A WONDERFUL INDUSTRY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4544, 26 March 1923, Page 3

A WONDERFUL INDUSTRY

N.Z.C.D.C. WORKS AT FRANKTON. efficiency’ and cleanliness. Recently a -representative of the “Gazette” paid a visit, of inspection to the ’ various manufacturing plants of the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy C 0.,. Ltd., at Frankton Junction. The object of the .visit was to see first-hand the operations -of this big dairying concern; Upon arrival at the head office, Hamilton, he was welcomed by the general manager of the company, Mr A. J. Sinclair, and after a brief look thrpugh the office proceeded to. the company’s No. 1 butter factory at Frankton. On arrival there he was received by Mr Parlane, factory manager, who-did his utmost to fully explain the manufacture of butter from the time the cream arrived at the receiving stage until it was packed under the company’s wellnknown Anchor, Acorn, or Daffodil brands,, ready for export or local consumption. The first step was taken in inspecting the cream stage. At this point the cream is - taken in ex railway trucks, motor lorries, and farmers' carts. The cans of cream are first of all tasted, and so expert does the man in charge of this work become, and so sensitive is his palate, that he can immediately detect the quality of

the cream and grade’it accordingly, « either superfine, first grade, or second grade. The visitor was-invited to taste from the cans of cream, and had no hesitation in placing them correctly in order of quality. The diffefence in flavours was decidedly marked, even to a novice. Mr Parlane explained the advantages of the grading system, which had been built up by the company. By this system of cream grading the company has been able this season to turn out a large proportion of the butter manufactured as superfine, thus obtaining full market prices for the product. The farmers have been encouraged by the company to study-cleanliness in the handling of the milk and cream, to have absolute sanitation in the cowsheds and milking machines, and ;to be careful and judicious in feeding .their stock. By these en-

deavours much has been done to, * eliminate the lack of cleanliness in dealing with milk and machines, about which a few years ago so many complaints had been heard. It is decidedly to the farmers’ advantage to aim at producing only the superfine article, as by so doing the test of their cream is higher, and, furthermore, they receive a halfpenny per lb for butter-fat above the ruling price for the advance payment each, month. A farmer loses his identity on his cream reaching the receiving stage. Each, can is clearly numbered, and. it is by these numbers alone that the cans and contents are known. After the cream is graded it is puc on to a weighing machine, in front cf which a clerk stands at a desk. The cream is weighed carefully, and the gross weight is called to the clerk,

who has also watched • the machine and checked the weight. The num"ber, of the can has beep noted, and the clerk enters the weight in a docket book against the corresponding number. By means of carbon paper three copies of the weight,, less the weight of the can, .are entered in the one operation. Of these copies one re-mains-in the book as the factory record, one goes forward to the head office, c and the “Other is posted to the supplier. The weight dockets can thus be kept by .the farmer and the weights checked off with the statement he receives from the company at # the. end of each month. (There are three 10-day ' periods, in each month.) This sys tem of triplicate weight dockets is a comparatively recent institution, and is working very satisfactorily. There .can be no errors made in transcribing the weights, as the whole operation is done by the clerk in the one operation, and in full view of the weighing machine, A small sample bottle is filled with cream from every can. These bo> > ties are numbered to correspond wita the cans, and it is from these samples that the tests are arrived at. ‘ Once the cream, has been graded it is emptied into one of three vafe, according to the grade, being superfine (Anchor), first grade (Acorn), or second grade (Daffodil),. The cream is then heated to a temperature of from 200 to 210 degrees, after which it is cooled down to about 46 degrees in the shorUtime of fifty minutes. It then stands for from 12 to 20 hours Jbefore being worked up. This process is known as pasteurisation. From the pasteurisers the cream is then pumped into huge churns, which can deal with from 7501 b to a ton of butter at a time. - The greatest care is taken to see that no .foreign .matter or dirt comes in contact with the produce. Cleanliness is the watchword of the factory, and nothing is allowed that will in any Way have a detrimental effect on the product It takes./about an hour, to 'chum the cream into butter. The churns are then opened and the butter is dug out on to trays mounted on wheels 7 and conveyed to the weighing bench. To the uninitiated, it is at this stage of the process that one learns* that every box of butter actually contains net weight, although,the boxes are branded 561 b. The extra %lb being put in each box is a custom dating back to the time when manufacture was not so scientifically done as it is now, and evaporation had to be' alloWed for; also the tip of the scales. Under the present process evaporation is unknown, but the custom continues. Merchants, on making a purchase of a consignment of butter, are Allowed the right to weigh any four boxes. Should they average less than the 56%1b they are entitled to •‘iaim the deficiency on the whole consignment. The extra Boz in each box was debited against the “overran” of the factory concerned. This ' extra weight is undoubtedly an anomaly which should have ceased long :a go, but it has been recognised tha' such a deep-rooted trade custom would be hard to remove. Y - THE BOX FACTORY. Leaving the manufacture of butter

to -the experts, our reporter was- taken along to the box factory, one of the most interesting and attractive departments visited. The work in this department is done by contract. Mr Falconer, who is foreman in charge, fully explained the various detailed workings of the factory. This plant is claimed to be one of the most modern and replete in Australasia. The rough white pine boards are brought in from the timber yard, and in the short time of three minutes that rough board can be planed, converted into a finished butter box, and loaded on to a railway truck ready for distribution to the factories. In one day of ten hours this factory turned out 10,000 butter boxes,, 1200 cheese crate ends, and 1000 lib milk powder cases. One thousand butter boxes and 1200 qheese crates an hour can be made with ease. The company claims to have the champion box nailing man in the world at this factory. No doubt he is wonderful, and most fascinating to watch. It takes him exactly two and a half seconds to manipulate the nailing machine and nail together a butter box. This feat can only be realised by seeing the man actually at work. The embossing. machine proved very interesting. The two ends of the boxes, or cheese crates, as the case may be, are put through this machine, and the boards come out clearly embossed with the company’s name and brand of the particular product. From information otbained and the detailed work submitted it was clearly demonstrated that the establishment of the box factory had been a “godsend" to the suppliers, and Jiad more than justified the expenditure incurred in its establishment and maintenance./ The saving to suppliers can be estimated by the fact that during the two years of the factory’s operations the total savings had practically paid for the cost, of the building and plant. One noticeable feature to be met with on going through .the factory' is. despite the numbers of saws and planes at work throughout the long building, an almost complete absence of dust, sawdust, and shavings. By an ingenious method the company has erected an overhead fuming, 'through which the debris from the works is drawn by suction, and is conveyed outside to the boilers, where it assists to feed the furnaces. Bj r so utilising the shavings, blocks, and, sawdust a saving of six tons of coal a day is-effected. Tn fact, it was explained that the waste from the box factory, by being used up in the furnaces, created sufficient power to drive all the electric motors in the box factory, thus reducing the cost for power to a very fine' degree. This is only another instance of the efficiency and elimination of waste methods to be seen throughout the company’s factories, betokening the closests co operation between heads of the different departments and the management to obtain the maximum results from the minimuni expenditure of labour to the cost of manufacture of the company’s pro-' ducts at the lowest possible basis. •• ' THE SAW. DOCTOR. The next item of interest was a visit to the workshop occupied by the saw doctor. Mr Tuck is in charge of tfiis department, and he demonstrated tile many intricacies, of keeping saws in thorough repair. Once again economy been shown by the company. The suppliers have been saved many hundreds of pounds each year by the company installing .this workshop. The many kinds of saws used in the box factory are kept right up to date by Mr Tuck. The latest machinery is installed, and is worked by electricity. ' To see a huge bandsaw set and straightened in a very short time proved most fascinating, and the wav the sparks flew in all directions oyer the* unconcerned saw-doctor proved not the least interesting part of the

operations. TIN CAN DEPARTMENT. At this department the manager. Mr Bamford, explained the various processes in the manufacture, of tin containers for the dried milk powder. At the present time this department is really in a transient stage, practically the whole of the wark is-be-ing done by hand. In the very near future up-to-date machinery will be installed, thus effecting a big saving in wages, and at the same time considerably, increasing the output of tins. It is estimated that 7000 cans a day will be turned out. This means that the company will be able tp turn out cans at a minimum cost, much below outside contract prices. GENERAL. In addition to the various departments described the dairy company has been able to ptbain the services of an expert at balancing separator bowls. This work is an ’ absolute skilled art. The company had been for years paying away hundreds ot. pounds td the firm in Auckland'employing this expert. A decided saving has now been effected by buying the expert and fitting him out with a workshop at Frankton, where,all the company’s separators can be overhauled and adjusted. To assist the farmers wherever possible to produce only the superfine article, most elaborate cream can washing machines have been installed at the principal factories. Each can is thoroughly washed and steamed immediately the 'contents have been emptied. Throughout the various works striking examples of efficiency and economy are met with in the way of organisation and employment of labour-saving devices. It behoves any supplied who is dissatisfied wit i his own company to visit the Frankton works and see for himseif what 1., being done. He would then be able to realise why share capital deductions are made from his cheque. The advantages and tremendous savings effected by the establishment of the box and tin factories would be apparent, and he would appreciate what his company is doing to promote efficiency, combined with economy, to bring the standard of dairying in the South Auckland province to a high degree, thereby producing only the best article to the benefit of the comvidual farmer as well as the company. .