FARM AND STATION

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 16

FARM AND STATION

D.L.F

Dense baling press to be imported

The way in which wool is packaged for export has been under close scrutiny in New Zealand for some time. An interesting development in this field will be the arrival towards the end of the year of an Italian-made dense baling or packaging press for Andreae (N.Z.), Ltd, a subsidiary of Mair and Company, Ltd, of Christchurch, for installation in the Kaputone scouring factory at Belfast.

The press, which will be the first of its type to be used in New Zealand, will press wool into packages of a maximum of 318 kilograms or 7001 b, which is the maximum permissible weight of bales now double dumped for export, but these packages will only be half the size of the double dumps now produced. This pressing will be done at the scour and will obviate the need for the wool to be dumped before export. Apart from some small savings in handling costs and in saving storage space, Mr A. D. Shadwell, managing director of Andreae (N.Z.), Ltd, sees the principal gain from this development being in reduced freight rates which should be reflected back to the farmer, and Mr M. J. Siessor, shipping manager of the Wool Board, say that shipping lines have already agreed that when these dense packages eventually become available freight rates will be reduced by the cost of the dumping, which will no longer be required.

Mr Siessor said that the cost of dumping was something like $1.38 per bale in a double dump and about $1.45 for a single dump.

Apart from this the board has also reserved the right to institute discussions with the lines about other savings that may result from the carriage of these packages when, in fact, they become available and the various interests have experience of handling them.

Mr Shadwell said that an English firm using a similar type of press had secured immediate and major reductions in freight rates when it had pressed wool in this way.

The dense packages will also, incidentally, be of a size that will fit into containers—they are described as “container compatible"— and here quite substantial savings could be made between New Zealand and Australia. The Wool Board will have an interest in the Kaputone press in that it is providing some temporary financial assistance. The press is manufactured by an Italian company, Gualchierani, of Florence. Its over-all height is about 40ft but in this respect it is not significantly different from some other presses in use in New Zealand. Installed in Belfast, the over-all cost, including the press itself, freight, spares and installation costs, including the bringing of a mechanic to New Zealand to assist with its installation, is expected to run into $50,000, excluding any duty.

And the press is expected to handle about 35001 b (1590 kilograms) of wool per hour. In the case of Kaputone, Mr Shadwell says that it is expected to handle their throughput in 10 hours and in the event of their capacity increasing, it would be a matter of working the press for a longer period. He expects that two men will operate it initially but one man could do it and in the long run. if problems involved in moisture fluctuation with scoured wool can be overcome, he foresees that the wool coming out of the scour may be fed directly into the press.

Mr Shadwell does not expect that there will be a saving in transport between the scour and port, in that maximum loads in respect of weight are already taken of wool that is at present pressed at the scour by the same type of presses as are used on farms and in brokers’ stores.

However, Mr Slessor believes that substantial benefits might be gained in longer distance haulage of wool by rail. In principle it should be possible for the dense packages to go directly from the scour to the ship’s side, but in practice in the early stages at least it may still be necessary for the new packages to go to dump stores, as in the past, before shipment. One of the points that was made by a shipping company representative this week was that now something like two-thirds of all wool was shipped in dumped bales made up into units of several dumps, and these units have to be prepared before shipment. Mr Slessor said that provision might have to be made for preparation of these units at the scour itself.

It is generally conceded by the parties involved that the introduction of these new packages, desirable as they might well seem, will not be achieved without

some teething troubles that may only be encountered in practice. In this respect the experience of an Auckland organisation using a dense dumping press is worthy of note. While an increased number of dumped bales was accommodated in containers as compared with conventional dumps, it was found that the heavier containers exceeded the permissible weights that could be carried by vehicular transport on roads in some areas when they reached the United States. Mr R. G. Stewart, a principal scientist at the Wool Research Organisation at Lincoln, who has been associated with these developments, said recently that under the present system wool was packaged by farmers or brokers into bales at a density of about 121 b per cubic foot. After sale and before being shipped these bales were further compressed and tied with steel wires into denser and smaller single (one bale) or double (two bale) "dumps,” so that they occupied less space in the ship. The average densities of greasy and scoured bales produced by dumping were 20 and 161 b per cubic foot respectively.

The Woo! Research Organisation, he recalled, had been a member of a consortium which provided finance for the construction of a high density dump press, which had been built during 1966-67 and during the following three years had been operated in a commercial situation producing bales of greasy and scoured wool dumped to densities considerably higher than those produced by existing dump presses.

The Wool Research Organisation, the Woo! Board and the International Wool Secretariat had participated in trials to assess such factors as handling problems, container stowage and customer acceptability. Unfortunately, Mr Stewart said that shipping companies considered that in the present pattern of ship use the reduced volume resulting from densely

dumped bales packaged in this way did not warrant a reduction in freight, except for the container service to Australia.

It appears as though the savings in space do not compensate for the higher costs involved in dumping. Because of this and other problems (difficulties inherent in poor branding on the original bales remained, for instance), Mr Stewart said that the project had been discontinued though one dense dumping press was now operating in New Zealand.

Instead, he said, the concept of packaging loose woo! directly into a dense bale of a density of about 301 b per cubic foot was being examined more closely. Last year he had visited overseas press manufacturers in the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom, specifically looking for a press suitable for New Zealand conditions. Earlier an Italian press had been seen in operation at a mill in Yorkshire by Mr Shadwell. The detailed operation of this press had been examined by himself in collaboration with personnel from the Wool Board and the 1.W.5., and as a result an Italian press had been ordered by the Christchurch company. Another scourer in the North Island was also buying a dense baling press, but in this case the unit was being developed in New Zealand.

The advantages of packaging wool for export !n this way were numerous, said Mr Stewart.

Apart from the fact that dumping was avoided, which should result in a saving for the shipper, the dense packing technique involved the wool being covered with a smooth wrapping of clean fabric on which the bale details and destination markings could be clearly shown. Mr Stewart said that the present system of using farm packs often resulted in conflicting markings appearing on the bales, while dumping often caused the markings to be difficult to read.

A shipping company representative, however, claimed this week that there could be little cause for confusion with dumped bales in units. Mr Stewart said that when dumped bales were opened at the mill the top of the pack was often cut with a knife. Unless great care was taken jute contamination of the wool could occur as small cut pieces of pack and twine flew off. With densely packaged wool this was less likely to occur since the wrapping was not sewn but was held in place by steel bands ana wires. When these were removed the wrapping fell loose as two squares of fabric. In addition the more regular shape of dense packages would be preferred to the often irregular shape of dumped bales, which could be quite hazardous to stack. Here again, however, shipping interests claimed that uniform dumps could be produced if efficient equipment was used. Clearly a wool scour was the ideal place in which to locate such a dense press, said Mr Stewart, since the scoured wool was ready for export. With the present system of marketing, greasy or slipe wool did not have a clear destination until after it had been sold. It might then be exported as it was, or be sent to a scour, and in the latter case dense packaging of greasy wool would be a waste of time. The development could also contribute to a more even flow of wool to the shipside, although Mr Stewart noted that only practical experience in the months ahead could confirm this.