A NEW INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 930, 24 September 1910, Page 21

A NEW INDUSTRY.

. 'A. rubber company is Hawko's Bay's latest business undertaking. On.liearing of it ono vaguely forms a mental picture of a rubber plantation, somewhere in the background. There is. no rubber, plantation in tho province, 'nor, : : in .fact,^'within ; several' thoiteind miles' of it,' and. the New Zealand .Leather-' : { Rubber ,■ Company, Limited, owes; its ■ . 'origin to a • different reason.'' '• • ' For many years manufacturers of rubber goods, liaye def.ired io-find some 1 • i process .by which 'the durability-of leny,: ther and the resiliency of rubber, could .This "wa ■ Hi vain, butirecently; a metliod'of-anial- ■ covered'in'Jie]bourne,.and .'■to-day: {lie' •Australian . Leather. Rubber -Company. .. ..y'i : with. its. headquarters in Melbourne', has ■' established"a)>ik^desblesiirusi)i^:'.^';'..'l Hawkc's Bay Interested.:■•. 'j ' Of.lato 1 ■ motor-cars, Hawke's■ 8ay..,, has. bccomo ' v.-•>"v interested-; in;,the■. subject of rubber, and; tlio demand, for motor" ; ..is - stated be -grcater, than .in. any •:.,; other.-'province': of'the -Dominion.';' -.The New, Zealand .rights- of 1 leather, rjib-- -;.' bor process were offered to some ,enter-* ■":•' .-prising, residents ..of .Hastings, - and', it' H was. not, long before a company' with a . rectorate induding'some , of , the ,bestknown, residents ,of 'tho; province.' - TJie - list of ; directors, is ; as .followsSlessre. .John Chambers, R.. D. D.; M'Lean; A;< M'Lean, C., L. T. . Gordon, Morris Mason, 1 E. W. Williams, and E. J. ; of the capital was'subscribod'in Hawkeis', Bay, , and it- was ; decided : ; to •establish '■ ;Hastings, . where' 'it.i;is :estK '. TOated.; : that.thoplaiitean;;beworkcdten ; ;,per cent;; more cheaply than would bo the'case, in' a;- larger centre. -, The 'raV ?material, used in.the',.manufacturing process has to be drawn from, all- over the country,-. and.; can be as • readily' landed ■ .®^, ! ; as.- spot. No

iemier-rubber. ' REVOLUTION 'SI RUBBER GOODS. WHAT !§ BEING DONE AT HASTINGS.

doubt the company lyill have depots and agencies in the various contrcs tlirough- • out the Dominion before long. ' What Is Leather Rubber? .Briefly described,, tho processes in- ■■ elude tho regeneration of old rubber ■ by a secret-method, aiid the production . of leather rubber, by an. amalgamation 'of.-'•scrap leather, crude rubber,: and waste .rubber.,' By the . aid 1 of certain chemicals,, the scrap 'leather;-:is ground to >■ powder, and with the . crude and old. rubber is -subjected to an interesting:, course of treatment through' the most, extensive' outfit; of machinery ,yet set up in the town of Hastings.. The result is : ; the production of an article ;which has the appearance of ordinary rubber, but possesses a much greater toughness T of fibre. Tho plant is cap-, .able;of, turning out a wide ; .variety .of rubber goods,: and' among the;articles; which' it is proposed to manufacture are rubber belting, cab tyres, bioycle tyres, motor'- tyres, boot soles- and heels;' 1 ' insulating for electric storage batteries, linoleums,, tiles, inner tubes;. for 'prieu-' matic;. bicycles 'and motor .tyres," ai}d hoses and rubber tubing generally. Already ; an* order has been received for rubber leather floor tiles from, the. Here-, t-aunga Club at Hastings, ;and.:.another. :from the. ;Grand Hotel, .Wellington/.The,! manager of the company, Mr. Land, anticipates the development •of an especially big business in tiles. At present the cljoico of flooring lies between terra cotta or some similar: pottery ; articlo and .ordinary rubber.-; 'The for-' trier; variety of tiles are not without dis- : advantages, being hard and brittle, and •often ■ dangerously , slippery , when; laid on'.a,,slope; nor is the, pure rubber ; wholly; satisfactory,; as it is hardly dur-, able enough'where there, is a . consider-, : able traffic across' a floor., >With; leather : rubber the elasticity and non-slipping. qualities'/of rubber tire claimed ■to be ' .-combined';with ;a. greatly-increo:sed dira- : bility. ...j; V-

The Promises and Plant. J As'wiil bo seen 'from the accompanying illustration,' the company's plant has been housed in an extensive building, which measures 800 ft. by 150 ft. It is situated on an acre of land in Nelson Streot, Hastings, and tho mochinery to be found within its walls well repays inspection. The building itself contains a large machinery room and fact-ory occupying its northern half. The southern portion is divided into various 'offices, otq. From the street the secretary's office is entered, and adjoining; it is the showroom, ■ where the finished goods will be exhibited. Beyond is the chemist's room, which is again . subdivided into a laboratory • and drug room. ' Then come store rooms, etc., •and a large mechanical room, where at present may. be -seen a large assortment of moulds, • etc,, > for producing various

articles be;'.' nianufactufei' 6y. the company. In the far'-end compartments arc 1 the engine-room and boiler-house, .while outside, 'in a lean : to■, 'is the stillroom. - ;ln a : large : stack.'at -'orie.'erid ' of the building' is:the. scrap 1 leather,' the quantity on hand being; about 110 ; tons.'/ ; Tlib' Wasfe;TObber/.in the form of- motor' ■tyres and tubes, etc., is piled high' in a store-roomj from yrhich.it has some.iime since begun to overflow.., . About £800 worth of crude rubber is.also'on hand. It was prophesied ;in some qu/irters , t!iat. the conlpany would never, be- ab'.e to secure enough old. rubber to carry on operations with, but . already a six months' stock is on hand, tho bulk of it having ' been; obtained ..almost unsought, How tho Work is Carried Out. ; ;htVlieri'visited, ailthouglf the machinery; 'was 'all set-', up; ' the 1 works ' had-. not' begun operations, so that. it was not possible to ; see actual 'processes carried out. Tlie first operation- is<to'-put', tho" scrap leather through a." disintegrator capable of . dealing - with about' 2'jcwt.' of material a day. In this the leather is .ground to a powder, a magnetic sifter ■ all. stray,, nietal which may have been amongst .it.-. The ,visitoiyfor instance,: if sufficiently curious, ; could , his boot .throughthe' machine and have returned to bim'a quantity/of powdered leather and some stray fragments of .metal. representing nails, eye-

I lets, etc. The waste rubber and crude rubber' are put through a series '• of grinding- aiid washing machines, etc.,, spread in an imposing row down the building, and: during the process are mixed, at different stages with. the powdered leather and certain chemicals. Tho resulting compound is run through a dougn mill and refined. It is then in a semi-liquid state, and is ready \o be spread on cloth and manufactured into any line of rubber goods that is built up on a cloth foundation. From tho mixers the rubber leather, if it is desired to have • it in solid shoots; goes to the calendaring machine, v which turns • it out in any required thickness. Vulcanising and Tube-making. Somewhat apart from the, row of. machinery which-has just • been./examined is the . vulcanising plant. This consists of two vulcanising, pans: one

is.. a great ..circular tubo eighteen feet .in: length. and -4ft. 6in. :in diameter. Into this runs a tramway conveVor on which are placed the larger class of moulded goods l requiring vulcanising. 1 ho goods inside the end of the. pan are, securely fastened and a steam pressure- of -from-' 401b5., to -851bs. to '.the squaro mchiapplied according to requirements.-: A. smaller pan 'is- also to . be found near -by. Other classes of articles are vulcanised in the - -'hydraulic presses. .Tj'hese. consist of two : steam chests which are forced. together by hydraulic i;ams giving a pressure equivalent to IDOOlbs. The larger press takes moulds up to 3ft. by sft. 6m. in size, and the small one up to 14 inches square. A particularly interesting machine is that m which the tubing is made, hquid rubber goes in at one end "arid ;oiit of tlinl'other.' through- a nozzle streams, rub-., br r Liibing; .'-The class': of. tubing.'to beproduced MS; 'regulated' by tho particular' nozzle, iwliich', is' : placed ".on the machine; , Inner tubes for bicyclns, for instance, can. be,.turned' out at. the rate' of a thousand. yards a day., The tubing is said to come out dry and firm : and ready to be cut up, joined and put into a'bicycle'tyro: immediately. ; Waterproof Goods and Tyres. Not far away, is a largo machine for spreading the rubber on cloth, and here waterproof goods will bo made; such as; waterproof sheetings and - also/fabrics, for :-tyrcs and canvas, oasings. . Bicycle and- motor tyres • will'"'be.'.'built up -in a couple of drums and then placed in

the vulcanising pans. Tho spreading machine, it should be mentioned, will take cloth lip to 6ft. in width and ,wi!l roll it up in lengths of as much as eight thousand yards, if required. Among the other machines is a hydrauli-: retreading press for rerubbering motor tyres. Thiß is fitted with tho. dies, etc., necessary for all the various types of tyres. ,' Then there is a patent, machino for putting solid rubber tyres on vehicles. , This 'is stated to be the first of its kind to be imported into Australasia. This slips the tyres on evenly and wires them up automatically. I'innHy may be noted a cutting machine, for stamping out designs for various articles arid an applianco for mixing up rubber, solution. The plant- is'.driven by a 90 horsepower National gas engine and in the eirgine-room is also a steam-driven • hydraulic engine and puinp, . capablo of compressing up to two tons if necessary.

I.i: the boiler house is a gas plant and a multi-tubular steam boiler working up- to 1201bs. •'pressure -to 1 the square,-inch., v.The round is: completed by a visit to the still -room -in which, by a secret' process, old rubber is regenerated and tlio benzine, and other, solvents used

for the purpose separated and returned loi' future use. . ' The staff and the Future. As state! above Mr. G. Land is manager of tho company and-the other officials are : Secretary, Mr. J. BrearIcy; chemist, Mr. l'\ Colby; head of tho n'.otoi' tyre department, iliv J. AVoodliead; head of bicycle tyre department, Mr. 13. Leyden; and engineei'; Mr. J. Treneman, Tho technical experts are all from the staff of the Australian Leather' llubber Company, in Melbourne.'. The factory began working on Tuesday of this week, and the official opening will take place on October 17 at ■2 p.m. •. ' '■ ' In a letter froni, Londoii Mr. E. Diniant, of Melbourne/ who is in' Great Britain in connection with the sale of the world's right of the leather-rubber process, writes: "Some of the finest jnotor tyre exports of England pronounce our material just what they have .I 1 . 1 !®!! waiting for. from, what they have seen of it. The financial • group who are waiting to take it over and under; ]• write says that the. many other ■ articles that leather-rubber. Will make are all right and very good, but tliey. are: perfectly willing.'to'give, t'ho price asked for the tyres alone should the big test 'nhidh tc; : will make early;:ii ' October' turn out / satisfactory." Mr. Dimant. adds that.the big syndicate which has > just" come together :to take ever the .world's:right has requested ! iim to: manufacture a large number' of> rubberleather pneumatic tyres for the London taxi-cabs,.,motrir..buses, and private liars. ;;Ho predicts' tlidt. tHe leading line te be-manufactured; at Hastings, will be it'.otor tyres for all New Zealand.

The opening ; the public of a portion of the beautiful old cryptunder the. Guildhall has , inside an.' interesting additiori to the sights of London. The crypt measures 77ft. by .- 46ft.,- and is 13fl'.\in height. 1 ' Practically t it extends over the same area - as \the'; hall!, above,: and it is very similar in design. - It- is" separated by , a partition . into. eastern - and, western crypts, only' the former' of. which is at present opento the public., .The eastern portion-is-; the more handsomb,. being divided into 'four .bays,' corresponding , to those, of the- h'all. ' This" part was probably used-fpi( ceremonial and the western

half for domestic purposes.;, .The-building is of great deliciioy and .beauty. ' Its- age is" a matter of doubt. Tho Great Hall itself dates ' from 1411; but during.' tho excavations whiohhavo been carried on recently discoveries ]]avo. - made --of apparently Kornian-w'orK."'/ Those, include windows," arches, and staircasos. There is being; shown -iu thq eastern ; crypt. a. colof old coffins, including one .from Austin -Friars, another from, the Guildhall Chapel with an inscription, statins it to bo that of ."Geoffrey,tho Trumpeter,'and some of; Komau ti'mes, ; . as well as -Romin fragmbhts. of; the -well, end -other relics.