Our History

For nearly 80 years Hextex has been a key local employer, a purchaser and processor of local fibres, particularly wool and mohair, and an important industrial centre where specialized textile and related engineering skills are maintained and passed on to future generations.

Hex River Textiles Mills Limited – named for the tributary that flows through the region, joining the Breede River south of Worcester – was established in 1946, shortly after the end of the Second World War, when textile plant manager Raymond Pollet saw the need to ensure a consistent supply of wool tops to markets in Egypt, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Technicians from France, Belgium and England helped to establish the new company’s large industrial premises in Worcester, including importing a complete combing unit from Bradford (UK) to South Africa. Within ten years, the business had expanded to include not just combing but scouring, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, with a manufactured fabric range including worsted cloth and hosiery yarn, in both wool and synthetic fibres. For many years Hextex was one of the largest vertically integrated textile production facilities in the world, and was the only factory in South Africa that could start with fleece, and finish with a piece of woven fabric from the very same material all on one site.

After experiencing a downturn in the 2000s, together with many other South African facilities in the textile sector, Hextex – which had changed its name to Winelands Textiles – went into a period of decline and the company’s production and personnel were downsized. In 2020 the business was sold to a new owner, with plans for a comprehensive rescue and turnaround of the iconic brand. After being shuttered during the extended Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 Hextex was re-opened under its true name, and an ambitious programme was initiated to refurbish and recommission the plant’s machinery.