsidiary in New Zealand specialising in crossbred wool for furnishings, which will later merge with G. Schneider New Zealand. The combing mill in Argentina is renamed Fuhrmann.
2004
Production begins at Jiangyin Shenghai Industrial Company in Zhangjiagang, at that time the most modern combing plant built in China.
2006
Jiangyin Shenlong Textile Treatment Company is founded in Zhangjiangang (anti-shrinkage wool treatment) as a joint venture with Tintoria di Sandigliano, whose stake was acquired by Suedwolle in 2014.
2007
Sanin, owner of an extensive plot of land in the Argentinian Andes, is acquired to begin the preservation of wild vicuna and the harvesting of this most precious fiber.
2008
The Group closes its Rieti, Italy mill, opening a new mill in Sadat City, Egypt, in 2011 to ensure greater competitiveness in medium-fine tops. Carbonising is added to combing.
2012
Schneider transforms Pettinatura di Verrone into a joint venture with Loro Piana, Marzotto and Zegna. Unique in the industry, this successful alliance between competitors is created to safeguard the excellence of Made in Italy in the area of superfine wools and speciality fibers.
2012
Fuhrmann begins to directly manage farms in Patagonia to strengthen its supply chain in Argentina.
2025
The Schneider Group becomes part of G. Modiano Ltd. It includes the Italian trading operations and Italian and Egyptian mills, the buying offices in Australia and the buying and trading activities in New Zealand.
TODAY
The Schneider Group is the most trusted source for responsibly and beautifully made precious wool and other animal tops. We resolutely believe in responsible, ethical and high-quality standards of sourcing and processing across our entire certified network across continents. The wide range of next generation tops and fibres we produce embodies our unwavering commitment to:
- ANIMAL WELFARE
- ETHICAL STANDARDS
- ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS
- HIGH QUALITY
- PERFORMANCE
And on top of all this, with Authentico® Integrity Scheme, the Schneider Group brand is standing for a reliable and proprietary verification system tracing wool from farm to tops, able to deliver full traceability and transparency, key values for the whole group.
