CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 24 June 1912, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

DAIRY FACTORY AMALGAMATION

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In your issue of June 18th I was \•.. glad to come across the article by D.J.H. as to the above. 1 am uo.

shareholder in either Joil's or Kaupokonuij but in another company altogether, and I have often thought in the past that an amalgamation of factories in {south Taranaki would be in the interests of all the suppliers of the various companies. iJ.o.ii. merely advocates the amalgamation of Kaupokonui and Joil's, but my desire is to see a great South Taranaki Dairy Company made ur> of co-opera-tion of all South Taranalu factories. I believe it would be the means of cutting down management expenses and by being able to market all the produce in one big lump instead of in many small ones the company would attract greater importance and would almost be in a position to leave its own agent in London to sell its produce. I would like to know how much goes into the agents' hands every year as commission on the sale of butter and cheese from say the following companies: Opunake, Awatuna, Kaponga, Mangatoki, Lowgarth, Ngaire, Eltham, Normanby, Hawera, Joil's, Kanpokomii and Pihama. It must be a nice little cheque for I suppose that, roughly speaking, those twelve factories have a turnover of over £500,000, if not even considerably more, especially this year. I hare no idea what percentage the provision agents get out of our business but even if they only get the very low commission of 2 per cent, they would be getting some £10,000 or more per annum from the South Taranaki companies enumerated above, and there are others which might join a big confederation.

Would it not pay us to appoint a good business man and send him over to do our business for us instead- of letting the British houses pocket all those quids. We could afford to pay a real good man £2000 per annum and then get a very handsome bonus indeed out of the surplus. Surely we could find a man capable of doing our business effectively and well if we are ready to «;ive him a fair thing. I don't see myself why the thing is an impossibility although whenever I have broached the subject I have been told it wouldn't work. Why, I can't see, xmless it is the local jealousy, and I should think the probability of saving say £10,000 yearly ought to go a great towards destroying that sentimentality. I think it is only a Question of going into it and thoroughly thrashing out the pros and cons and it would materialise into the greatest dairying concern in the world; a concern run on purely cooperative lines in which all suppliers would share alike. A concern run by the district for the district and managed by a board of directors consisting of one from each of the amalgamating companies. Then there's another thing, couldn't we, by being thus united buy all the necessary requisites for the company at first hand in the great quantities we would want; and not only those requisites, but th"c other things needed such as manures, etc., could be bought in great quantities and all the middle men's profits go into our own pockets. It's a question of gaining enormously both ways, of that I am absolutely convinced.

ABISTIDES

(To the Editor.}

Sir, —I am pleased to see D.J.H. ha 9 got converted as to the amalgamation of the two companies, Joll's and Kaupokonui. Years ago at a meeting of the co-operative companies to. work together for the general good of all, I mentioned the advantage of the two companies being amalgamated and I was told by one of the Joll directorate that I had jumped over the fence. I had often given my. estimate at id per lb of a saving by the joining of the two companies, and I consider the suppliers of both companies have D. J. H.'to thank for opening up the question in the friendly manner he has done, and, T. trust, others will follow in the same strain.

Having had twenty years' experience of vacuum pan boiling in the British West Indies and Greenwish, also tripleeffete, I wish to venture a rough guess as to the cost of two complete vacuumpan and triple-effete plants of twenty tons each, with the necessary machinery for turning sugar milk on the market, at £30,000, and the net gain of butter fat of Id per lb from the process. This triple-effete is simply a branch of the vacuum pan and a great saver of fuel, using the back pressure or direct steam three times over, and the iuice is sinmly drawn by vacuum into the boiling vacuum pan, the vacuum pan boiling for all it is worth at a temperature of 130. I say two plants, because the distance would be too far to cart or pipe the whey to O7ie central factory. Then, if the cold water for your vacuum pan condensers cannot be got by gravitation in a large enough volume to keep your pans cool, an extra expense will be incurred for a refrigerating pump and engine to cool your water from the condensers, by throwing the water to a height and allowing it to fall in a fine spray.

As I have said, I am only making a friendly guess with D.J.H., and I am afraid, looking at the cost of gettms the whey to two centres, in estimating Id per lb I am going too high. However, I trust D.J.H. is on the right valuation at 5d per lb, and as he rightly puts it, will assist all of us to meet the high land values ruling and a few pounds, shillings and pence in store for the rainy day. Why not name the company the T. L. Jol' and Kaupokonui or Kaupokonui and Joll ? JAMES SMITH.

The Meadows, Otakeho.