NEW DAIRY FACTORIES

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 35 (Supplement)

NEW DAIRY FACTORIES

MODERN INSTITUTIONS SOUTH TARANAKI ENTERPRISE. MANGAWHERO AND WAIOKURA. The past few months have been notable in South Taranaki for the progressive policy of many dairy companies in modernising plant and buildings in order to bring them into line with to-day’s re-' quirements aimed at improving the quality of their outputs. Foremost among these are the T. L. Joll, Kaupokonui and Manga toki. companies, which have recently built new branch factories at Mangawhero Road, Waiokura and Kaponga respectively. At Waiokura the new factory embodies the latest improvement in factory design and finish. The making-room with its massive principal roof suggests great strength. Sanitation has been a paramount consideration and everything possible has been done to make cleanliness an easy task for the staff. The 6ft. dado is a special cement plaster prepared only by Mr. W. Adams plasterer, of Hawera, and is of extreme smoothness and durability. The walls above this to the roof are finished with Keen’s plaster together with a special hardener which gives the whole a glass-like surface which can be hosed and scrubbed without damage. The roof timbers of Oregon are dressed, oiled and stained, while all ironwork is painted with special rust-resisting paint. The specially designed windows ensure perfect ventilation and lighting. The actual making-room is 60ft by 50ft, and is capable of taking eight vats with one more if necessary by taking up some of the ample room provided for pasteuriser, separator and receiving vat. In the event of nine vats being required these machines will not be unduly crowded. The whey tanks and drains are tiled for sanitation and an innovation is the placing of the sweet whey tank under the testing room thus saving floor space. The culture room is fitted with the latest appliances for perfect work in this department—a comparatively new departure in factory construction in Taranaki. From the making room one enters the packing room which is 35ft. by 24 ft. with an annexe for waxing 14ft. by 15ft. Through a heavily insulated door to the making room one passes to a curing room specially designed by Mr. A. Brown, the builder This will be of interest to farmers and factory directors as all ventilation is secured from beneath the heavily reinforced floor which is well clear of the ground. Ports are provided to ensure the air of the room being kept at an even temperature and changed often enough through the day to prevent staleness yet without permitting draughts on to the cheese. The curing room (45ft. by 34ft.) which is large enough to comfortably store all the cheese required, is insulated with celotex, an insulating material introduced for factory work by Mr. Brown last year. This has already given very gratifying results. Another convenience is the placing of the packing room next to the making room. This makes it possible to keep the curing room away from the heat of the making room. The boiler house and coal house walls were -not destroyed by the fire which razed the old factory and this portion has been re-roofed and remodelled. The factory building is reinforced on the latest earthquake resisting design and is the result of Mr. Brown’s experience in Hawke’s Bay after the earthquake. All roofs were covered with Sumco iron and all materials and labour wherever possible were procured within the district. MANGAWHERO ROAD FACTORY. The progressive policy of the T. L. Joll Dairy Company Ltd. has been, again instanced in the new Mangawhero Road branch factory erected on the site of the original building. The new building of reinforced concrete incorporated all the latest ideas of modem factory construction and should serve the district for years to come. The making room (75ft. by 60ft.) suggests careful planning and is finished with white walls relieved with a grey blue dado. The white tiled whey tank and drains are well graded and rendered perfectly smooth with a cement plaster finish. Convenience is an important factor and an improvement in this connection is the fitting of the doors flush on both sides rendering cleaning easy and eliminating all ledges liable to harbour bacteria. Off the making room are the stage with its two weighing' machines, starter culture, testing and store rooms. The bandage room is well equipped with tables and cupboards. The boiler house with its 35 h.p. boiler is conveniently placed for economic' steaming with • coal bunkers of 35-to'n capacity provided in handy proximity.' Over the bunkers is the water storage tank of. 75,00 gallons capacity from which leads to the various -points are taken. .Special provision is made for flooding the bunkers in case of fire. The curing room, placed, in a handy position to the making room, is insulated with Celotext and’ is of ample size to allow for extra storage as required. It is safe to say that this new 8-vat factory incorporates everything necessary to make it a model for the district. Both the Waiokura and Mangawhero factories were designed and built by the contractor, Mi". Arthur Brown, Hawera. Mr. W. Adams carried out the complete plaster work, Mr. L. G. Mudford the plumbing, the Egmont Box Co. supplied the timber, Messrs. Geo. Syme and Co. the joinery and the Celotex insulation by Messrs. C. and A. Odlin and Co. Ltd. The complete plant of the Waiokura factory and the Kaponga branch of the Mangatoki Dairy Company was supplied and installed by the National Dairy Association of New Zealand Ltd. through their New Plymouth and Hawera branches. Several thousand feet of New Zealand timber used in the construction of the factory were supplied by George Syme and Co. Ltd. of Hawera. Most of the timber was rimu milled on the slopes of Mt. Egmont, and all the dressed timber supplied by the firm was dressed at its Hawera factory. A large quantity of undressed rimu was used for boxing for the concrete work, and most of. the dressed timber was used in the ceiling of the building. The firm also supplied a large quantity of the shelving and other timber in the curing room. The joinery work, also of New Zealand timber, was supplied from the Hawera factory of the Egmont Box Company, where it was manufactured.