A Local Industry

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 114, 16 March 1893, Page 4

A Local Industry

EMPIRE PACKING COMPANY. (From Evening Post, January 21, 1893.) The aphorism that half the world does not know how the other moiety lives, is as applicable to the city of Wellington as it is to any other large com munity in the universe. When the immense and cone tinuous stream of humanity which Hows into Wellington every in orcing between 8 and 9 o'clock is considered, one won- j ders how all these men, women, lads, and laases manage to find employment. Yet they do, and not a few of them obtain their livelihood in some factory or an other in Wellington. Ot these local indus tries, the Empire Packing Company, the proprietors of which are Messrs W. and G. Turnbull & Co., is by no means tbo least. The huge and fatnili ar brick four* storey warehouse of the firm stands on Customhouse-quay, to which it has a frontage of 175 ft by 100 ft in depth, whilst the frontage of the stores to Featherstoue street is 175 ft by 90ft. The interior of the building is a veritabla hive of industry' but as it is neces sary at present only to describe that portion of the establishment which is devoted to the Empire Packing Company's operations, we will pass through the office, and by turning down a passage leading to the right hand past the clerks' desks, we find ourselves in the wholesale store. Ascendins two flights of stairs, the sense of smell is strongly attracted by the pungent odour of tea. This floor is devoted to what is known as the tea department. On knocking at a glass door, the genial manager is in evidence. This is Mr F. M. Shortndge, the tea 'expert' of the firm. Quite an important character is the 'expert' in a large concern like the Empire Tea Company, and, as a man in his onerous position should be, he is a bit of an autocrat too. Mr Shortridge has been connected with the firm of W. & G. 1 urnbull & Co. for the past six years, or since they commenced the packing branch of their big business. The tasting room is a fine large, airy, and light apartment, having a wide bench running its whole length under the windows, and on tlii* bench are arranged •upwards of a dozen peculiar»looking httle white china teapots. These dim inutivc teapots are the blender and taster's ir.fusors. But in addition to the teapots there is a smaller number of cups about the size of ordinary tea cups. These are the implements with which the tea blender prepares his feats of magic. For that he does perform a species ot magic and transformation is a fact. He will show you a sample which may be weak or strong, rough or smooth to the palate, as the case nay be. but by mixing various kinds and qualities of leaf together he produces a fragrant and delicious cup of tea. Mr Shortridge conGrms the general impression that Chinese tea is being crushed out of the market of the civilized world by the superior flavored leaf from India and Ceylon. Of course the superiority of Ceylon tea is accounted for by the fact that the soil of the latter has not undergone fluch an exhaustion as that of China for countless centuries has been subjected to, and then again the growers in India and Ceylon have brought the most improved machinery to their aid in the drying and packing of the leaf. The blender shows the visitor some dozen or so of different qualnies and prices of teas which the Empire Tea Company send out to the trade, from a good wholesome, finely flavored Ceylon blend retailed in very handsome lead packets at 23 per pound, to the more superior blend, at 3s the pound, and known as the Dragon and Houdah blends. The tea packing. room is on the same floor, and here 14 men and bojs are packing tins, leads, and packets as if their lives depended upon the operation, as, indeed, they do so depend. Tne packing is performed by hand, and also by a large machine of the most modern pattern. The tea having been blended by workmen in the floor above, is dropped down by means of air-tight shoots — this pre caution being taken iv order to preserve the perfect aroma of the leaf — into bin*; in the packing room, so that time and labor is thereby economised as much as possible, On the floor abovo the pack" ing, the blending is in full swing for eight hours a day. The blending-room is air-tight. The different descriptions of leaf required to make the particular blend are put into a huge drum, the lid of which is closed tightly, and two men then commence to revolve the drum at a high rate of speed, which, of course causes the teas to become thoroughly well mixed or blended. This important operation takes about 10 minutes to complete. Each blend is again carefully tested, in order to maintain the firm* standard. But the blending and packing of teas is by no means th<* only industry pursued by Messrs W. & G. Turnbull & Co. Leaving the tea department, we ascend to the next floor, and are introduced to Mr J. Wilson, who has cluirge of the coffee, pepper, and general packing department. Here the atmosphere- i> found to bo redolent of spicy odours of every description. In one room, coffer berries, only recently roasted, are emitting a delicious fragrance as the)- are being ground. In the general packing room no fewer than 20001 v un- of various descriptions of goods are turned out every day Tlie tinsmith's sli.-p i> fitted up with the latest deuce- tor vxpeditiously turning out the tmiv.-.rr required in the fact ry The round mioctagon shajed tins required luv ir goods, such as coffee, pepptr, mi I \ t < v ders of all kinds, arc not soldered. . i, in the twinkling of an eye a hi. machine bends the tmplatc iru<> t desired shape, whilst another appn in i \, instantaneously stamps out and turns, *| tho bottom and the cover of the caiiw. It takes less time than ha.f a nm*it. o make a lib tin canister Tho W<-mu tinsmith exhibits with pard<<»a»l>lfc itkic a handy httlo invention of h,v> which win colder two tins «t tho stunu lnuinuui Tho operation is cxccodifi^ljT expeditionTho bottling departu*eut is ou tho s;um; floor as tho tinsunth's shop. The ma mi facturo of malt vinegar by a patent piu cess, tho solo rights of which aio huki o\ Messrs W. & G. Turubull & Co., oousii" tutoa an important brauch of t^J firm V business. Huge stocks of casis for v* transport are piled up in the yaid« v ai 1( J this article tho well - known •* JjJack Horse " brand finds its wav to, tW re motest parts of tho colon y. Linjfcjuiee is also clarified iv thia departmou* Thu spice and pepper grinding rooir ig" a busy scene, but as tho atmosphere * O wiug to the pepper dust flying ah out ' is Born e. What overpowering, our is rather in a hurry to leave tho roo^ ThesplC e grinding machine and th fte J Q leudld pieces of meeW £ dato . The whole of t> em^ w driveu b y an Otto ga^ iaQ aUe of b w P to 13 horsepower. The firm's scrap Do" jk of latelg Uded fol . pa(;k i ng syrups co £f ee> baking, egg, currie, and • 7 powdors, and also vinegar, limoi- v ' .co, etc., is well worthy of inspection. j.ho tens of thousands of their highly coloured and artistically designed and executed lithograph.", are invariably printed in this city. The factory employs upwards of 50 men and boys, exclusivo of the members of the clerical staff and commercial travellers. Tho travellers of tho Empire Packing Company, of which Wellington has every reason to bo proud, penetrate to ovory nook and corner of New Zealand from the North Capo to tho Bluff, and in each largo centre the firm hua established, v branch fur suuipios, etc.