Increased Demand Forecast For Finns Timber

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 38, 7 January 1949, Page 5

Increased Demand Forecast For Finns Timber

The opinion that builders would be using pinus timber in the not to distant future to the same : extent as they had been using rimu i# th e past and. at the present time, was voiced by the president of the New Zgaland Federation of Master Builders (Mr S, G. Shearer) when addressing a meeting of the Western Bay of Plenty Master Builders’ Industrial Union of 'Employers in Tauranga. The question of the use of pdnus radiata in the Dominion was Q»e in which the Department; of Scientific and Industrial Research had delved deeply, . Mr Shearer commented. Builders, he said, should have some interesting information available shortly. • Mr Shearer said the recent visit of Sir Reginald Stradling, from the Building Council of Public Works in England, was arranged by the Government because it became abundantly evident that scientific research paid handsome dividends in industry: In Sir Reginald’s report, he was able iso show conclusively just what had been done in England, and What could be done in New Zealand. For example, investigations were made to ascertain the best materials to use in different localities and the way to use them —to use materials in the most economical way and with the most eeonomical methods. Sir Reginald Stradling in his summing up 9aid: “There is an urgent need for a co-ordinated scheme for civil engineering and building re-search for the whole country,” Sir Reginald informed builders that expenditure on scientific research in England was in the order of one per cent of the total expenditure on building and civil - engineering works. f V Ta bring that to New Zealand figures, an estimated expenditure on works of £45,000,000 would mean an ultimate expenditure on research of •£450,000, added Mr Shearer. The Dominion president explained that a research council had been set up in Wellington. He represented the builders on the organisation. Good work was being done in bringing forward plans to implement to some extent Sir Reginald’s ideas.