BLOW TO INDUSTRY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20570, 2 June 1941, Page 10

BLOW TO INDUSTRY

KNITWEAR FACTORIES AUSTRALIAN WOOL BAN MANUFACTURERS’ WORRY Deep concern is shown by knitwear manufacturers in Auckland at the announcement that Australian w.oolien yarns are required in Australia for army needs. Since British exports of woollen yarns were restricted some Auckland factories have relied almost entirely on supplies from Australia to keep their plants running. If Australian yarns no longer can be imported into the Dominion, it is obvious to manufacturers that factories must close, unless alternative sources of supply are provided. The Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, has suggested that it may be possible to increase the domestic production of yarns. The reply of knitwear manufacturers to Mr. Sullivan's suggestion is that under present conditions it is doubtful if the New Zealand mills can meet the full capacity of their own knitting establishments. They cannot at present supply the outside knitting ■ trade except in isolated instances.

Prospect of Idle Plant The mills are chiefly engaged in production for war purposes, and unless a mill can be released from such work to cater for the civilian trade there seems no chance of Mr. Sullivan’s suggested help to the general knitting trade bearing fruit. “Wc employ about 270 hands in our Auckland establishments and we knit with both cotton and -wool,”, said one Auckland manufacturer, “We obtain woollen yarns from an associated mill in Australia. These yarns are obtained from line Merino and even if supplies of New Zealand yarns were made available to us they would be too coarse for most of our plant. Unless we can continue to obtain, woollen yarns from Australia 50 per, cent of our plant will be- idle within, three months. The remainder will be i on cotton work. Supplying Children’s Wear This manufacturer pointed out that theoretically it may be possible to get British woollen yarns, but in practice, 1 it was proving next to impossible.j 1 Indeed, Britain had so restricted out- * put to her own knitting industries * except for military needs that people c were sending fancy 1 socks from New | Zealand to. relatives serving in Eng- .1 land with the forces. Seventy-five t per cent of the business of his own j firm was in the supply of children’s c woollen wear and to meet tha. demand his plant was operating 24 l hours in the day, boys tending the r