Baavet's Porthmadog factory turns Llŷn and Texel fleece into British wool bedding

Some people have never heard of a Baavet. Others have owned one for years and will not sleep under anything else. Either way, the wool duvet made in Porthmadog is a Welsh success story, and Gwynedd MP Liz Saville Roberts visited the factory to mark National Wool Month.

Roger Payne founded Baavet 17 years ago with his wife Lesley. "Wool prices had hit rock bottom, and we needed to do something with our wool," he explained. Lesley joked that even if they could make a wool duvet, people would not buy one because it sounded heavy, itchy and old-fashioned, so it would need a different name. "So instead of a wool duvet, let's call it a Baa...vet; and that was it."

It took months of hard work to create the first wool duvet production line in the UK. At first part of the process had to be done in Yorkshire, with only the finishing work done in an industrial unit in Harlech. As the business grew it moved from one unit to three, and with the help of a Welsh Government grant it bought the machinery to set up a small factory in Porthmadog, where the whole operation now takes place.

Baavet buys wool directly from local farmers and pays a premium for it, though it needs a certain quality, such as Lleyn and Texel. The wool is graded at the British Wool depot in Newtown and washed in Dewsbury, and the company pays for around 40 tons of wool a year. The factory's carding and quilting machines are more than two metres wide.

As well as duvets, Baavet makes wool pillows, mattresses, mattress protectors, throws and pet beds, describing its products as British-made pure wool bedding. Roger is convinced of the benefits. "Wool regulates your temperature in bed, wicks away moisture, dust mites hate it and bacteria can't survive in it," he said.

It is a story that keeps value in Welsh fleece, from the farm gate to the bedroom.

Baavet's bedding, throws and stockists can be found at baavet.co.uk.