Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1903. Binder Twine.

Manawatu Herald, 4 June 1903, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1903. Binder Twine.

It has frequently been said that a binder-twine factory should be erected at Foxton, and if these factories pay the immediate neighbourhood would appear to be the best place for one to be formed, as the great bulk of the material would be close at hand and purchasable at the lowest market prices besides the saving in freights. The "actual cost of a factory we are not aware of, but judging from figures given in. the Government Statistics of 1901 we should imagine that a small plant would not run into very much money as we find that the six works situated in the districts of Auckland, Taranaki, and Wellington, which happen to be grouped together, the approximate value of machinery and plant is put at £9,640, which divided by six averages £1607; again in Canterbury there are seven works, the machinery and plant of which is placed at £3,210, thus making a small sum of £460 for each work; on the other hand in Otago there are only four works but the plant and machinery is valued at £26,600, making an average for the four of £6,650. Taking these three averages we arrive at a cost of £2,916, a work which is not a large sum and vastly less than the cost of such works were considered.

The question as to how these works pay requires further information, but it reads as though they paid handsomely, as these 17 works purchased raw material to the value of £46,378 and paid away in wages £13,136, making a total of £59,514, to which must be added the cost of working 12 engines equalling 494 horse power, and interest on cost of land, buildings, and plant; but the total value of all manufactures for the year is £87,614 which, after deducting the £59,514 leaves a margin of £28,349 for that purpose and profit. It may be mentioned that the manufacturers approve of the industry lor though in the year 1895 there were 24 works to the 17 there are now, yet the 24 only employed 150 men and paid away in wages £6,840, whilst the 17 works employed 192 men and paid £13,136 in wages. Likewise the increase is shown in the power needed, in 1895, 288 horse power was used yet the 17 needed 494 horse power. The works 'used 1,502 tons of Phormium which was valued . at £28.663 ; 291 tons of Manila ; and 87 tons of “other” materials; and manufactured 274 tons of rope, 85 tons of line, and 1,727 tons of twine and 295 tons of “ other” materials, bringing out the astonishing fact that these manufacturers, if the return is correct, wore able to make the above items of .purchases amounting to 1880 tops produce 2381 tons, and it

may be* that in this way the profit lies. A binder-twine factory would be n help, bufc v it is not a necessity as all the works*only consumed 1,502 tons of phormium whilst in the same year (1901) 10,171 tons of phormium and 342 tons of tow were exported. The matter is however worth the gravest consideration.