KiwiFibre: Christchurch company turning harakeke into the materials of the future

The future is fibre

The world has a material shortage. What if one of New Zealand’s most familiar native plants could help solve that global problem?

That’s the ambitious idea behind Christchurch-born KiwiFibre, where humble harakeke is being transformed into a high-performance alternative to carbon fibre and fibreglass, finding its way into everything from snowboards and race cars to boats.

How KiwiFibre is reimagining what natural materials can do

KiwiFibre was founded by university friends Ben Scales and William Murrell.

Both had grown up tinkering. Ben’s family built home-built aircraft, while William experimented with carbon fibre, making rockets on the family farm. At university, the pair discovered the possibilities of natural fibre composites.

“I just couldn’t understand why nobody had commercialised it,” Ben says.

The answer, they believe, was sitting in the New Zealand landscape.

Harakeke offers vibration damping, energy absorption, impact resistance and radio transparency, while providing a renewable alternative to energy-intensive synthetic materials. But for Ben, its potential stretches well beyond the product itself.

“It’s an incredible plant. It’s an incredible fibre,” he says. “It’s got so much potential.”

Building a new bioeconomy from native plants

KiwiFibre is part of a growing movement of Canterbury companies turning biological resources into high-value products through science, engineering and innovation.

As New Zealand's largest agricultural region, Canterbury has many of the ingredients needed to grow a globally competitive bioeconomy: abundant natural resources, advanced manufacturing capability, world-class research institutions, and a strong pipeline of innovative companies developing new products from food, fibre and natural materials.

"KiwiFibre is a great example of how Canterbury companies are creating value from natural resources in entirely new ways," says Delis Fraser, ChristchurchNZ Head of Growth Sectors. "They're combining advanced materials science with a uniquely New Zealand resource to develop products that can compete globally while reducing reliance on carbon-intensive materials. That's exactly the kind of innovation helping shape the future of the bioeconomy."

Why is Christchurch the right place for KiwiFibre?

Christchurch proved the natural place to build the business. Ben points to Canterbury’s agricultural roots, access to renewable energy, and the extensive talent pool at the city’s universities.

“There’s so much here,” he says. “It didn’t make any sense to be anywhere else, really.”

The region’s ecosystem of universities, research organisations, manufacturers and growth-focused businesses provides a strong platform for companies seeking to scale new technologies and commercialise breakthrough ideas.

From snowboards to Formula One

KiwiFibre’s product range is constantly evolving.

It starts with snowboards before expanding into marine, automotive, mobility and infrastructure applications. A partnership with The Aotearoa Ocean Racing Team will see the material used to create components for a round-the-world sailing campaign.

Ben has another, slightly more audacious, ambition: a harakeke Formula One car.

While the applications continue to grow, the underlying proposition remains remarkably simple: replacing energy-intensive synthetic materials with renewable, plant-based alternatives that deliver impressive performance.

A vision bigger than materials

KiwiFibre’s ambitions extend far beyond manufacturing composite materials.

The company sees an opportunity to establish processing facilities around New Zealand, creating jobs, strengthening regional economies and providing landowners with a commercial reason to restore less productive land to native planting.

It's a vision that aligns with one of the bioeconomy's greatest opportunities: creating sustainable new industries that generate economic value while supporting environmental outcomes.

From a plant that has been part of New Zealand's landscape for generations, KiwiFibre is helping demonstrate how innovation, advanced manufacturing and natural resources can combine to create globally relevant solutions.

The future, it seems, really could be fibre.

Key takeaways

• Turning harakeke into high-performance materials – KiwiFibre is transforming New Zealand flax into a renewable alternative to carbon fibre and fibreglass.
• Creating value from natural resources – The company is applying advanced materials science to develop high-value products for marine, automotive, sporting and infrastructure sectors.
• Growing Canterbury's bioeconomy – KiwiFibre demonstrates how local fibre resources can be converted into globally competitive manufactured products.
• Combining economic and environmental benefits – The business has the potential to create new industries, support native planting and reduce reliance on carbon-intensive materials.