Westland Cool Storage and Dairy Coy

Hokitika Guardian, 20 December 1930, Page 2

Westland Cool Storage and Dairy Coy

ANNUAL MEETING. Shareholders were strongly represented at the annual meeting of the above Company held last Saturday. Mr W. A. Jamieson occupied the chair. During the formalities,' Mr Jamieson in. moving the adoption- ot report and balance sheet, said lie could congratulate the Company on its financial position. The Company had created an appropriation account and. also a suspense account. Both these were substantial and would pi’ove to be a good standby, especially in view of the present outlook of butter prices ruling at Home and elsewhere. The balance sheet before, them showed the Company’s progress, and in no year since commencement was it in a better position that it is to-day. Management wa9 largely responsible for the results and they were to be congratulated in having one of ripened experience direct" ing the vital affairs of the Company. Referring to the present porness of the markets, the chairman mentioned prices received for butterfat were far beIqw cost of production. had been received during the ; week well above London quotations, which he hoped was a sign of a; rise to normal. It appeared over-production was the mam cause. This had been brought about by judicious culling) -top-dressing and greater care with the herds. Nevertheless, ha dauch methods not been adopted, the fprmers would have been In a still worse condition. It was evident we could not look forward to very high prices, hut the drop in export return could be met by increased production. Local efforts amongst the suppliers themselves should be directed to minimise .overhead expenses and this could be admirably done under the Cen" . tralisation. scheme. Doubtless leaner prices would act as a stimulus toward the project in view. Continuing, Mr Jamieson desired to thank the suppliers for their; co-operation to the factory, Mr Evans for his .assistanee as deputy Chairman, the Managing Direc tor (Mr. Parry) and the Directors for their help, all. having contributed towards the year’s excellent result. Mr B. J. Evans, in seconding the ■adoption of the balance sheet, said it gave him great pleasure to do so. The Company’s position had greatly improved' this year. Economics introduced by the. Manager had helped the position materially. The creating of a suspense account was a wise ;• one. Surpluses could be paid to continuing suppliers, y. The methods, were progres. ‘sive and had his full support..He was ' pleased to hear of the rise in ths butter market. It came quite unexpected, especially when reviewing the depressing account given by North Island 'dairying authorities. Last week we heard of considerable stocks still being on hand, but now learn, owing to the “Fog” holding up arrivals and depleted Stocks, prices have advanced about 12a. per ewt. It was quite impossible to deal, frith, business when these varying reports were the basis. It demonstrated the. chaotic conditions of the position, Speaking °f i° c fd conditions, lm thought the\ North Island farm frho bought land at £IOO to £2OO per acre, nnd if requiring a loan, •the land security, would be taken, in at about £BO per acre, was inn very much worse plight than Westland farmers whose land had never reached inflated values. He believed conditions would improve but urged suppliers to eo-oper-ate with a view to greater economy m the' manufacturing department. Seven factories operating on a supply hard y sufficient for one factory wns bound to increase the cost of manufacture. He trusted the farmers would have a round table conference on the subject, as it was directly in their Interests to secure better returns on the low price for butter sales.

Mr E. Kirby, spooking to the motion stated that he had Jipked up with the Central Factory scheme in 1924, It had proved to be a considerable advantage, not only to himself, but to other suppliers as well. The free cartage- instituted by the Company had saved him from £5 to £7 per year an<t lie had very little carted in comparison to others, Speaking on behalf or the Hari Hari suppliers he was pleased also to. convey their appreciation of the efforts put forth by the Central factory.. No suppliers irespective of Factory supporting, but would admit that the establishment of the Centralisation scheme had brought better conditions than, formerly, and lie hoped they would soon appreciate the groat possibilties apparent under complete Centralisation. He was glad the Company’s position was so good and had much pleasure in supporting the motion.

Mr Godfrey, the next speaker, voiced his opinion in full accordance with previous expressions. It was regrettable, he thought, to- see so much overlapping wit!, the several Factories, and wag a waste no farmer should tolerate. Apart from that already mentioned, he believed competition for local sales by the factories themselves was a continuous substantial los s to suppliers. This would obviously be remedied bv Centralisation. He wanted all he could get from his lalour and he supposed other farmers did also, but they appeared to take a long time to fully realise the position. In conclusion he was pleased to support the business before the meeting.

Messrs Mclntosh, Bimmick, Douglas and A. Jamieson spoke appreciably of the year’s result and made special reference to the work done by the staff. They were fortunate in having men who took a personal interest in their bus-

iness, as it helped very materially towards success of the undertaking. The motion was carried unanimously. Directors were elected as follows: A. Dimmick, J. B. Douglas, D. J. Evans, S. Godfrey, R. A. Harcourt, W. A. Jamieson, E. Kirby, J. J. McIntosh and H. T. Parry (Managing Director).

Messrs J. Peake and J. Wilson were reappointed Auditors.

At the conclusion of the’ meeting the Managing Director gave an interesting summary of the Balance Sheets of the various Dairy Factories in the disrtict. 'Hie analysis showed the total tonnage of butter or it s equivalent (one factory making cheese) in Westland was under 700. tons and there were seven factories operating for that supply, viz: Kuniara, Arahura, Kokatahi, ’ Westland, Waitnha. Harihari and Wataroa. In addition, two factories at Greymouth were receiving supplies, from as far South as Wataroa. The main items of expenditure, said Mr Parry, that could be considerably reduced if Centralisation were adopted were wages, fuel, interest and insurance, depreciation, cream collection and audit fee 9. The cost of the suppliers of running the seven factories mentioned in the above items were as follows.: £ Wages 4011 Fuel , 1107 Interest a.nd Ins 833 Cream Collection nnd freights to railhead 2445 Audit fees 35 Depreciation 1148 £9579 The. figures were astonishing, more especially when considering it cost that amount to handle 700 tons. Mr Parry thought the Dairy Division of the Agricultural Department, if requested, would certainly direct the attention of the suppliers to 'better management. In addition to the above, owing to keen competition on the selling side the suppliers losses were further burdened by at least £550 yearly. He considered £SOOO per annum could •be returned extra to suppliers under better control mentioned. However, it is said “The Egyptians were slow to move and think, but when they did, they did move with the power, ancl force of giants.” Probably the initiative was dormant, but it surely could not be long now before full realisation of the position. In concluding, he expressed pleasure with progress made.

At the conclusion of the Annual Meeting the Directors met lor the purpose of appointment of Chairman.

Mr W. A. Jamieson in resigning the position said it had always been a great pleasure to act as Chairman, ;a position he had filled for seven years. ,He had always thought the position should go round and so far as he was concerned he did not intend to stand. All. present spoke we of Mr Jamieson’s untiring services ii tho interests of the Company, nnd n vote couched in appreciative terms was tendered Mr Jamieson and carried by acclamation,

Mr D. J. Evans was then proposed and unanimously appointed Chairman. In returning thanks for the confidence shown, Mr Evans said lie had taken an interest In factory matters mainly to help the farmers, and he felt sure there was room for improvement. He would continue to do his best in tin Interests of Westland and hoped he would be as successful as his predecessor.