FREEZING WORKS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6706, 20 November 1889, Page 4

FREEZING WORKS.

c EXTENSIONS AT WASHDYKE. Owing to the rapid growth of tho trade in Canterbury frozen mutton, tho South Canterbury Freezing Company has found .it necessary to make a large increase in the size of its premises at Washdyke. The plans have been prepared by Messrs Coxqn and Greenßtreet, the engineers who represent the.Haslam Company here. A large cooling room is to be built to the westward of the present works, and this will be of wood "louvred," with a concrete floor. Close to this will bo buili another slaughterhouse, of a capacity of 1000 carcases per day, and the cooling room will accommodato double that number of Bheep daily. The fact that the cooling i room is on a higher level than the freezing chambers has been cleverly utilised by the architects, a3 by running a sort of aerial tramway from the cooling room to the upper storey of the building, which will be used as a freezing house and store, great economy in labour is effected. In tho upper portion of the building the carcases will be frozen, and in the lower half they will be stored while awaiting shipment, liythe ÜBe of "runners" laid on rails, to the former of which the sheep are suspended when in the cooling room, they need never bo touched again except for the purpose of being clothed, until they are put into the trucks for shipment. This, besides economising labour in handling the mutton, minimiseß tho chanco of damage to the sheep. Southward of tho cooling-rooms are the freezing-rooms, two storeys each of four rooms. These are to be of wood, insulated with charcoal in the usual way. Each of these four rooms is of a daily capacity of 750 careasea, though one of them will be at present used as a storeroom. Under these on the ground floor are four storerooms of a capacity of about 4000 carcasses each, or 16,000 sheep in all. When comparing theae figures with, the power of the old portion of the works, which freeze about 300 sheep per day, and etore about 8000 sheep, the increase in the power of the worka will be understood. The new engine-houße will, of course, be of brick, and will contain one of Haßlam's latest compound duplex refrigerators of 120,000 ft power per hour, while the two Bteel Lancashire boilere, 30ft long by 7ft in diameter, will como from the foundry of Messrs John Anderaon and Sona. The tenders for the work will close shortly, and Messrs Coxon and Greenßtreet state that this important work will be finished about the middle of May next.