A FINE NEW BUILDING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 80, 28 December 1917, Page 4

A FINE NEW BUILDING

A. & P. FOOD COMPANY LESSON IN GOOD METHODS

Wellington is a city which is growing rapidly, and -amongst tho latest of tho big now buildings to bo erected within its area is that which the A. and P. Food Company, Ltd., have found it necessary to build to cope with their greatly increasing business. The building is a four-story structure, and is a very wclcomo addition to tho commercial edifices of the city. N The building .is situated just off Thortoloii Quay, and within a stone's throw of the Thorndon railway station. It is in the heart of the big building area which is becoming a feature of Thorndon end. Besides tho outlet to Thorndon Quay, there is a right-of-way to Hobson Street, and anyono who knows tho locality will renl'iso readily that that is a valuable means of entry and exit to any business concern situated thereabouts. The building stands on a section that would have been an ideal residential site; and, in fact, some very fine shrubbery was destroyed to make room for the premises. A good deal of excavating had to bo done, and a gully had to bo filled in. All is not yet quite complete about the grounds, but the building is almost finished and business is in progress.

Everything has been planned for expediting : business.. Not only has lab-our-saving machinery been installed and a very excellent system worked out, but the method of receiving and dispatching has been arranged so as to avoid confusion and make for smooth running. For there is one way. in and another way out, and thero is one platform at which 'goods are received and another from which they aro dispatched. Again, the made-to the railway and from the railway is almost a level, and this is a big advantage where heavy loads are concerned, and all the company's loads go fivo tons. The wholo plan is designed to meef'the special requirements of the important industry carried on by the company. Handy to the receiving landing there is a storeroom for the accommodation of the huge quantities of shell which aro ground into fowl food. The .company gets through hundreds of tons of shell every year, and the store will hold one hundred tons at a time. The shell used is pipi, which is brought in by rail from Pareinata and then carted across the road to tho company's works. Also on the ground floor, are three large concrete tanks which are to hold tho molasses. Molasses is a commodity of which the company uses a great deal, and each of tho tanks will hold eighty tons of it. The arrangements for the receipt and the handling of goods have been well thought out. Goods landed at the receiving platform on the first floor aro passed on to two elevators, and with the aid of these 'contrivances they are removed to any part of the build-: ing in which. it is desired, to store or to dump them. These two elevators will shift three tons of stuff per' hour. With such arrangements there is no fear of congestion, and there is every certainty' of quick handling and general facilitate

ing of business. It is not necessary to dwell ou the great saving that' this will effect as against the older system of man-handling everything. . There are four big silos, each capable of holding fifty tons of material. The material can be shot into these silos, and from them placed wherever it is needed on the bottom floor, or sent up the elevators to any part of any ono of tho other floors. _ The company does a large trade in grinding stuff for other people, and the material sent in to be ground will bo landed at the receiving platform, shot up the elevators, ground.in a machine procured specially for. the purpose, dropped down to'the dispatching platform aiid sent off again. This will bo. all done bo expeditiously that tho , person who brings material in. to be ground will hardly need to go. away; the work will be done for him while ho waits. In addition, to the' elevators there are friction hoists which will take material and hoist it to any of the floors. At the present time tho first floor contains some stored goods, but in a little while nothing but manufacturing will be done there. One of the interesting things on this floor is a long chute which is to convey the mar terial to the lorries at tho outward platform. This main manufacturing room is fifty feet widely sixty feet long and 1 twelve feet high. Tho machinery is driven by two gas engines, one 27 horse-power, and the other 13 horse-power. On the manufacturing floor there are three big concrete tanks each capable of holding three thousand gallons of cod oil, a commodity very largely used by the company in its preparations. ' Mixers have been installed aivJ thoy are capable of mixing three tons, of material per hour. As tho material is mixed it is shot into a conveyor just in front of tho mixers, and from these it is l'fted to tho floor above. Then it is dropped again to hoppers on the lower fioier, mid from these it is led into the bags in which it is parcelled ready for sending out. This arrangement is μ-ovided for every class of material Manufactured, and it is such an effective method that.it should assist considerably in keeping down tho cost of the finished product. '. On the second floor all the i:\inding and sieving is done. Here there is further evidence of how labour-saving has been studied and applied. Nearly everything is done by machinery, and in several cases men are neednd for little more thau the tending of tho machinery. On the top floor there are twelve silos, all of which open on to the floor below. This floor bears the f.ppcarance of consisting almost entirely of bins and conveyors. Stuff ready for going out is sent up here and tumped into tho bins from the long conveyors. Each bin holds about four tons of

stuff, and altogether this floor can carry about forty or fifty tons of finished material. From these b.'ns the stuff is dropped to where it ib required on the othor floors, whero the bagging is done. On the first floor there is accommodation for incubator and poultry appliances. A room is set apart at tho sido of tho building for the manufacture of butter preservative. . This is a line in which the company does an exceptionally largo business of considerable im« portanco to New Zealand. On the second floor of the building there is a grain cleaner, a very effeetivo machine for ensuring tho cleanliness of 'fowl. Also,-there sire four different grinding mills. The business of the company was established in 1904. In the beginning thero was the usual amount of pioneering work to be done, and a good deal of money was lost before the concern turned the corner and entered'on tho road to success and prosperity. There was always competition to meet, but to-day the business is one of Dominion scope. The company sells its wares from the North, Cape to the Bluff and deals with something like nine hundred . storekeepers. It ie i through the stores that the bulk of the [.business is.done. , ~ I About the chief line of the company i is "Sucrosinc," the great stock food— J for horses, cattln, sheep, pigs, and poultry. One of the virtues of "Sucro•sine" is that it is easily digested and assimilated. The following analyses of j "snrrosint , ." pollard, arid oats is civen to show why it is claimed that "Sucrosino" is the superior food:— Sucrosine Pollard Oats Moisture 13.27 12.80 14.3 Fat • 12.07 3.40 6.0 Albumenoids ..... 17:50 14.60 12.0 Carbo-hydrates ~ 46.19 61.60 55.7 Indigestible fibre 3.87 4.70 9.3 Mineral matter .. . 7.10 2.90 2.7

The above shows that Sucrosine contains a much higher percentage of fab and albunionoids, the most valuable constituents of foodstuffs, while the mineral matter (phosphates and bone - forming constituents) are "also higher in Sucrosine. : The indigestible fibre, which has no feeding value, is lowest in Sucrosine. The chemical analysis, however, is not the only feature in its favour. The flavour," payability and lvholesomeness cannot be. estimated by any chemical test, and cannot be expressed in, ■figures. The. feeding value of Siicro- , sine is becoming generally recognised, and the demand has doubled since 1910. Tho price of the greater portion of theraw material used in the manufacture of Sucrosine,has:advancfed per cent, since then, but. owing tomcreas-.. Ed sales the price of Sucre-sine lias advanced only Ji 'per. cent. ' A commodity which the company sends to. all narts of Now. Zealand in large ' quantities is tlie : Clilrutlr Calf Food. TheGiiruth Calf Food set out with a mission. The aim was. to supply a calf food that would give results equal ,to whole milk at a greatly re- ■

duced cost. That success lias been at« taincd is proved by the' claim that one half of the calves reared in New Zeai land on other than whole milk are rearca on Gilruth Calf Food. The sak of Gilruth.Calf Food, it is stated, has never once looked hack. Each yeat .the sales; have increased, and this year promises to be a record one. Ona dairy farmer has. already ordered suffi" ciont for 400 calves. The food is scien* prepared under expert super-* vision from *the choicest of New , Zealand grown produce, rich in fat and protein. It is claimed to be the most highly concentrated food on the market,, and the cheapest food per feed. It is a constitution builder, and a good sound constitution is the first essential in a good dairy cow. Here is an analysis of the food:-Fat, 20 per cent.; protein, 23 per cent.; carbo-hydrates, Sα percent. . ' . . '. The A. and P. Chick Raiser is a line of great value to those who find any. difficulty in rearing chickens. The following note is taken from a leaflet prepared by .tho company, and it contains a valuable hint to those who would raise poultry :-"To feed them during that time (tho first two days) only ; does harm. See that they arc warm and dry with plenty of fresh-air and thoy will thrive, and on the third day .will bo ready for something to eat and drink. Take some A. and 1. Chick Ihiser and sievo oft a little of tho smniler grains for their first meal. Then foci them little and often. Do not put out more than will be readily consumed at one meal. With the exception of a littlo green stuff, no other food is required until the chicks are six to eight) weeks old."

, A new line is "Proto-Nuts," which is described as an egg-producer and poul-, try conditioner. If one wants eggs lie must furnish the ingredients of which, eggs are. made. The protein with the water in an egg makes up about Stt per cent. Everyone knows that on pccount of the fact that mill; is about tho most easily digestible and at die. same- time tho food most widely provided by nature—it is almost universally, uscd'by man and beast. It is prescribed by physicians for the .young because of the fact that it furnishes the necessary elements to promote the development, growth, and strength. The first and most important of these elements is protein. Milk is the foundation ot> Protb-KTuts, the oii-ly addition being a , small percentago of lime and hone phosphate, a very necessary and valuable constituent. ' The analysis is as follows:— . Moisture 9.25 Protein 56.43 Fat .;: 3.71 Phosphate of lime S.ol Ash 4.80 Carbo-hydrates l'-'l Among the other commodities turncfl out by the compauy are Vermocine (ai drench), and A. aand P. Ointment. (Published by. Arrangment.)]