OUR INDUSTRIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6873, 7 June 1890, Page 3

OUR INDUSTRIES.

THE KAIAPOI FACTORY. The Industrial Association, with the. object of obtaining a more practical acquaintance with the various industries that are being carried on amongst us, have come to a wise decision. They have resolved to personally visit the various manufacturing establishments in the city and surrounding districts, and commenced their work yesterday afternoon, when a visit was paid to the Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company's works in Cashel street. The party consisted of the President (Mr Beaven), the Vice-Presidents (Messrs Q, T. Booth and H. B, Kirk), and Messrs Curie tt, Waller, Horsley, Euasell and Crook. They were received, by Mr Blackwell, the Chairman of the Directors of the Company, and went through the premises, inspecting the work : done by the operatives, under the guidance of the Manager, Mr T. Q. Pascoe. The visitors' attention was first directed to the large warehouse on the ground floor, on one Bide of which are stored large quantities of made-up clothing, and on the other every variety of tweed, in the piece. | Some improvements were in progress in this ' department, in the arrangement of th» stock, so as to give more light in the room, and facilitate the inspection of intending' buyers. At the iear of the warehousea new packing-room has recently been erected, where there is a press and every convenience for packing the garments, into bales. Ascending to the first floor 1 above, the visitors were met by Mr Pasooe r I who explained the working of the cuttingmachine and the methods of drawing the patterns on the cloth before the tweeds, are handed over to the cutter. The ; folding-room was next visited, and then ft. novelty was introduced — a machine for putting on buttons without the aid o£ thread. By a simple action the upper park of the button is securely rivetted to a stud inserted in the cloth, the hold obtained being such that should gladden the hearts of bachelors, whose buttons, if they were put on by this method, would never need the aid of needle and thread to replace them. A large number of girls were at work at sewing machines driven by steam-power, 1 making up the garments they had received from the cutter. In another department the button-hole machines might be seen, at work under the direction of the nimble ■ fingers of the young women, and were an. i object of much interest to the visitors. ! It is to be hoped there is no ambiguity about the last sentence; it was the machines, of course, in which the visitors were interested. Ascending to the second, floor, attention was directed to the manufacture of men's under-flannels, which, forms no inconsiderable portion of the work of the factory. The party then left the main building and went over to the No. 2. factory in Bedford Bow, where a new form of cutting machine was shown at work. Before leaving, the President of the Industrial Association thanked Mr Blackwell for the courtesy the visitors had received. Mr Blackwell expressed the pleasure he had felt in receiving them, and naively hinted that he hoped all themembers of the Industrial Association, would wear Kaiapoi clothing. That our local industries should be encouraged is a> principle which all readers of this journal must admit has been frequently urged in.. our columns ; and when the excellenfci quality of the goods supplied by the* Kaiapoi Factory is borne in mind, they should not lack customers.