Borthwick stresses logic of bid for Gear

Press, 31 May 1977, Page 32

Borthwick stresses logic of bid for Gear

PA Wellington! Thomas Borthwick and | Sons (Australasia), Ltd, is; keen to ensure that the Gear board, the shareholders, the staff, the farming cotnmun-! ity, and the Government will I appreciate the logical and I justifiable reasons for Gear’s; activities being rationalised i with Borthwick’s. In a statement, Borthwick! says that Government and: Meat Producer Board in-. itiatives in 1971 and subsequently, have sought to I assist in rationalisation I within the industry and‘ Borthwick has supportedl these views by: Selling the Belfast works to Canterbury Frozen Meat! Company Ltd; Offering to sell two works I to Gear in 1974; Joining the Borthwick I works with the co-operative.

Wholesale Society works at [ Longburn into a joint com-. pany. “Because the over-all [ benefits seem to accrue tor all parties, we are hopeful! that the necessary approvals :i will be forthcoming,” says the statement. Borthwick sees no immediate need for change in: Petone but the possibility [ exists of restricting some i areas and substantially, developing new areas of. added-value processing, bearing in mind the need tor meet environmental and social needs. The livestock-buying and meat-exporting functions of i Gear would not be retained; by Borthwick, but the live- i stock buyers’ positions i would be protected. h The acquisition of Gear}: Meat by Borthwick would I <

i not give it a processing ; monopoly as the southern part of the North Island i would continue to be ser- ! viced by 13 buying organisa- ' tions and six major processors. A hint that Federated Farmers saw an opportunity to establish a co-oper-ative key works in the lower | half of the North Island was : given in Hastings by the i junior vice-president (Mr J. Andrew). He told the annual conference of Hawke's Bay Federated Farmers that opportunities to influence major decisions in the meat industry came very seldom. The federation’s priorities are the establishment of cooperative key works, cooperative owner works, New i Zealand-owned works and I overseas-owned works.