RESEARCH IN INDUSTRY

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23257, 19 July 1945, Page 6

RESEARCH IN INDUSTRY

Aid For Manufacturers The scope and development of the | work, ot me Manufacturers Research , Committee oi the Department of | bciemirlc and industrial Researcn were outlined by Mr H. T. Wright, the secretary-exoCULive officer ol die committee, m an interview (says trie "Otago Daily Times.") Mr Wngnt said that manufacturers m New Zealand had recognised the ; necessity lor the application ol scien- ; tific methods and lor me development of scientilic research in industry n they were to maintain their present | position and expand m the post-war ( period. Because in the past me pros- | perily of New Zealand had been bound I up in its larming and agriculture the department had given most of its attention to those industries, and larmers were fortunate in having a scientific service second to none in the world. In recent years, however,' there had been a remarkable expansion oi secondary industries. At the I request of the New Zealand Manu- | iacturers’ Federation, the Government 1 nad agreed io give assistance, and tne council of the Department of Scien- | tific and Industrial Research had I formed a Manufacturers’ Research : Committee to deal with the special I problems involved. The committee had three main , functions, said Mr Wright. The first | was to give assistance to individual I manufacturers; the second was to encourage manufacturing industries to form groups for co-operative research I ana technical servicing of their Indus- j tries, and the third was to continue i research into problems that were of national importance. The first function ot the committee will be carried out through the library and information service, from which information regarding scientific developments overseas is being constantly obtained, and also by scientific work in New Zealand. The department has scientific liaison officers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, through wnom advice of technical advances all over the world is received. The services of ah the departmental laboratories are also available to meet the needs of manufacturers. The second function of the committee is being undertaken through direct contact with the appropriate industries Already the following have formed industrial research associations:—Tire wneat and flour industry, combining the interests of wheatgrowers, flourmillers, and bakers; the dairy Industry, covering all aspects of. dairy farming hi collaboration with the Dairy Board and the Dairy Research Institute at Palmerston North; the tobacco industry, covering the interests of growers and. manufacturers; the leather industry, dealing with the needs of tanners, fellmongers, and footwear manufacturers; and the Woollen Mill Owners' Research Association, with headquarters in Dunedin, in collaboration with the Otago University. The first of these associations was established in 1926. and the others followed within the next few years. “Control of these associations is entirely democratic, with a majority of industrial representatives on the committee,” said Mr Wright. “They are being encouraged to form themselves into incorporated bodies for independence of activity.” The Government was contributing 50 per cent of the cost of running the associations. The third function of the committee is being undertaken, at the Government’s expense in order to develop the resources of the manufacturing industries of the Dominion. An interesting example is found in a recent request from the appropriate national trade organisation for an investigation into the utilisation of sawdust and waste timber. In regard to individual pioblems a manufacturer is required to meet the cost of the investigation, and the results are treated as confidential.