PROGRESS OF DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 October 1915, Page 6

PROGRESS OF DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

NEW FACTORY AT PATUA. FORMALLY OPKNKD YESTERDAY

Throughout the whole of Taranaki' there arc of progress, despite the troubled times through which the Kmpin* is passing, ami nowhere is this progress more manifest than in the dairying industry, whirl) is elicit year becoming more and more an important factor in the development of this province, and| of the whole Dominion. In Taranaki this \ear there has been considerable i movement in dairy factory matters. See-. eral companies have changed from but- 1 ter to cheese, whilst other new <-om* j panics have been formed, this in every i case meaning the erection of new fac-. Tories and the installation of new plants.! all of which have been made as up-to-! date as possible, showing that the re- j spcvt-ivc shareholders have a live faith ' in the future prosperity of their district, This was verv manifest at! Tataraimaka yesterday, when the Patua 1 t'-u-opwativv Dairy Company'-, new plant, at Timaru was formally opened in the presence of a large gathering, under the auspice* that should ensure its ['uture sin-cess. The Patua Dairy Company was one of the latest co-operative companies to be formed in Taranaki, the home of sucees>fu! eu-operation. It sprang into being as the outcome of various meetings of the Oakum Dairy Company, when that company decided to inslal a plant for the manufacture of cheese at Timaru. to ( lose the creamery ■on the beach at Pitone. and to run the Oakura factoiy as a creamery. Cltiniatelv. tho Oakura company went into liquidation. All the Timaru. Pitone and a good proportion of the suppliers at Oakura formed a new company, which was called Patua, and the remainder who were precluded by distance from supplying ai Timaru, continued to supply their old factory at Oakura. which joined the Omata company as a creamery. The new company. of which Mr. \Y. lloneyfield is chairman, and Mr. E. \\\ Carner secretary, both having held those positions in the old Oakura company, lost no time in getting to work and the result was evidenced in the splendid structure which was formally opened yesterday, though it has been actually in operation for some weeks.

The new factory is situated oil a pleasant flat at tin- bottom of the Timaru Valley, and alongside tile prettily winding river of Chat name. Travellers who pas, that road cannot fail to be struck with the lieauty of the native bush at that spot, close to the foot of the I'atua ranges. The company has nearly four acres of land, which gives ample scope for its operations. The building was designed by. and erected under the personal supervision of Mr. Owen IVnwardeii. who certainly has cause to feel gratified with his handiwork.

TJie factory is very commodious, and is erected on up-to-date and labor-saving lines light through. Over all the lloor space covers some 70 feet by !)0 feet, and all tile floors are of concrete, whilst the walls are also of concrete to an avetage height of three feet. The balance of the wall, which is twelve feet in the clear, is built of all heart totara and rimu, the narrow feather edging weather boarding giving a neat appearance. The cheese and Letter portions, for it is a dual plant, kept separate. There are two receiving stages, one each for butter and cheese, fitted, with Sinus weighing machine and power hoist. There is also a Cooper whey weigher, so that the man on ~the stage will have complete control of that department. This should ensure every supplier getting his proper "whack" of whey, a cau.se of trouble i|/-many factories. The cheesemaking room is fifty by forty feet. Tt is of live-vat eapaei ty. At present, four vats of 850 gallons are installed, but a fifth will be installed at once, as tile, supply already demands. Presses, agitators, etc.. are installed. A feature is the drainage, all the drains being u|idergrouml. The curing room is 30ft by ;il)i't. It is fitted with 1(H) shelves that can accommodate 000 <liceses. and I at the time of' inspection yesterday, it was almost lilled. lieinir on the sliadv side evenness of temperature is assured. It is fitted with sliding doors and at the ba-k is a large room, 30ft by 12ft. which can be utilised for meeting room, or can be divided by large doors, into an olllce, 14ft by lift, arid curdling room, 1 lift iiv 12ft, the stage of the latter being sulliciently high from the ground to enable cheese to be loaded on to a waggon, standing on the road that runs completely round the factory without any lifting. The whey tanks are of wrought iron, 28011 gallon capacity, on a totara stand, elevated to feed the Cooper weigher. The butter-mill; tank is under, whilst a hot water tank for suppliers, steam for heating whey, etc., are also provided. There is an ample supply of eold water assured by a 1100 gallon tank, fed from the liver by two pumps. One main drain carries all the wastage from the factory clear away.

The butter room is ((Oft by I'Oft. Tn one recess is a btiirt' removable tinned t;uik set in ii ronc-rete wall. T 'he whey is nm into iiiui is lifted by pump* inh) I lie of which two are provided. (l i- fitted with ,'t UOOlb and ::001h Tuples' ehurn, x the latter for whey butler. A freezer and all other necessary niar-hinery for turning out a good urliele is installed, amt'tbe buttermake]-, Mr. Sho!.r?en. has proved this, as So fur no second ijriulr butter lias been made. Tlii' engine and workroom !s coimnudious. A(i )s.;i. Ttinsrve engine is installed, whilst the boiler is a 12 li.p. Murray J"nbulai- The freezing chamber is commodious, whilst a bathroom for the < onvenience of men is provided. A recess along-ide the stage i:i the bufferroom is titled for testing. Power is derived from a !)-inch McConniek turbine, which is driven by water power from the '['iniaru. A concrete dam lias been erected, and the water lead for nine chain by race and tunnel, also under the factory, to a penstock in the butter room." The holding capacity of the penstock is 21 tons, and, if necessary, twin turbines can be installed. The turbine is situated in the butter room, and is under view all the time. The turbine was brought from Oakura, as was some of the butter-making machinery, the balance being new.

The factory is so designed that it can be enlarged with very little cost, and that this will he in the early futiirr is evidenced by the present supply which already exceeds anticipations. The whole cost was about £SOOO. -Mr. J. McCann. of Kaiparoro, near TCkatuhm>a. i* manager, Messrs P>. Murdoch and lv Collins bfing lirFt and second assistant?. and Mr. Shoi>rpn is buttermaker. A comfortable And commodious

house lias been provided for the malinger, close to the factory, it. four-roomed cottage for the assistants, and a threeroomed whare for the men is being built. THE OPENIXO. There was a large gathering at the opening ceremony, including suppliers of the Patua and old Oakura companies and their wives and families. A number of visitors were also present Srom New Plymouth and elsewhere. The scene was a picturesque one. and an enjoyable time was spent by all. Mr. \Y. iloneylield. chairman of directors (who comprise also (!. A. AJlain, W. binn, E. Doherty. (!. tl. (Jrover, \V Coombes, and H. .1). .MeAlHim). apologised for the alisencc of Messrs. H.'.l. I) key. AJ.l'-, C'ruickshank. Blundi'll, and 1). Hobertson. lie expressed his pleasure at such a line attendance, and congratulated shareholders on having such a line building to open. It was a credit to Mi'. Pen warden and stall' for the way in which tiie building— equal io anv on the coast —had been creeled. Mr. A. Morton. President of the Xational Dairy Aso-ciation. also congratulated the shareholders and directors of the new company on possessing such a building so line!;. - situated and well finished. Mr. IVnwarden, as architect and contractor, was certainly entitled to a word of praise lor he was satisfied that there was no liner factory for its purpose in Turanaki to-day. Tinshareholders dc-erced credit for thcii' enterprise in erecting the building. Tlicy were evidently working on right line-, and did not believe in doing things by halves, as they had put up a factory which should lie suitable for many years to come. lie trusted that they had not looked too far ahead, and erected too large a building. They had acted wisely ill select ine' the present site, which, apart, from the natural beauties that surrounded it. was central and eminently adapted tor the pur|>o-c. I hey had put a big burden on their shoulders, but he did npt think the building would he too big, when they thought of the possibilities of the dairy industry tn Taranaki. Some of those present could throw their minds hack twenty-five years. Though there had been enormous progress in that time there was still room for further improvement, ffe impressed on them the need for more intensive farming (as reported elsewhere). Tn conclusion, he said that the enterprise of the company in changing over from butter to cheese, and erecting such a fine factory was deserving of reward, and he would look with interest 011 the welfßre of the company, with which he was associated in some respects, inasmuch as their secretary (Mr. Garner), was also secretary of the Mangorei Dairy Company, of which he was chairman. He expressed his pleasuie in meeting so many suppliers and hoped the new factory and its individual suppliers would all have a prosperous career. Amidst applause, Mrs. W. Honeyfield severed the patriotic colored ribbon that was stretched across the main door, and declared the factory open. Mr. Owen Penwarden. the architect, thanked the speakers for their appreciative remarks. On the other hand, he. said that it was a great pity that the directors had not known before the work started that there were so many experts in the district that could perhaps have carried out the work better, cheaper, and quicker than he did. After inspecting the factory, the visitors were the guests of- the directors at afternoon tea, dispensed by the ladies in a charming spot alongside the river under the shade of the native bush. Th;> ladies who had charge of this department were Mesdames W. Honpyfield. Doherty, Linn, Adlani. Coombe, Morris, Cyde, Smith, Moss, McCann, Shogren, and Miss Doherty. Mr. Adlam. in a few appropriate remarks thanked the ladies, who were accorded a unanimous vote of appreciation. There are thirty-five suppliers to the factory, which is at present manufacturing tons daily.