NEW WAIRARAPA MEAT FREEZING WORKS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 964, 3 November 1910, Page 10

NEW WAIRARAPA MEAT FREEZING WORKS.

COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS. Wairarapa's .latest venture': the" Wellington Farmers' Meat Company ing works at Waingawa,' near Masterton—is now almost completed, and arrangements have been made to-com- ' mence; the killing aud freezing of stock early in December.' The works generally are regarded as amongst the,most up-to-date in New Zealand'. It is ex- ■ pected.-that fully. 200,000 sheep or their equivalent will bo slaughtered at the new.works during the season. It is not jpiich more than a year since the geheme of a new freezing works was taken up in earnest in the Wairarapa and Bush districts, and the manner in which the business has been pushed on is most creditable to the directors and to the shareholders generally. ■In showing a Dominion representative over the new premises. the other day, Mr. J. O. Cooper supplied some very interesting particulars. The buildings, which are of the most modern kind, cost £18,070; the machinery, £13,079; the skin-curing works, £1500; tinning plant (plans now being prepared), £3000; tho bacon works (prospectus now being issued), £2000; a total of £37,649. , .-The' number of bricks used in the construction of the 'premises bo far , runs into 300,000,. while there has also been used over 300,000 feet of timber. About 90 tons of iron have been used on the job, of which .50 tons have been in the form of girders;, ten tons in the' smoke-stack, and 30 tons for meat-rails and hangers. •■■ There are seven, miles of pipes in the store-rooms and freezing chambers. The buildings have been very well oonstructed, in 'order to ,_ promote the connection with . the various departments,, and the utilisation ,'of unnecessary labour. For instance, the live gtock are driven up gangways to an upper floor, where they are slaughtered.Their carcases are then hung in an adjoining cooling-room, then placed in fur"'ther , adjoining ; freezing chambers, whence they are shot down to the store-, rooms on the ground floor by means of .wooden- chutes. From the storerooms they may be transferred at. the rate of 1000 per hpur through huge portholes into the insulated meat trucks, which 'are run right beneath the building on e double line of rails. Similarly > pro-' ■vision is made for quick connection from the slajighter-house for the carriage of offal and skins on mechanical-travelling tables,'and for the blood to the digestertouse.; All the mechanical appliances are of the latest kind. The 'storerooms, which measure 96 feet by 96 feet, and are 12 feet high, are splendidly insulated. They have been constructed as buildings within buildings. / The exteriors have 14-inch thicknesses of brick, with , malthoid , coatings, followed by a 4-inch.air space; after which comes another thickness l of, malthoid, and tie li'-intli punv.-.- .'insulations. The fine freezing chambers, : which are each 90 feet by 'iQ feet, will possess a hanging . capacity for . 5000 sixty-pound, ■slieepjjor 10,000 .lambs— 1000 sheep or ,2000''lambsV. respectively . per Refrigeration :J3 -pror ' duced by asj the. ammonia process direct' expansion, , ' froiri a new Haslam machine, capable of making 100 tons of ice per day, and driven by a 95n.p. _ engine. The freezing chambers are insulated on the ..same style as. the storerooms. Thejcobling cba'mberivjillpossess a. capacity for hanging 2000" sixty-pound sheep. The compartment is exceedingly, well ventilated, and is built right over the railway line entrance ithrough ' to the. storerooms. Stands are mutton and eight beef butchers in the ■ slaugh-ter-house, a room 120 feet by .80 feet, with a concrete: floor; and/fitted ' with ten offal and skin ports. ' The wool6opuring room is 120 feet ; -by. 80 feet/ ■ and will be fitted to deal with 2000 sheepskins daily. This compartment is connected with the digester-house, and, storeroom and wool store. Near the digester-house is the tallow, store,' above . which are stationed three huge vats and a blood-tank."" ... . •.. . '-. ' The skin-curing' house is built of 'concrete, and measures 120 feet by 40 feet. It is situated a short, distance froni tbe main buildings. ■ Huge tanks have been constructed for a water sup-' ply for the slaughter-house and ,for cooling, the ammonia pipe's, and all round, the buildings water is laid'on, and in,case of lire may be discharged from five hoses with a pressure of 250 . horse-power. The engine-room is' fitted , with Tangye's twin pumps and Duro's condensers, while the bbilers'are of the latest 'Babcock tubular, pattern. . The whole of the buildings are lighted'-by ; electricity. _.' : -..-. .... .';.-. Messrs. J. 'Chambers, of - Wellington, supplied the. pipes, boilers,-and freezers, and most, of the machinery ' for the buildings, while the contractors who nave done such expeditious work were , Messrs. Taylor and; Hogg.- , / • • ■?;. :* ■