BUSINESS DEAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20514, 4 September 1936, Page 8

BUSINESS DEAL

ALPINE DAIRY COMPANY SALE TO ASHBURTON INTERESTS The purchase of the Alpine Dairy Company, Timaru, by the Ashburton Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, has been completed, and the Alpine factory is now operating under the control of the Ashburton company. Th® price paid has not been stated for publication. lliis is the second factory taken over by the Ashburton company since the Commission of Agriculture recommended, 12 months ago, that the larger companies should take over the ■ smaller factories. The first to go into the merger was the Mount Hutt company, at Methven, which was taken over last March. Negotiations with the Alpine Company had been in train for about two months. By a diversion to Timaru of much of the Cream now leaving the Temuka and nearby districts for Christchurch, it is anticipated that the factory at Tiffiatu Will be practically doubled in thfe next year, giving lower costs in handling and higher pay-out to suppliers. It is hoped to increase the output ill Ashburton to approximately 1960 tons in the coming season, which would be two and a half times greater than the output of any other company south of the Rakaia River. The question of merging the interests of dairy factories in Canterbury to place them under one big company, has been canvassed for some time past, and was discussed at a meeting of representatives of dairy’ factories at Christchurch recently and was referred to the several companies for consideration. The suggestion that there should be one company to handle the output between the Hurtinui and Waitaki Rivers Was not favoured locally for the reason that South and Mid-Canterbury would be called on to pay for assets the payment for wliieh would directly benefit the producers of North Canterbury ahd the “dry” shareholders in the northern companies.