THE PIG INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 26, 25 October 1907, Page 2

THE PIG INDUSTRY.

WAIRARAPA BACON FACTORY FOR LEASE. . FULLER DETAILS! At Tuesday's annual 'meeting of ; tho Wai, rarapa'Bacon and^l^reezing' Company," when a decision was come'to which'' resulted in the factory being thrown open for-lease, fifty 1 shareholders were present (writes our Wa'.rarapa correspondent) . Mr. W. Fisher presided: . ; . ; Finances. : . '

The., balanco. sheet showed liabilities as follows: —To' subscribed capital,. 457 ordi.iary shares at £5-each, £2285, less in arrears, £163 10s.;ild.-£2121 9s. Id. ; 230 shares at £5 each,. £1150,-less in arrears £219 10s.— £930 10s,; overdraft at Bank of New Sjutli /\V ales, ■ £2045 ss. 6d.; overdraft at Bank of New. Zealand, £236 Is.; sundry ;creditors, £90. ss;, lid.;: total,- £5423 lis.'; 6d. .Asssts: —By ..land,;. £181 18s; 7d.; buildings, £b23 ss. Id.; plant, £881; 13s. 3d.;.. water race and lygb pressure, £67 .3s. 3d: ; unexpired insurance,' £18; 10s.; stock, £443 19s. .lOd. charges for curing ,not delivered, £14 95.; material, £52. 7s. ; sundry debtors, : £295 3s. 9d. ; amount duo by agents, .£427 12s. lid.-; cash in hand, £39 Bs. 6d.: t0ta1,'£3345 lis. 2d.; balanco, £2178 Os. 4d. Profit and less account:—To debit balanco from 1906,"£1867 18s. 3d.; wages, £760 15s. 7d.; materials, £516 10s. 6d.; intorest, £160 Is; ,5d.; general charges—freight, cartage, killing, discounts, commissions, insurances, bad debts, etc., £707 19s. lid.; total £4013 ss. Sdi By bacon account —Total sales, £4422 14s 2(1.; less total purchases, £3395 7s. 4d — £1027*65.. lOd.; curing account, £807 18s.6d.; deficit, £2178 Os. 4d.

The Losses Explained. ~ i In moving'tho adoption of tho'report ibe chairman said the-company had pracimlly killed itself in the local market. Tho i.et loss on the year's workings was'£2oo;' The directors' had come to the conclusion that tho factory would not pay so long.as itaviis locatod in the Carterton Borough.: The cust of killing (2s. 6d. per pig)'was too Kit-a:'. besides; which 10 per cont". of the woight of tho pigs consigned to tho factory had been lost. T'ho loss of £200 was principally occasioned during tho 'Christmas season; ■ when .the' Company fourid.,th'at'|it could not sell' as : had been anticipated.-, 'The managementsucceeded ; in . establishing inarkotsj but!: •' it" was .'foun'd impqssible to'get a difference between' tli'e buying , and selling' prices, wliicli,, with, the" cosb "of' killing; would give! a pro-' fit I .'.The wholo,secret,ofJgucijessinow: appeared' ;to,,be' :in making usq ,of by-products,, which had been-lost ;by;.the .mpthcdsi, The directors had,ithereforo,.decided to ask for power, to'; lease,; the . factory,; in l .order. • to ? ,be onabled to;pay off the bank overdraft. Failing this being done,' it, would: become, neces--snry to sell. . •' FARM. : ; ■< Where the Shoe Pinched., ~ In reply to questions, it was stated that 1 .soap liad been made at ono time from rbfuse' fat, and that it was now stored in the factory ; that tho : AVairarapa suffered from a dearth of pigs; that the Bush pigs cost 4s. Gd. more than thoso in the-A^alley; and that the loss in transactions over pigs,-had been continuous- It had been principally due to tho difference in weight of carcases; between the timo of trucking and delivering—a matter of ten per cent. The best,pigs that came into the factory were those from the JBush.

Future prospects. The report and balance-sheet were and then the Chairman brought up the tor of future control. 1 The.matter .of. leasing j, he said, would depend upon whether' the com-;, patty could raise enough oii mortgago to. pay off tho overdraft ait the bank. The guarantors' were unanimous in the opinion that com-: pauy's affairs should be wound-up;,',. Thero was not sufficient room for operations, in. the factory. A! great risk had been' run; during the hot summer owing to tho.,smallness of the cooling room, and some . loss , had,been oc-. casioned. By calling tenders for pleasing the factory.sufficient money could'be obtained, to pay interest, and there would also; bo something over. ~ .-V,

Proposed Freezing Works. ; . Mr. Coleman Phillips (Carter,tori) said'' that tho'directors should be given 'power to lease,, or sell or'remove' tho factory;.-'.;' For many years ho had asked that something bo done in tho Wairarapa in. tho way of freezing. There had been, a large loss; owing to the facts that the works had-been put in tho wrong place and that'no freezing had been done. Tho guarantors would nofrgo oh taking tho responsibility of killing pigs in the hot summer. Why not go outside tho'borough, and put up a freezing chamber'that would command the respect of the whole 1 of the Valley? ' '; . ■ ' '

Additional'capital Available. He did not see why;the company could not ask for another £5000' or "£IO,OOO. " There' were gentlemen in tho Wairarapa who would each subscribe £1000 to push tho scheme forward. Ho quoted the case of a man at Penrose, who erected a small bacon factory, and later/added-manuro and freezing works, with the,result {hat tho concern was now a large one.':- There was,; a great risk about killing in the, summer. STho[factory, moreover, was in 'the, wrong p'6sitioni<-':, H'e adyocated tho establishment of a- big freezing factory similar to-those owned '.by Such firms as tho Gear Company. . .HisVlmpe-'was that the factory would be some point on the road or railway lino between Carterton and Greytown, or elso to Daleficld.; V

Mr. A. M. Wilkinson (Fe'atherston) asked if Mr. Phillips hifd the distinct'knowledge that there.: wore, gcntlehieii who Would come forward and help the matter.

... Mr. • Phillips replied that there . wero gentlemen quite ready to put down £8000 or £10,000, hut,the factory must be at Woodside or Fcatherstonj. Factory to be Leased or Sold. Mr. Phillips'moved that the directors ho given power to lease, sell, or carry 0n,.0r rornovo thb factory to. a sito.on the railway lino botweon Carterton and Greytown. ;• <:•

Mr:-James,Brown (Carterton) seconded the motion. jAlthough, ho said, in actual money there was'a" direct loss to tho sharoholdors, there was' not a direct loss to the-towns in tho district.> (/There was no loss to tho farmers who wero shareholders. If it was decided to close down; tho farmers would come under the influoric6i of-outside firms, which would bring down tho .price, for. pigs ..'to tho lovol at which it.stood before'"tho company, was started. Sinco ; the, factory had been established there had been a benefit to tho district. That £2000 sot down as aggrogato loss had gone into tlto hands of broedors of r.'gs. Tho industry

should bo kept in tho.Wairarapa, and should be in the hands of the farmers. A loss of £2000 could be made up occasionally, because tlio farmers lost on one hand, and'gained on tho other. Value of the Factory. Mr. A. M. Wilkinson said that ho valued tho factory at £1600. If thero was £640 to tho good after liabilities wero paid off, and sotting down tho property value at.£l6oo'instead of £2000, tlie company would be in a position to got a mortgage to pay interest . and sinking fund. Assets would amount to £650 after clearing off liabilities. Final Decision. It was decided to amend -the motion, changing the word "Greytown" to "Featherston," and the motion,' as amended, was :oarried.v: ' ' ~ At a meeting of directors held subsequently, it was decided to'lease the, factory, which pos-: sibly will be. 'shifted from Carterton to Dalefield or. Featherston.