RAPID GROWTH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 280, 26 November 1941, Page 3

RAPID GROWTH

WOOD PULP INDUSTRY

OPERATIONS AT WHAKATANE

As evidence of the rapid growth of the wood pulp industry in New Zealand, the Dominion is now exporting board to Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands East Indies and recently was asked to supply a further 2000 tons of box board to Batavia. Details concerning the progress of the industry were given in an interview to-day by Mr. H. A. Horrocks. managing director of VVhakatane Paper Mills, Limited, who has just " returned irom the company's annual meeting in oydney. . . Such was the demand for the Dominion product, he said, that the Batavian authorities were prepared to buy al a premium on the New Zealand price and to pay freight, exchange and any duty involved. It was hoped to supply a portion ot the order, but the domestic demand in this country was so great that it had to be satisfied first. In the current year the company had exported 1000 tons of board valued at £40,000, and the estimated value of the output for the year endeo June next was £400,000. New Zealand timber was being used as raw material. It came from the 12-year-old pine trees on Matakana Island, lauranga Harbour, and some 12 000 cords annually were used. From this approximately 7000 tons of groundwood pulp were manufactured. The fibre he® au d K l , ong and had Proved to most suitable as a paper-making material. Owing to the fact that the timber was young the fibre was of light weight and the paper board made from it had a greater number of square feet HemiShil 311 J loard made in the Northern Hemisphere from spruce, etc. Mr. Horrocks pointed out that this advantage a V =^, r .J rlc>s lm Portant from an economic uSpcCi. Raw materials used in addition to the Matakana pine comprised 1000 tons of waste paper and roughly 2000 tons of chemical pulp which was being procured from the United States under the Lease or But for the company's operations New Zealand would require to SSL to an approximate value of £000,000 annually. The mill at Whakatane was now in its third manufacturing year, and the output for 1941 would be a shade over 10,000 tons. At Christmas the plant would shut down for two weeks during which it would be overhauled and additional driers installed A large number of fitters and other skilled men vvould be employed on this work throughout the holidays.