COMPANY REORGANISED

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 28 March 1935, Page 9

COMPANY REORGANISED

DEVELOPMENT IN 10 MONTHS

MILL AND RAIL CONSTRUCTION SOFT WOODS FOR TARANAKI Following a reorganisation of the affairs of the Egmont Box Company three years ago, a policy of development upon the most up-to-date lines, based partly on the experience of milling practice on the Pacific Coast of America and Canada, has been pursued to meet competitive trade and to fulfil as closely as possible the particular requirements of Taranaki dairy companies, practically all of which arc shareholding companies in the Egmont Box Company. Since 1913 the company has had the milling rights of Taurewa Block, but supplies 'have been taken from a very small area of under 400 acres through the railhead on the Main Trunk line at Kakahi. In general contour the country fs undulating and very little broken by larger streams, the whole territory being bounded on- the northeast by the Wanganui River. From the National Park end, the altitude averages roughly 2300 feet, but across the northernmost portion, already milled from Kakahi, the land falls away rapidly in a drop of 1000 feet. While the company’s operations were confined to the smaller area the National Park portion was left untouched. To attempt to mill the higher territory from Kakahi would have been economically unsound, even if well night insurmountable engineering difficulties had been overcome. As it was, three unbridged rivers had always made the Kakahi milling a costly undertaking. Since the company’s i decision to transfer from Kakahi to National Park, National Park station has sprung to greater importance for it now ranks as one of the largest, if not the largest, prospective timber exporting centres in the Dominion. A site has been cleared for the erection of a factory with a private siding. Tim- J ber from the drying yards at the mill ■ will be taken to the. factory and reduced to batten size and drilled for. cheese cr,atcs, w hile general heart wood * and soft wood building lines will be dressed to stock sizes or to the require- j ments of special orders. Some question, has been raised as to the advisability' of erecting the' factory at. the mill, but J the advantages of the station site lie in the fact that, dressed timber can be loaded direct from the machines into trucks under cover in the one handling without the risk of damage in' road transport or damage 'by adverse weather. Another important advantage, too, is that general building line's reduced to stock sizes in the factory before delivery on trucks will result in a considerable saving to buyers of the extra freight which ordinarily would have to be paid on all undressed timbers. Contracts for transport from mill to factory have been arranged at the satisfactory price of Is 6d per 100 feet. MILL EFFICIENCY Members of the party who made the journey from Taranaki on Monday included" Messrs J. S. McKay (of Manaia, chairman of directors), T. A. Winks

(Ararata), L. J. Bundle (Bell Block), X-. G. Gibson (Rnbotu) .and E. H.. Free (Mangatoki), all members of the board of directors, Messrs J. G. Eliott (general mar/.ger), G. Diver (secretary), H. A. Lennon (company’s auditor), .T. L. Weir (company’s solicitor), .T. F. Valintine (Eltham mill manager), G. Hancock (Hnwera branch manager), G. H.

P. Fitzgerald (New Zealand Rennet Company), W. H. Young (Union Foundries, Hawera), C. C. Stanners (Eltham), D. Necs (Eltham) and T. C. Hobbs, senr. (Hawera). Monday night was spent at Chateau Tongariro and on Tuesday morning, on arrival at the mill ten miles distant, the party was met by Mr R. Addison (King Country manager) and Mr A. M. Collier (sales manager). For a mill that had been in operation for only one week, the quantity of timber already stacked to drv in the yards seemed to be enormous. From the neat appearance of the buildings and the orderliness of the entire surroundings, the visitors gained an impression- of the careful thought that had been given to the company’s requirements of the future and not merely for the present. Built on Crown land on the edge of the forest, the mill has a businesslike appearance. One perhaps wondered why a more sheltered spot had not been selected until it was realised that drying winds were essential to the timber stacks.

NEW PACIFIC SAW BENCH Huge logs—totara, rimu and matai —i were being unloaded on to the mill] bank when the party commenced its inspection. Wire ropes and grabs dealt with their cumbersome burdens as though tney were straws. As the bush locomotive steamed out with a rake of six carriers, a general move was made to the breaking-down saws. Most of the plant used in the new mill was transferred by the company from Kakahi, with important additions as the result of purchases made by Mr Eliott during his recent visit to the Pacific Coast of America and Canada. One of these additions, a Pacific saw bench, is practically unknown in New Zealand. Entirely automatic in operation, the bench handles logs up to 3G feet in length by means of a steampowered “nigger,” or jack, capable of raising 15,0001bs weight in one thrust. Powerful headblocks and hand-adjusted grips hold each log in position. In the breaking-down process the -whole bench moves forward on rails set wide apart and gigantic circular saws shear off the first “flitch.” The bench then moves back to its original position, the grips are released and the log is turned bv means of the nigger. Thus a second flitch is cut. Of the two men who travel with the bench, one regulates the head-block mechanism by rotating a graduated w’heol to cut timber of the required sizes. In a few minutes the whole log has been broken down, the flitches travelling on roller conveyers down the centre of the mill to be “shunted off” at the various breast benches where required by the benchman controlling the mechanism. The fact that logs up to 30 feet in length may be handled is important in the case of special orders. Labour in the mill is reduced to a minimum of six actually handling the timber in its various ] stages of breaking-down until it passes l out-of-doors for stacking. With the machinery in use, it is estimated that I the efforts of 50 nu n arc required in .the bush and on the tram to “feed” the six men indoors. The landed cost I of the imported plant to the company .was approximately £OOO and the present life of the null is assessed at 20 years. (Particular attention w r as paid to its foundations in the course of construction work, all the machinery being '“bedded down” on concrete. The party , was interested to learn that the steam motive .power for ihc mill is provided at the cost Of one certificated 'driver’s wages, who also attends to all the upkeep of the mechanical plant. I POWER AT LOW COST. J Green sawdust collected from under the Pacific and breastbenehes by means ' of an endless belt conveyor system is

the only fuel used. This is elevated J to duets above a huge. Dutch oven in | the boiler house and fed automatically to the furnace. A forced draught under the fire bars gives perfect, combustion, the flames travelling to the back of the boiler for a distance of 17 feet and then forward through the boiler tubes. A twin Tangye engine generates 130 brake horse-power and so perfect is the bedding of the engine on concrete that a tumbler of water placed on the stationary parts showed no vibration. A feature of one of the breastbenches is a device to “speed up” the saw from break-down work to serve as a rip saw.

Enquiries elicited the information that up to 40 per cent, of the mill’s production will lie used in the manufacture of chese crate battens, while the remainder, the heart wood, will be sold as general building lines. Unlike many other mills, there can be no waste, as the sap wood will' be used for battens and the sawdust for fuel. The timber, generally, is regarded as of particularly good quality, due probably to the high altitude and the rigorousness of the climate. The bush itself is comparatively young (probably 600 years) and the timber, if somewhat small as yet encountered, is clean and straight growing.

Contrasts in production are provided in the fact that the Eltham output of pinus insignis daily is between 7000 ft. and 8000 ft. and at National Park 22.000 ft. to 25,000 ft. (totara, rimu and matai). Most of the heart timber will go north, where building is active with a resultant good demand with the prospe'et of prices hardening. Before lunch, which was served at the camp cook-house, a visit was paid to a nearby mill operated by (Messrs Weir and Kenny under contract to the company. Here was seen a typical New Zealand plant with an output of approximately 9000 ft. daily, with much harder labour conditions. During the inspection the bush locomotive steamed into the mill and members of the party were interested to discover that the bogeys were used in service by the old Manawatu Railway Company between 40 and 50 years ago. The afternoon walk along the company’s bush railway to its present terminus some three miles from the mill revealed something of the enormous amount of work that has been achieved in the past 10 months. Heavily constructed, the main line is designed for at least 20 years’ service. Rails are laid on hardwood sleepers and so far there are three bridges spanning deep ravines. Cuttings have been made and fillings constructed in order to provide easy gradients, w T hile at different points along the route provision has been made for branch lines.

BEAUTIES OF THE BUSII. To lovers of native bush the walk rflso revealed a wealth, of vegetation in several strata. The topmost layer consisted of lofty trees, the next of lower trees and tallest shrubs, the third of the. undergrowth of ferns and low shrubs arid the last of the mosses, filmy ferns and other shade-loving vegetation that, clothed the forest floor. Bright red and golden berries .provided a splash of colour against the-sombre green of foliage. Streamers of grey lichen hung from trunks' and branches in a delicate tracery, while in some parts the ground was covered with dense, soft mats of various kinds of moss. At a touch from the hand, or when brushed by clothing, the stinking coprosma filled the air with an obnoxious odour. Strange shrubs and plants were encountered and their number and variety seemed a mockery to one’s limited knowledge of their species. Perhaps the most beautiful of all the ferns, the Prince of Wales Feather, grew everywhere in rich profusion, carpeting the ground in places in bright, almost vivid green. On arrival at the tram terminus the party inspected the company’s giant hauler, which is capable of operating in an arc of 180 degrees. Steam powered winches are used to- unwind or rewind huge steel hawsers and a smaller flexible tail rope, which completes an endless chain. Expert hushmen select and fell their timber over a wide radius, on flat country or down steep declivities, within the arc .of the hauler. Forest giants they are. towering high above the undergrowth. A BUSH GIANT FALLS.

Penetrating as far as the limits of the hawser in one direction, members of the party had the fascinating experience of watching the men at work. Finely tempered axes quickly scarfed the base of one tree to the required deptli and in such a. position to secure a fall in the desired direction. A cross-cut saw was brought into operation on the other side, slightly higher than the scarf and work proceeded apace. Almost imperceptibly at first, "the saw cut on its outer edge widened. A sharp cracking sound of rendering timber gave warning, and the sawyers scrambled back to safety. High .up, the intertwining branches snapped as the tree moved forward. Faster and faster it gathered momentum and the bush resounded to the uproar as with a mighty crash the trunk levelled itself on the ground. Then peace and quietness once more reigned and the birds took up their singing. Axes rang again as the bus'll men prepared the fcvhnk for the hauler. The base was stripped so as to. render ns little resistance to obstruction as possible. Next a. D scarf wan rut in the rounded bole, the hawser attached and the “all clear’’ signal given. ’Die hawser tightened and the long pull commen cod, the huge log cutting a swart/i through the undergrowth. At the various points in the hawser, where the route had to be changed to avoid standing timber, large blocks which held it in place were released, the signals for stopping and starting the log on its journey being given by the man in attendance on a. pull wire, which sounded the hauler whistle.

HOMEWARD BOUND FREIGHT

Daring the afternoon 18 logs were loaded on to the railway and at 4.30 o’clock the homeward journey commenced, the party riding “first class”

on the freight. Many humorous interludes enlivened the journey, but the majority were, content to watch the ever-changing panorama of bush and clearing, with glimpses at intervals of the three mountain peaks not far distant. The whole trip up and back was made in ideal, weather until the last mile .when a heavy shower fell. The passengers ouickly unloaded themselves at the mili, their enthusiasm none the less dampened by the rain. Afternoon tea. was served at the mill •ook house, where the party was join'd by Mr R. Cobbc, manager of the Chateau, and Mrs Oobbo. Alter dinner at night the visitors were entertained in a second floor apartment, where toasts to the success of the company’s extensive operations were honoured. Yesterday the return journey to Taranaki was undertaken via the Paiuparn Road, the ears reaching Hawera and Eltham between 4 and C o’clock.