A BIG INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 15

A BIG INDUSTRY.

KIRXPATEICK'S, NELSON, A VISIT TO THE FACTORY, Kirkpntriek's is undoubtedly the chief industrial show place of Nelson, and, indeed, the biggest factory of its kind in N«iv Zealand. The word ;'Kirki>atrick" has become synonymous with quality in jams; jellies, canned goods, coffees, spice, etc. The firm's output is ef particularly appetising flavour, and is parcelled up in a most attractive form. Jn the days of its youth, Kirkpatrick's had as a trade 'mark an illustration of England's most famous seaman, with his equally famous message Hung to his men on the eventful day of Tralalgar, and this same message has ever been the watchword of the firm in its ethics ol manufacture. It is not too much to say that Xirkpatrick's have done their duty in turning out an absolutely pure ioiid, in the lace of determined opposition. The result: is seen today, after :jl years of trial, in a soundlyestablished ai.nl rapidly-expanding business, which is alike, a credit io its enterprising proprietor, its district, and the country generally. No visit to Nelson is complete without a call at Kirkpntrick's, where the factories and buildings have grown and grown until now they cover two acres of ground, and generally are a hive of industry, employing in the' busy season over 150 hands, and with an interminable stream of vehicles coining and going, laden with fruit, or cases of the manufactured article. SALIENT FEATURES. Salient features of the business as they struck n Dominion reporter on his visit recently to the place are well worth recording. One ot theso features was the system of dealing with the raw product until it became tho mamtiaetured article. The fruit came into the building at one door, and in the various processes of manufacture went right round the interior of the factory and emerged ready for transport in cases at another door of tho same room in which it had entered. Another special feature was the special selection of the goods brought to the factory by the orchardista. The fruit is

subjected to tho most searching inspection, and nothing but the best quality is allowed to pass Hit big weighing machine, which will weigh up to UIHOIb. at one time. RIGOHOUS INSPECTION. No matter how quick the stuff is com. ing in (and on busy days it runs to 20 tons in tho eight hours), everything i» rigorously inspected and picked over, part of the time under the personal supervision of Mr. Kirkpntrick himself. This care lias been one of tho secrets of tho success of tho "K" brand of goods. An added factor is that tho fruit is grown in tho vicinity of Nelson, and is landed at the factory absolutely fresh, also that it is grown in a district better adapted for fruit culture than any other part of New Zealand. II: is claimed, ami apparently with the host of reasons, that fresh fruit will make Ix-tier jam and preserves than the article which has to be carried and buffeted al«>::f on trains and steamers betore lining put into the boiling pot, and it is in this important fact that Kirk-

Patrick's possess superior advantages io tho way or manufacture. With his Californian experience, Mr. Ivirkpntrick decided ,'ll years ago that Nelson was to bo the fruit-growing metropolis of New Zealand, and ho showed his faith by 'establishing his factory thero. The present position of things has •more than justified that faith. WEIGHING-IN. As tho fruit comes in to tlio factory it is weighed and paid lor. Tho day tho writer was there plums were present in largo quantities, amongst them being Orleans, Blue Diamonds, and tho best English varieties. Tho Japanese plum was also in ovidenco, but it is not so good for jam making purposes as the English fruit. JAM MAKING. After the fruit has been weighed and examined, it is passed on to the sorting and grading room, where forty girls, neatly dressed, pick and sort over tho supplies, and prepare them for their further use. Everything is eoruxnilonsry clean. The fruit is then taken to (he preserving room, where there arc six jam pans capable of 300 boilings, each of IJcwt., daily. All tho machinery in tho department is of tho latest make, and all tho boiling is done by steam. The plant can turn out ten tons daily. Supply is kept going by absorbing the material during the rush season, turning it into pulp and storing •it in hermetically scaled tins, to bo Inter worked into jams, etc., during the slack season. This is rendered necessary owing to the great rush in the busy season. Raspberries, for instance, are practically all run into the factory in the short space of twelve days. In tho jam-making season about 25 tons of sugar per week is used, and nothing but tho best No. 1 sugar. In connection with the boiling of jam it is the duty of one. man to weigh tho sugar,'and another tlio fruit, thus keeping the boilers constantly going. It is possible to turn out 10.000 2lb. tins or jars of jam every day.

PEA-SHELLING, In the same department are pea-shelling machines, capable-of shelling 200 sacks per day. Picking peas is a very lucrative industry in Nelson; boys earning as much as 15s. per day. The gross return for neagrowcrs is from £10 to ,£.50 per acre. The firm handles immense stocks of peas. TIN MAKING EXTRAORDINARY.

In tho tin-making department is «■ marvellous contrivance which takes in plain tin «f one end, and at the other' turns out the finished .article at the rale of 30.000 tins ner rfay.-'lt is called a'lockseaming and soldering machine, and with other similar labour-savin;; machines, such as ono which places on the tops and bottoms of the tins, in a sort of a clamp by pressure, is of groat value in the way of manufacture.. In connection with thcfitting on of ton s anil bottoms of Kirkpatrick's tins, it is intercstins to record the fact that no <-oider is used, thus preventing the possibility of the i/nods becoming tainted with any. deleterious leaden mbi-taiice. Tho system altogether is as up-to-date as it is possible to have BOTTLES GALORE. As niav he easily understood, a factory like Kirkpatrick's Re's through an enormous quantity of bottles in the course of a year. Just recoit'y there had arrived at the place from London a bipr consignment, numbering over !!SS,0!!l). They had beon kept bnck owing to tho Enrrlisi strike, and then had come through with a rush. Tho work of washing these bottles devolves upon a rotary machine, which does the job at the ra'e of 1200 an hour. The machine is fed and attended to by two men and two boys.

PACKING AND LABELLING. The work of packing nml labelling is carried on with the greatest quickness, the. labelling being done by a wonderful machine, which saves the labour often girls. Labour is as diflicv.lt to set in Kelson as elsewhere, and mechanical devices are welcomed by nil enterprising manufacturers. la addition to the green peas stocked, one is struck by tho handsome appearance of the pio fruits, all in big stacks in the big fire-proof building erected two years ago.

COFFEE AND SPICES, Kirkpatrick's do as big a business in coffee and. spices as .any. in tho Dominion. The newest machinery has been imported; for the work, and here again "Quality, the first consideration,"is tho watchword of tho firm. It is a difficult matter to make some people understand that very often their coffees and spices contain stutF which is not the real article, and that a quarter-pound tin of the pure stuff is of more value than Jib. tins of adulterated rubbish. Some people like' to get as much material as possible for their money, but they never trouble to ask about quality. As .with their jams and canned Roods, so with their spices and coffees; Kirkpatrick's are trying all th* time for quality. It is only by constantly hammering at this ideal, that they can further popularise their products, and there is some satisfaction in knowing that after years of labour in this direction the tide is turning, and people are beginning to look for quality as tho first consideration, and there is reason to believe that in the course of a comparatively short period the overage citizen will object to converting himself or herself into an internal ruin • simply for the purpose of buying cheap goods.

PURE FOOD IDEAL. In the course of a casual conversation with Mr. S. Kirkpatrick, that gentleman informed the writer that, he intended to iristal further up-to-date machinery into his buildings in order to keep paco

with the times. Mr. Kirkpatrick dwelt mainly on the necessity for puro food, and he has always been n strong advocato for a Pure Food Bill. In connection, with his industry, he recognises that a low .standard of quality must inevitably kill the business, aiid, apart from his general liking for a pure article, he has acted accordingly. Tho "K" brand of goods has now been before the public for over thirty years. They have attained a great name, and, with this success, many manufacturer*; would be content to adulterate their stuff for tho purpose of increased profit on a turnover which they would bo too short-sighted to -.understand would gradually sliriuk. .Mr. Kirkpatrick takes up the opposite l<)sition—a position absolutely sound— and his policy has always been to uplift the standard. Every day from twenty lo thirty simples of his pods are pl'aerd under his keen inspection, and rijridly examined; and the same system is in force in everything connected with the business.