A SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 11

A SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISE.

*- THE KAUPOKONUI CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY. ITS HISTORY. A striking illustration of. the great progress made by New Zealand in its dairy industry, is evidenced in the history of the great Kaupokonui Farmers' Co-opera-tive Dairy Company, a concern now stated to ho ono of the largest of its kind in tho world. Kaupokonui is a portion of the AYcimato Plains district, which is also tho home oftho-l<iverdalo and .Toll dairy companies, and it lies on tho banks of the Kaupokonui Hiver, a few miles past the historic town of Manaia. "The most fertile laud in Taranaki, if not- in New Zealand" is a statement of those who arc supposed to known all about tho subject, and laud values certainly bear out this contention. A few years ago, a Kaupokonui dairyfarmer was drawing £\ per month per acre from his SOO-acre farm. It was an 600-aere gol.d mine, in the shape of butter-fat, and, since then, that section has been sub-divided, and now many families are doing equally well, if not better, per acre, than the original owner. This by the way. To-day the Kaupokonui Company, with eight factories and 190 suppliers, exercises dominion over about 01,000 acres of emmtrv (ten miles square), and has a turnover of something like .£123.000 for cheese and butter, and ,£20,000 as a result of its co-operative store sales. During the short period of the company's history, about fourteen years, the best land on the \Yaimate Plains has increased in value 500 per cent, and over. In 1897, tho year the company first started, the best dairyland could be bought for .612 per acre; it: now ranges from .CGO to ,£OS per acre, and, on the authority of Mr. AY. D. Powdrell, chairman of directors, and a practical dairy former, the men who are paying the high prices are the men who are making the most profit. Gsnesis of the Company. Tho historv of the company has a somewhat American flavour, and illustrates an amount of business shrewdness not

usually associated with the methods of I our dairy farmers, who, in (lie main, are men specialising in their own particular profession—for fanning is a profession—carrying out its many requirements to the best of their ability, and leaving (he commercial side;' of flic business to others in the towns and cities. Here is a sketch of the company's, progress. It started in a very modest way in liny, ISD7, with 30 suppliers, with a capital of .61737 (against .£20,001) to-day) and a milk supply which did not exceed 2300 gallons daily'nt the height of the season. Mr. .1. -I. Campbell was chairman of directors, ami flic governing board associated with him comprised: Messrs. V. C. Candy, I). Clark, W. Coxhead. J. Olcnn, and .T. ltyan. Mr. K. CV llarleyman was secretary, and of these pioneers of the company's interests, who gave the concern its first start in life, he is the only remaining nflicial. being still in his secretarial position. Mr. ]■'." \V. Falconer was manager of the company, The company made a very good show on the first year's work. The gross profit «■« £623 10s,, net £57 Us. 2d, Suppliers

received 7d.:per lb. for butter-fat up to April 30. ~ .181)8; 10d. for May and June; BJd: " for July, the average payments with the bomis boin? 7.88 d. per pound.. Thi 'amount of mill; received during tho first ten and a half months of tho conmanv's history was 1,:U0.0151b., from ■which were mads 178,31.')1b. of butter, and 13.0701b. of clice.??. Tho butter sold for .£G7IG 15s. Id. cheese, ,£203 IS*. This vear butter brought about .€361 and cheese ,£125,000. Talking Figurci. An analysis of some of the milk cheques then and now is interesting. In 1597 the two highest' milk cheques for one month were .£l9 and .Cl 7. In lilll the three highest for cue month were ..£(22. JMOS, JC3IG, while the seven highest in one month this season drew the magnificent aggregate of .£2BBI. Tlkso are striking figures. ' • The business of the company expanded so much (luring its first year that it. was decided to create 8000 .CI shares, Hie Crown Dairv Compiay's factory on Normanbv Roail was taken over, and run as a creamerv, and arrangements were made for the erection of a creamery on 'Jaikatu'Jioad. 'With these two creameries, --aid the annual report, ard an increased snpplv of milk at the factory, the directors anticinale a reduced ratio of expenses. This system has been one of the hii'Miess ninnies of the company. It was found tha't the more suppliers there were and the more tho ramifications of the company's interests under ons controlnng authority, tlie less was tho expense, and the greater the ratio of profit. .» "" prices of woduce on the !iun'easo,,ar.;l shrewd and careful management, the company made.great progress. .VI tho end of the fifth vear it was turning out butter to the value of about .134,850; cheese, „EG2 15s. Gd. While the sum of .E.)2]l_Bs. Gd. had been paid for milk in -">; season, the amount had risen to .Uu.lWi 7s. 3d. bv the ond of the fifth season, and bulte'r-fat brouglit 9.80(1. per lb. Ihe company was still extending its operations in the erection of creameries, the commencement of a co-operative goods store, while still another advance was an investment of .S2OOO in the V\ est Coast Refrigerating Company s «*«U^. and .£2252 in the Egmont Buttei Box Company's works at Elthain. By its investment at Paten, the company has saved itself thousands of pounds alone in freight, as it is enabled to get its produce carried for nothing from Pa tea to Wellington, this expense being borne by the shinning company carrying uie stuff to London. Tho co-operative store was started in 1902. with stock to the viliie of .£2lO 13s. id. in'll)o9 the stock held was valued at .£7185 8s while this year scores were sold to the value of '£19 500 It is estimated that in two or Mire" years the turnover from this store will be .£50,000.

A Big Concern, In 1010 the company comprised eight factories, and wilt an outpil oJU tons of cheese and 12! tons ot I to. Cheese was sold to the value oi J!ll9,ti3J, in stock, X 26; butter sold, J!9< ;m stock, 1e1286, or a total ot JJ121.012. lho amount paid out on bultcr-fut was n.bj, an increase of nearly 4il. per pound o bultcr-lat in fourteen years. It wasiouml last vear that lho factories showed an increase of something like 11 per cent, on the previous season's supply..' l result m, doubt due to continual culling and the efforts of the Cow Testing Association started bv the Dairy Commissioner, Mr. J. I). Cuddie. The company last year mid u (i per cent, dividend on its luiiy-naid-up shares, while (he co-operative Store showed a profit of .E25J9 3s. ad., and the directors were enabled to allow tlie shareholders a rebate of 5 per cent, on (ho amount of their purchases. In tno past two years, (ho co-operative store lias made a profit of .£7OO per annum. At (he present time (lie company has a capital of .£30,000. and its assets nro something over .£55,000. If lias gone into tho farm business, and has owing to it something like ,£17,00(1 from clients.. It. is building a new factory at haupokomu, which is costing -.1:5500, and which it: is itatod will be the largest dairy factory in tho world under one roof. This building, which is (o bo finished in August, is of reinforced concrete nine inches thick. Tho dimensions of this building nro 13511,. by 435 ft. The. dimensions of its rooms are as follow:— • leet. Curine room (largest in tlio world) ' fl * M Packing room ;"> x ™ Cheese-making room i 0 x Separator room •>» x -•> Butter-making room 4t x 30 There arc also three receiving stages, and testing rooms, laboratory, salting rooms, boiler and coal houses, turbine room, and cooling chamber, hi connection with (his factory, tho working or it, so fur as the receiving and dispatching processes are concerned, will be on a gravitation basis. There is a drop of eight feet from the receiving stages to tho making room; a further drop of five feet to the curing chamber, and finally a further drop of four fret to (he lorries which take awav (he manufactured goods. Tho plant will cost . .C 5000; water power, .[••'000. The new store, which is also being built will cost ,£ISOO. It will comprise drapery department, crockery and bulk store dcnnrtmcnls each 30 feet by (iOfeel; and offices, workrooms, and lavatories. Like the big building, it is built of reinforced concrete, nine inches thick. The architect is Mr. T. 11. Gillinan, and tho supervisor Mr. .T. North. Mr. Aiuore is the contractor. The whole of the work is beiiuj done by day labour.

Tho new ICaupolconui chief factory will possess a 12-vat capacity in its making room. There arc seven other factories, (villi the following vat capacity:—WaioIcura, (i; Kapuni, G; Auroa, 'Ji Sheet Road, i; Oco, 3; Sutherland Head, 1; Katua •Head, 3. The names cf the directors are: Messrs. \Y. D. Powdroll (chairman. E. ft. llaslio, W. Borric, T. A. Bridge, E. Long, D. J. Hughes, and T. P. Wells.