Making Dry Cells....

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20233, 17 February 1934, Page 12

Making Dry Ce 115....

New Industry Flourishing in Christchurch

Less than a year ago Mr. C. F. Cotter, the Christchurch Electrician, conceived the idea that dry cells should be made in Christchurch. The necessary capital to form a company was quickly subscribed, and it is now known as the N.Z. Dry Cell and Battery Company Ltd. Mr. Cotter was deputed to go to England and the Continent in search of the best available battery and dry cell expert in Europe. After

numerous experts had been interviewed. Mr. E. Hibou was engaged under contract to select the necessary machinery for battery manufacture and come to

New Zealand as factory organiser, chemist and factory manager. Mr Hibou’s twenty-seven years in the dry cell manufacturing business, both in England and on

the Continent, have enabled him to master every phase of dry cell and battery making. Training employees in specialised jobs has been an important phase in his career. More than seventy operatives are now employed at the N.Z. Dry Cell and Battery Co. Ltd., under the direction of Mr. Hibou, making dry cells of every description, at the rate of

many thousands a day. Mr. C. F. Cotter, as Managing Director, and Mr. Cyril Tansey, as Sales Manager, direct the affairs of the Company. The accompanying photographs give some idea of the wonderful progress of this virile young industry. Already the factory is in full swing. The demand for dry cells, as the batteries are known, exceeds the present supply, and more operatives are being engaged as fast as Mr. Hibou can train them.