NEW FREEZING WORKS

Timaru Herald, Issue 170307, 30 August 1920, Page 3

NEW FREEZING WORKS

TO BE ERECTED AT WASHDYKJfI. FIRST SATISFACTORY MEETING. The first statutory meeting of the newly-formed Co-operative Freezing Company of Soutii. Canterbury whs held in the Foresters' Hall, Timnru, on Saturday morning- There was a large attendance, and Mr C. E. Ken' ■was elected to preside, in the unavoidable absence of Mr T. I). Burnett, M.P. The meeting was ;mi enthusiastic one, and lasted an hour and a half. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT. Mr Kerr, in opening the meet n a . said: Thougi.i an extraordinary g. iK-ru,. meeting ot the •company viUo liUiu oa t.io Stu instant, to cunb.der ana adoDu Articles or Association, tliis statutory meeting is t-ue first general meeting of tlie shareholders taut A as been convened. The memjfcrs will be ac liberty to tuscass any nftuer relating ro tue lormation of the company or arising out of the report. Reference to the directors' report, which lias Lean sent to shareholders will siiow that 12,428 shares liacl been allotted tip to the i'Otn. insb. Shareholders win alio see- | that the land consisting of about 24!J acres at Washdyke lias Ijeeu purchased and a deposit paid thereon. Tue I directors gave full consideration to the question of selecting qualified architects for the company, and decided to appoint Messrs Walter Panton and Son, of Timaru. Tliis linn have a \ ery high reputation in their profession, and the directors feel sure that the selection made will 'meet with The approval of the shareholders. The uorks will have a killing capacity of 3000 sbecps and Jambs per day, iicsides cattle. Tho works will bo on the most modern lines and will be equipped .with the most up-to-date plant and Lbour saving appliances. 1 The architects have mane a careful inspection ot tho sue, which they pronounce as an ideal one fur the having an ample water supply aud fall for drainage; also the land will provide for firm foundations for building purposes. The plans are in course of preparation, and every elibit will be made to. push on the project so as to have the works erected at tue earliest date possible. For some considerable peiiod I he fanners in South Canieroury have aiscussed the idea of building faiiters' ireeung works. During the last two seasons farmers ha-, o realised that they have been working at a disadvantage in not having their own works. Tne present movement t.,01c definite shape some three months ago, when a prospectus was drawn up, and over thirty farmers formed the Provisional Committee of the present Company. AI meeting of t.;e Provisional Directors Mas held on the 25th May last, at which Mr T. D. Burnett, M.P., presided. That mooting passed a resolution that a Farmers' Co-operative Freezing Co.npmiy be formed, and a sub-comm.ttee was appointed to coasider Articles of Association and other matters of .inteiest. The sub-coui-mitteo met and carefully considered [the question of the Articles, which have been adopted by the shareholders at '..an extraordinary general meeting held *O.l the 7th August. It is cJiiadentiy i expected that these regulations v. U1 be Jiound to be fully adequate for the j future operations ,of the company, jlue "company was registered on .june id. The new company has since its j inception continued to ic-cive a ery strong support from tile farmeis in iiic district, who fully realise the necessity for the producers taking moro interest in the control of then- own freezing business. As Mr Burnett stated a.t a previous meeting, "the ].roptiscd works will be'owned by farmers, for the benefit of farmers, and wili •jo controlled by the farmers themselves." It is hoped that the of co-operation will receive the [idlest ' consideration by our farmers, and that some scheme for joining in a co-opera-tive movement for linking up the interests of farmers t-hrouguout the Dominion, will be formulated. It is con- : ceivable that such a co-operative ' rcheme would bo worth millions to the' producers of this Dominion, especially iit the marketing of their produce. Tho share list is growing i-a.pi.ily, and we have now nearly 80J s -are;.elders, piratically all farmers. If say 800 shareholders only put 2-30 sheep a year through the works (and that is not a large number) we shall have an an-r-un I killing of 200,000 head. V,'e , \ave ample evidence that the farmers jin_ this district wish to support the principle of co-operation, and it is only by the formation of a freezing com•luny to be operated on co-operative lines that the p.o'ducers can hope to obtain tho fullest value for their produce. j.n reference' to the movement recently started for the for nation of . another Farmers' Company further .■■until, tlio piomoteis of our company i were of opinion tiiat the interests of | the farmers of Soutii Canterbury j would be served to the best advantage j by the formation of one strong Fa.rm- | u-s' Company, wnose object would be | to cater _ for the requirements of the ' iarmers in the whole of the districts, ' leaving the question of huiiuing bianch works for the future considera- , tion of the farmers interested. It ! must be borne in mind that the cost ■ or ereoting freezing- works is much greater to-day than it was some four or five years ago, and therefore, on economic g-ounas, apart from the undoubted value of combination of in- ; tarcots, the wisest course to adopt. ! would be for all to combine for the. establishment of one strong co-opera-tive company, instead of having; divid- . Ed interests. There are still a num.- ' ; ber of farmers who we feel sure re- I ; cognise the benefits to be obtained in ! establishing farmers.' works, but who! have not taken tip share;. The directors hope that these farmers will do I their part in helping the movement j along by becoming shareholders in the I company. _ They can rest assured that j by so doing, they will be associated ! with men whose aim will be to run the new concern on proper and fair; business lines and to obtain the fullest benefits for the shareholders, whether large or small, on co-operative lines. Mr Kerr satead that before buying the site the directors had had the land valued by Mr Hugh Lowry, whose estimate was £47 per acre for speculative purposes and £55 to £6O per acre if cut;, up into convenient-sized farms. Mr j Lowry said it was deep soil, suitable for j grain and_ root crops, and was admirable dairying ccraintry. I Mr Kerr added tlxa,t _ the site was 'a ' most convenient one, adjoining:a railway station, as it did, and being close to the port. It v-a-s an ideal site, and the ! directors considered that Mr Grant had met them fairly in letting them, have it at the price paid. . THE WORKS DESCRIBED. Mr Kerr than read the report by Messrs Walter Panton and Sons, giving j details of the plans for the proposed j new works. The plans showed that ; there would be <a slaugjhter house with; thirty butchers' hooks, a cooling room ! with capacity for 4500 carcases, and eight freezing rooms each capable of holding 1250 carcases. There would also be a beef slaughter house to kill and hang 50 carcases daily. With a view to utilising electricity in the future it j was proposed to put in a comparatively ' small steam-driven machine and a larger electrically-driven compressor could be installed later if electric power became 1 available. So far as the byproducts were concerned these had been catered for in a manner to amply meet the re-

quirements of the killing capacity. In. ■ the matter of employees and office accommodation, dressing, dining, bathing \ and drying rooms would be provided. I t was recommended that a. railway fading bo put in before commencingbuilding operations. So far as was , known, it would take from six to eight months front the time of placing the order till the arrival of the plant. It was intended to erect the whole of the buildings in concrete, with the probable exception of the chimney stack. THE DISCUSSION, Mr Kerr then invited tho fullest dis-/j t-ussion. J i Mr Garrick inquired the probable cost' 1 I of tlie works. j 'air Kerr said it was hard to arrive at the cost of tilings to-ci,ay, and he tm.ught their wisesG plan would be to push ahead with the piansi aud get tenners in as early as possible. Mr Panton, replying to Mr Garrick, said the building woui'd be cheaper in concrete than in brick. It was l splendid ground to build on, and the fall was quite sufficient to make good drainage possible. It was difficult to- say what the building would cost, but he estimated the cost at between £120,000 and £130,000. This included machinery. Prior to the war the cost would have been about half the sum he had named. In reply to Mr A. G. Hart, Mr Panton said tnat if the works were run with Coleridge power it would effect a savins of about £12,000 in machinery, but' steam must be provided for in any case; it would not do for the company to bo dependent solely on electricity. Jill* Kerr said that in addition to tho initial saving of £12,000 there would I ,J e a, saving of about £2OOO a year in running expenses if they had electricity. Sir Panton said the works would be as modern as they could be made. Mr Arthur Dale inquired whether there was any likelihood of South Canterbury ever getting Coleridge power. Ml* Kerr said that the Prime Minister had definitely promised them the power, and on the same- basis os Christchurcli had it. There was no dcubt. but that South Canterbury would got it. There was plenty of power at Lake Coleridge, and South Canterbury would get Its share. Mr Hart said they were given to understand that 1000 horse-power was t 0 be given South Canterbury, and lie thought the directors should book their order for power at once. Mr Kerr said this was a. good suggestion, and would be acted upon. Mr Garrick said the plans did not provide for sufficient storage, in his opinion. Mr Panton said additions could easily be made. Mr Garrick said it would be cheaper to provide enough at the start. Mr Kerr said he thought the plans provided for sufficient storage —75,000 carcases, —especially in view of the fact that more insulated ships were afloat-to-day than before the war. Mr'F. H. Labatt said he thought they should make ample provision for storage, but-,, as Mr Kerr had said, the question of finance had to be considered. Still, he was satisfied that support would be forthcoming such as would justify them in making ample provision. Mr Garrick was right in stating that more storage should bo provided. but the question of finance had i to be i onsid-'-fl. and if they started! with what th>- plans now provided lor' they c eukl increase tho storage later. > At the kaiaiuii wcrkri the business had grown from the start, and they-had had io materially increase their storage .there. j Mr .Flare inquired whether this eon'i- ! pany should not approach the Waitaki Freezing Company, which was being j ; formed, with a view to persuading tlieiii , to join this one. I Sir Kerr said this had been done. He j thought the Waitaki Company would | be wise to join this company, as they couid do much better working iu unison than in opposition. Mr Hart said he thought they should bo approached again. In reply to Sir Timaru Rhodes, Mr Kerr said that there had been negotiations between - the new company in Timaru and the Canterbury Meat Company, but nothing had come of them. The directors had suggested buying the Pareora works, but tho Canterbury Company -would not sell. The Jotter had made certain proposals t 0 the directors. Briefly put, these proposals amounted to an invitation to the farmers of South Canterbury to book up space with them. Mr Rhodes asked whether the new company had not made- some proposals to the Canterbury Company. Mr Kerr said they had clone so, and lie read them. No reply had yet been received to these proposals. Mr J. W. Armstrong, a Waimate shareholder, said that fresh negotiations should bo opened with the Waitaki Company. He believed that if this I were clone something would result. Hey would have plenty of vested ini terest-s to fight without fighting each other. Mr J. Maze said that Mr Bur- ! nett and he had met the Waitaki Company, and had pointed out that union : was strength, and asked them to join the Timaru Company. They had placed the whole position very fully before tliem, and had received a promise that their suggestions would be considered. | He would like to see the Waitaki ComI pany again approached. | Mr Armstrong said it seemed to him that Mr J. Corrigan was the stumbling j block to the two cam ponies amalgamating, .and lie believed that if the Waitake shareholders had an opportunity of i T oting on the question they would be | willing to throw in their lot with, the : Timaru' Company. He suggested that fresh negotiations should be opened. Mr Kerr said this would be done. He felt confident that the Waitaki Company would join them. It was possible that they would be able to 'erect , works near the Waitaki after they had j got the Washdyke works going. Mr Laehlan Grant suggested that no time should be lost in again approaching the Waitaki Company. In reply to Mr Sidey, Mr Panton said it would cost about £BOOO extra to provide storage for an additional 25,000 carcases. Mr Garrick moved that it be a recommendation to the directors to so increase the storage.—Carried. Mr Kerr moved the adoption of the report. Mi' J. Maz© seconded, and the motion was carried. _ Messrs Gavin Moffatt and A. C. Martin was appointed scrutineers for the election of directors, and it was decided that the next general meeting should be held on September 25, when permanent directors will be appointed. The architects were asked to push on with the plans as quickly as possible, and get tenders in. It was explained that there will be twelve directors—three from each of tlie four counties in South Canterbury. The method of voting was also explained. Mr iLabatt made reference to the great amount of preliminary vrork which the provisional directors had' done, and tihey were accorded a hearty vote of thanks. On the motion of Mr Hart a similar compliment was paid to Mr Kerr for the able way he had presided over the meeting. Mr Kerr mentioned that the Kaiapoi Company had not made nearly so good a start as this company, which was in almost as good a position now as the Kaiapoi Company was in at the end of its first year. Prior to _ the statutory meeting a special meeting was held, when the Articles of Association were confirmed.