About Us
We manufacture wool-based filter media in Auckland, New Zealand.
Learn more about our history and our team below.
Our History
Lanaco is named after “lana”, the Latin word for wool, reflecting our deep connection to nature.
Lanaco was founded in 2011 by Auckland engineer Nick Davenport to develop sustainable air filtration using New Zealand wool—a natural alternative to synthetic materials. Partnering with sheep breeder Andy Ramsden, Lanaco launched the Astino® breeding program to optimize wool for electrostatic filtration.
Initially focused on industrial filters, the company gained global recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic by producing breathable, high-performance PPE.
In 2022, Lanaco returned to its core mission: creating EcoStatic® filter media for homes and industries. Today, Lanaco leads the shift toward natural, renewable filtration solutions that meet the world’s highest performance and sustainability standards.
Our Values
Making natural possible in air filtration
At Lanaco, we believe that a strong, cohesive team is built on shared values. These principles guide everything we do, from innovation to customer care.
• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Curiosity
• Discipline
• Commitment
• Customer-Focused
Founder and CEO
Nick is a materials applications engineer who founded Lanaco following many successful years heading up materials company Nexus Foams Ltd. Nick has 30 years experience in product innovation and entrepreneurialism with fibre and polymer materials for industrial applications.
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Chairman of the Board
Dr. West is experienced in commercialising deep science businesses, following an extensive career in executive government and academic roles. He has co-founded, invested in, and governed high technology start-ups and public roles, especially those with a clean, green technology specialisation, such as Lanaco, GNS Science, NZQA, Aquafortus and Synthase Biotech.
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Chief Business Development Officer
Hansol has a Chemical Engineering educational background and brings years of technical sales experience into his role, specialising in R&D and deep tech commercialisation in public and private sectors. He leverages his strong networks to achieve top results.
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Chief QHSE Officer
Tony has more than 30 years of experience in leadership roles in agri-business with companies of the calibre of Livestock Improvement Corporation, Seales Winslow and Lincoln University. Tony has valuable experience in operations, procurement and logistics.
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Chief Scientific Officer
Valentine uses the chemistry of new materials to develop and improve Lanaco's natural and sustainable filter media materials. He wrote a Master's thesis on wool technology at the MacDiarmid Institute and Victoria University of Wellington, with experience in food, paint and wet wipes industries.
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Chief Operations Officer
With her materials engineering based background, Sonja brings together the scientific findings of Lanaco technology to create and enhance products and processes. She manages the highly capable production team and works with R&D to consistently expand our capabilities.
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Production Engineer
Mark has a background in Mechanical Engineering, having worked with aerospace and vehicle systems previously. He has a strong background in SolidWorks, CAD, mechanical product design and product management. Mark also serves in the New Zealand Defence Force.
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Director at Ovis Global
Andy has been a key part of Lanaco’s wool breeding objectives, fibre supply chain quality and supplier relations. Through the Astino® Breeding Programme, Andy brings a lifetime of successful sheep breeding. He also provides a mutually clear pathway of communications between producer, processor, scientist, manufacturer and end-user.
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