IRONWORKS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 110, 10 April 1931, Page 3

IRONWORKS

THE ONAKAKA COMPANY. Per Press Association. NELSON, April 9. The decision of the Onakaka Iron and Steel Company, to go into liquidation is the subject of a statement by the chairman of the company, Mr John Leggo. Referring to the question as to whether the works have been and are worthy of Government support, Mr Leggo says that “the best part of £250,000 in cash has been found by shareholders and debenture-holders. These people for nine years have struggled against tremendous odds in an attempt to establish an iron industry in New Zealand. The opposition took the form of cutting prices, even to the extent of dumping. Who, then, are the gainers through the establishment of the Onakaka works? Most certainly the users of iron and consequently New Zealand purchasers of articles made from iron. “When the Onakaka works commenced iron was £lO a ton; to-day, f.o.h. Onakaka iron is £5. The same condition applies to east-iron pipes. Eighteen months ago imported pipes cost in New Zealand £l3 10s a ton; to-day Onakaka pipes are selling at £lO 10s delivered. “The benefits have been widely enjoyed by users and consumers, and certainly not by shareholders. Anything from 150 to 200 men have been constantly employed with wages up to £IOOO and over a week, plus thousands of pounds spent among tradespeople for supplies. Onakaka has been producing in the vicinity of £90,000 of saleable products a year, all purchased in New Zealand. That money has been circulating, not going out to India and other places—quite a respectable amount to keep within our own shores. The iron ore is obtained from the poorest land in the whole Dominion and comes under the heading of primary products. The wealth extracted equals that of many farms and is therefore so much added wealth to New Zealand. “From a purely national standpoint I maintain it would have paid the Government to have helped us in our present financial difficulties. The amount we are asking for will be eaten up in doles many times over before the men thrown out of work find employment. Alost of the men are skilled or semi-skilled workers, receiving £50,000 a year. Our request to the Government did not involve lid per head of the population. With such assistance we could have carried on indefinitely. It would have allowed use to meet all our liabilities excepting coal. In fact, it would have gone quite a little way toward that. “The principal contributing cause to the present failure is the prevailing depression. There is scarcely a foundry running full time, while some are not working even third time. Ibis means that we will have an accumulation of iron gt the works amounting approximately •to 2000 tons. Sales for the past five months have fallen to a little over 150 tons per month, while in normal times they are 500 tons and over. The depression will lift and all will regret that the Onakaka Iron Works are not then on-cr-ating.”