Outside Control Of Foundries

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31319, 15 March 1967, Page 14

Outside Control Of Foundries

Various New Zealand foundries were being taken over by Australians, said Mr C. Blanche, a metallurgist on the staff of the C. W. F. Hamilton and Company, Ltd., in Christchurch last evening.

These foundries were being operated from Australia, with no technical control from New Zealand, he said. New Zealand seemed to be getting the worst of a bad deal.

Mr Blanche was speaking as a member of a panel at the University of Canterbury, on metallurgy as a profit-earner. Many of the questions stemmed from observations made by the Canterbury Economic Development Survey. The panel comprised the immediate past president of the New Zealand Metal Trades Federation (Mr A. S. Farrar); the chairman of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr C. W. Mace); a past president of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation, Mr R. H. Stewart; a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at the university (Mr F. W. Fahy) and Mr Blanche. Mr Blanche said that the cost of setting up a small spectograph for the service of industry would be about £28,000. The running cost might be £6OOO to £7OOO a year.

Mr Mace said that it was essential for Canterbury industry to be self-contained. It would be very helpful for industry if the university or somebody had a spectograph. Mr Blan he said that if he had had the choice it would go to the Industrial Development Department of the University of Canterbury. Mr Mace said that more

technicians, graduate engineers and metallurgists must be employed. I Mr Stewart thought there was much to be said for pre\entive maintenance planning. If metallurgists were employed, breakages could be stopped in time. A member of the audience said that the Industrial Development Department did employ a metallurgist but industry offered him more money. This man turned into a foundry manager, which may have been a waste of a good man. The I.D.D. was firmly convinced there was a need for a metallurgist.