TRADE AND FINANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 88, 15 April 1925, Page 6

TRADE AND FINANCE.

ARTIFICIAL SILK YARN. BLENDING WITH WOOL. POSSIBLE EFFECT OX WOOL TRICES Xe«-s received by the English mail shows that on the Continent rapid progress is being made in developing the artificial silk industry. In addition to new works to be built in Spam and Poland, two new factories are being erected in France. Soic Artificielle d'Alsace is the name of a new company recently registered at Cohnar with a capital of 50.000.000 f. French and Alsatian interests arc represented on the board, including Monsieur Edouard Gillct, of the well-known Lyons silk company. A new factory in the neighbourhood of Calais is being financed from England. It will employ over 1000 operatives, for whom the building of newhouses is proceeding. Filature et Tissage Huttenheim-Beiilicld. organised since 1882 as a cotton spinning and weaving concern, is changing into Soic Artificielle Borowisk dc I'Est for the manufacture of artificial silk. At the same time the share capital is being increased from 2,511,250 f. io 20.000.000 f. by the issue of new shares. Suia-Viscosn of Turin, tho big Italian artificial silk manufacturers, is proposing to increase its capital from COO million to 1000 million lire. During the past twelve months the output of these works has been increased by more than 100 per cent. Traduction in England, the United States and other countries is on a largo scale. Winchcombe, Carson, Ltd. in their annual review of the Sydney and Brisbane wool markets, point out that in days gone by the chief menace of wool was cotton, but'as a result of decline in the world's crop its use in conjunction with wool has dwindled to small quantities. Production of artificial silk in England and on the Continent, the company states, has gone ahead by leaps and bounds of recent years owing to the scarcity and dearness of natural textile fibres. It is estimated that during 1924 120.000,000 ib of artificial silk was produced in the world, and that in 1925 production will reach 155,000,0001b. So far the development does not indicate that danger exists of ft replacing wool. That raw material still holds favour owing -to thfe advantages of elasticity, warmth, strength-•with-fineness and wearing capacity. But wool is dear. Consquently innumerable people have, been compelled to curtail their consumption of woollen fabrics. In Bradford, Belgium and elsewhere artificial fibres have been produced which have successful results when blended with wool. Tops are being turned out in the United Kingdom which are a combination of that fibre and wool, and produce semi-worsted yarn at a great reduction in cost compared, with, the customary pure worsted commodity. That is the chief risk with artificial material. There is little doubt that if the selling price of wool presses too severely on manufacturers and consumers consumption of the staple will be decreased Considerably. The company goes on to remark that when extreme prices for the clip give birth to substitutes which endanger the position of wool increased production and a reasonable reduction in its cost to consumers are the one development •which, can restore it to .'an almost' unassailable position.