THE KIWI BACON FACTORY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 105, 31 October 1923, Page 15

THE KIWI BACON FACTORY

N»-w and Up-to-date Premise! at

l-ougourn

Although the pig-raising industry is only yet in its imancy, tiiere are one or two lai-seeing men associatea with tlie Ki.vi Bacon Co., Ltd., of.--Palmerston jNorth, who realise its immer.ee pjteibihties, and are prepared to provide farmers with the best, facilities possible for the handling of their pigs, and pay the raiser a highly remunerative price for the properly led animal. The Kiwi Bacon factory, under the management ot Mr. Vvilliam Dimock, has expanded so. rapidly of recent times that/ the Palmerston Municipal Abattoirs became altogether inadequate for the company's business, and a complete new and up-to-date factory has been established in conjuction with the Longburn freezing Works with railage right' to the killing pens, .and thus avoid the tedious and cruel job of pig driving, inseparable from the borough abattoirs. The works were barely completed when a "Pest" -representative paid a visit last week, but sufficiently advanced were they to indicate to our representative that up to the present at any rate nothing' m Australasia could compare to them. The plant installed is electrically controlled, and was placed in working condition under the very painstaking and capable chief engineer of- the Longburn Works, Mr. Campbell. It .will give some indication of the Kiwi Bacon Company's preparation for their trade, when, it is mentioned that "the plant and staff when in full working order, slaughter and dress "450 pigs per day. The animals arrive at the works in trucks from every part of the North Island, and are immediately liberated into concreted yards-^each large enough to hold one truck of pigs, and of a combined capacity to accommodate one thousand. Each yard is fitted with a ballcock trough of good fresh water, and there is a passage way right through the centre of the yards, culminating !h <» concrete track of easy gradient that leads to the killing department on the second story. Here the electrically cantrolled : "Boss Jerkless' Hoist" is set fn operation, .the animal is caught up by a clasp attached to a chain round the trotter, and is instantly drawn' immediately above the. bleeding tankj from here it is automatically immersed in the scalding vat of over 20ft in length and is then dealt with by a/ mechanical scraper, arid after this operation, which is only the work of seconds, a visit is made to the singeing furnace,' the carcass is then passed through another large receptacle of clean water, and thus beautifully scraped., momentarily' singed to' a faint brown, and. washed in clean water, it pese3 on its way to bear Government inspection..' When passed, and stamr^d by tha-t officer,, the backbone, and head are removed, and the remainder of the carcass, is switched . away, either Jnto.'the. cool' stores or the curing department just as is desired: . A visit to the curing. depa:tment,is worth wfcle, for here one gets some idea of the huge [ output of- this big' business.;• Right in front of you, piled as high as walla arid ceiling permit, undergoing the process of mild cure;., for-which, the Kiwi Brand of baqpn. Rn'd hams " is noted, you ccc 26,000 hams being got ready for the company's Christmas and export trade. Mr. I Dunock, the manager, who accompanied | our 'representative through tlie works, when surprise was expressed at the en- | ormous quantity, said; "Yes, and I wish the number was 50,000; we could do with i them." The company's works and plant is an interesting sight, especially when pi? killincr is in operation. Just think of a hundred pigs being killed, dressed, and placed ready for cutting down, all within the bare space of an hour. The plant goe3 like clockwork, hardly has a carcass to be interfered, with by hand. The whole principle of the works-is by a system of gravitation, The carcass is caught up on a rail along which it traverses until it reaches the curing table. From the freezer too, the. carcasses are conveyed to the cuttirigup chamber above by the same gravitating system. lhe> Jiams, and sides are then placed in a shute that conveys them into the. hands of the curer. Subsequently the sides and .hams are thoroughly .washed, and sent on to: the drying department, later to be smoked in eight up-to-date smoko houses, and from here the finished article goes by means of the rail system to the packing, and weighing room, .and made ready for dispatch either by train or motor-lorry, as is.necessary, to the retailers throughout the Dominion. The Kiwi Bacon Co.- employ 40 of a staff, and dealt with 30,000 p.lgs last year, being 95 per cent, of the total,number slaughtered at the Municipal. Abattoirs. It is anticipated that vlast year's figures will be advanced upon this season -by at least 10,000. .It seems a great pity that there is not a better- system in operation for wei"hing than the scales.of a rival company at the various railway yards, and the Government should either take control, or. a better sy'sterij still would be for the.farmers disposing of pigs; to the company to appoint a representative of the Farmers' Union at Longburn to see the pigs checked off and weighed as they arrive at the Kiwi Works This would.be an- altogether fairer way, and better system than that at present in vogue, and- when mention was made of this to Mr. Dimock, he said his company would be quite agreeable to such an arrangement, especially if. the farmers desired it. The Dairy Farmers' Union have great scope for placing the pig-raising industry on a' good, sound commercial footing, and' ediscatin? the farmer generally to foster and build up a trade that is destined to grow into big proportions in the not far distant ■future. One point the Union could consider is the disposal, of-pigs, in the same manner as is adopted in regard to the output of butter from the factory. Call tenders, for the estimated number of pigs to. he raised and fattened in your factory district^nonthly, and thus stabilise one of our growing industries, which is second only in importance to the making of butter and cheese. ".