From their humble beginnings almost sixty-five years ago, the Fox and Lillie group of companies has steadily expanded and diversified their operations. With annual sales in excess of 24 million kilos per annum, Fox and Lillie has become one of the major players in the global wool industry today. Buying wool and processing wool in a dozen different countries, Fox and Lillie exports globally, and trades with all of the major wool consuming countries in the world. It has long been one of the largest wool buying and exporting enterprises in Australia. It is now one of the largest in the world.

In its early days, Fox and Lillie's chosen specialisation was the trade of all types of carding wool, and this quickly became its passion. Over the decades that followed, through buying, trading, and processing millions of kilos of all types of carding wool, the company became well known throughout the world as carding wool specialists. Fox and Lillie produce and trade scoured wool, carbonised wool, open tops and noils. Classically their products are used in the production of woollen knitwear and woollen woven fabrics, and in the semi-worsted industries. Over many decades Fox and Lillie has owned and operated scouring, carbonising, top making and open tops facilities both in Australia, and overseas, honing their knowledge and enhancing their reputation as a company that knows the carding business inside out. Today, due to expansion, diversification, and the natural evolution of the industry and its demands, carding wool constitutes about half the company's exports. But the Fox and Lillie reputation, and position as one of the world's pre-eminent suppliers of carding wool, has never been stronger. Fox and Lillie's expertise extends far beyond the boundaries of the carding sector however, supplying for many years large volumes of greasy wool and wool tops of all categories throughout the world. Across the entire spectrum, from speciality superfine spinners fleeces, to the broadest carpet wool blends, Fox and Lillie can supply, and deliver to meet the requirements of the most fastidious client.

The Australian export division of Fox and Lillie has wool buyers located at all wool selling centres across Australia, who attend and purchase wool for the company at auction sales. In addition, a large percentage of the export division's wool is sourced directly from wool growers, through their own direct buying operation, Fox and Lillie Rural (FLR) (www.flrural.com.au), and other outside companies.

100% owned by Fox and Lillie, the Fox and Lillie Rural operation has representatives located throughout all major wool growing areas in the country, sourcing wool and servicing the needs of the growers. Since the early 1980's Fox and Lillie has built a strong relationship with the wool growers, offering them a full range of brokerage and direct buying options. With stores located throughout the southern states, the presence of Fox and Lillie Rural in the 'bush' has never been stronger. And, as a by-product of the wonderful link between Fox and Lillie's direct buying, and exporting operations, the wool grower has never been closer to their ultimate customer, the end user.

For-seeing the emergence of China as the major market for Australia's wool, Fox and Lillie opened an office in Shanghai in 2002, and it has become an integral part of the Fox and Lillie global business. Their manager, Mr Tomy Ke and his staff are dedicated to the establishment of Fox and Lillie as the number one supplier of wool to the Chinese market. Through the Shanghai office Fox and Lillie are now processing within China, selling into China from all other origin countries, and exporting tops, open tops and carbonised products from China to their clients around the globe.

Fox and Lillie has an international network of representatives servicing their client's needs in virtually every wool consuming market in the world, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Germany, U.S.A., Canada, Korea, Japan and India.

Today this diverse and increasingly global business is managed by Mr James H. Lillie and his experienced team in the company's head office, located in Melbourne.