NEW PLYWOOD FACTORY

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25767, 31 March 1949, Page 3

NEW PLYWOOD FACTORY

Production in Three Months HEAVY MACHINERY BEING INSTALLED h flr . S u Pjywood factory to be production fn S ?. utb £ land wiU be in factorv <? b 9 ut three months. The lB now almost comcarton in Mandeville street, Riccarron. and is being built for New Zealand Plywood (South Island), LUU HoldVnal dl ? r ia eompany, of Fletcher £250000’ aS The factory will cost 100 and „it WIU employ about DromioK s ' will have a potential teeT^fco'od^^ar 10 ’ 000 ’ 000 fert n i ar , e < a of 7“? re than 60.000 square has a by the factory, which the store y- I* is adjacent to minin’?? ,? 8 .eement division of Dominion Industries, Ltd., another suhsi stru r ?tion Fletcb « Holdings Se SUconwork 1S being done bv the Co?onmf? ch ? anch of the Fletcher nearlv Company. It is now thp rX a , nd is expected that 1 ? nt A 1 u all be soon. mW™ A- Roberts, a director of DoJodustries, Ltd., who fe in f ? he , work, said to “The used in y t e h?? da , y that the 10gs to be the d 'W?* b r- f al ;( or y would come from chiefiv Rlmu wili be used 3 o<mmn? d . lt that about ?, Y IU A e used each year, rail i? g ; 8 n Wlll be br ought in from the t, ad ?° !> he main ' factory block by an ? 5? d . crane with a 60ft span and gan?rw C 3oft °n - tol i s ’ runnin E °» a feet long 1 hlgb and more than 400 n-!?? ide the factory some very heavy machinery has already been installed and more is to come, Mr Roberts said, rne veneer lathe, which peels the Imdnmnn? al j? u j 30 tons - The reeling tton P ?f!? t ’ny hlch wor ks in conjuncthe . ve ncer lathe, is a departure from former practice, and is nioue e latest American technique. Another innovation is the use ?„ a machine ,to true-up the logs belathe tbey are Peeked by the veneer Among the amenities provided for the workers is an ambulance room equipped under the supervision of a Christchurch doctor, and a cafeteria capable of seating 250 persons. It will pe used by workers in tho nlvwnnH

oe used oy workers in the plywood lactory and by those in Dominion Industries, Ltd. The cafeteria, which will also serve for social gatherings, is equipped with a modern kitchen, which will enable cooked meals to be served Drying rooms and showers will also be provided. The use of female labour in some sections of the factory was being considered, Mr Roberts said. ’Die main factory building shows a onck facade to Mandeville street. The structure is a steel frame supporting plywood beams which carry the asbestos roof. The use of plywood beams; is interesting and novel, and it enables a very considerable economy lo be made in the use of steel. Most of the machinery in the factory has been imported from America, of, ine company’s technicians visited the United States last year to tions p l ywo °d manufacturing opera- • Tbe installed electrical horsepower in the factory is about 800.