OUR LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 55, 10 February 1872, Page 6

OUR LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

GABY AND CO.'S SOAP WORKS. As part of the proceedings at recent meet- [ ings of the City Council the public have been made aware of the intention of Mr Gaby to I erect an establishment for the manufacture of soap, but beyond the bare intimation of the selection of a site nothing has as yet been made known on the subject. We therefore place before our readers such particulars as we have taken the trouble to gather, and we must first intimate that Mr Gaby's works are deserving of more than passing notice, as it is his intention firmly to establish amongst us one of the most important commercial indusi tries on a scale which must add materially to I the stability and permanent prosperity of the j province. It is due, therefore, to enterprize I of such a kind that all the encouragement I which extended publicity affords should be I readily accorded. The manufactory about to ' be established is no mere experiment? l - toy, a I remark which will be understood when we j inform our readers that the capital to be omi ployed in placing on the ground the buildings ! and the materials for the start will amount to j between £IOOO and £ISOO. This fact conveys the assurance that Mr Gaby is entering upon his new venture in a manner that leaves little room for doubt as to ultimate success ; and there is the additional circumstance, pei'haps more gratifying to Mr Gaby than to anybody else, that he brings with him an experience which, by ensuring the expenditure of the capital in the proper direction, adds to the probabilities of his success, a matter interesting to all who have the welfare of the town and the province at heart. It will be inferred from this that the works will be started upon a most economical basis, which will embrace the adoption of improved appliances, the results of the invention of recent years, and the article to be manufactured will be of a quality which it is believed will entirely supersede even the best Liverpool soap. This, at any rate, is the object at which Mr Gaby aims, and no effort will be left untried to secure it. Great difficulty will, of course, be experienced in removing the firmly-rooted prejudice created by the sale of colonial soap of inferior manufacture, but this is a matter which Mr Gaby's experience entitles us to think will be easily overcome. In starting a factory of the kind some discretion had to be used in the choice of a site, the conveniences and accessories of such an establishment forming no small part in the elements of success. After inspecting all available sections in the neighborhood of the city, Mr Gaby fixed upon a position near the gas works as being suitable, being handy to town and convenient for the receipt of the raw material and delivery of the manufactured article. These were no mean considerations, for the reduced rate of carriage it is natural to suppose would have enabled the manufacturer to dispose of the article at a less cost to shopkeepers than will be the case now that the item for cartage has been doubled. The objections of the residents of the neighborhood were ill-considered, and were, no doubt, based upon the traditional horror attaching to the soap factory of twenty years ago. We cannot help thinking that had Mr Gaby been less reticent the fears entertained on this head would have vanished, for the process to be employed by him is that compulsorily adopted in England in the factories of Price, Hales, and others by which the soap maker is enabled, with the appliances of . modern times, to reduce the offensive odor to a minimum. The manner of effecting this we shall allude to subsequently. Though we would not say one word in favor of a scheme that was in the smallest degree likely to endanger the health of the inhabitants of any part of the city—we cannot help thinking that the opposition offered is to be regretted for the site on the margin of the harbor, on account of its proximity to the city, would have considerably lessened the expense to the firm, and though it may be urged that that would only help to fill the pockets of individuals—which, after all, is the just reward of enterprise—we may point out that it is only by offering every facility to the gi'owth of industries of this kind that we can give practical reality to the desire, expressed on all hands, that the prosperity of the province shall be placed upon a sound, substantial, and lasting basis. The opposition prevailed, however, and a section on the Adelaide road, near to the Globe Hotel, was selected. Excepting the increased ('"'stance, the site is as suitable as the one near the gas works. The ground is an acre in extent, and the factory to be erected will cover a space of 90 feet by 60 feet, divided into two buildings, on 50 feet by 30 feet, the other 40 feet by 30 feet. These will be connected by a tramway three chains in length, which will run through to the entrance of the building facing the road at a level even with the bed of a dray, so that there will be no lifting either in loading or unloading, a contrivance that will prevent damage to the material or the boxes, and one also that will be much appreciated by carters receiving or delivering goods at the works. The engine and boiler are already ,on the j ground, and will be placed in the building to , be erected at the back of the section. Ihe engine is of ten horse-power nominal, capable of being worked up to twenty-five horsepower, and with a view to being prepared for future extensions the boiler purchased is j capable of generating steam for a twenty-five horse-power engine. An engine of three

horse-power would have sufficed for rll lifting and drixing purposes, but extra power was required to work the hydraulic for pressing the soap. A small engine will be used for feeding the boiler, so that the power of the main engine will be employed exclusively in driving the machinery which it is intended at a future time to bring into operation, and while on this part of the subject we may explain that it is the intention of the firm to extend their operations and their market, so that it was determined to put up at once an engine of sufficient power to meet all requirements likely to arise for a considerable number of years. Another reason why machinery of such power was decided upon was that the firm should be prepared for the contingency of starting a rope walk, several gentlemen in the town having mooted the matter and made a proposal for the use of portion of the steam power and other appliances. It was also necessary for yet another reason, namely, that in the event of receiving a large order for speedy execution, by the application of a high pressure of steam the soap can be turned out in the space of four or five hours instead of three or four days, the time occupied by the old process. In this building v.'.1l also be placed three large boiling tanks, or soap pans, Bft square by 6ft deep, and capable of holding 1400 gallons each. To explain the allusion to the comparative absence of bad smell about the works these tanks will be heated by means of copper coils of steam pipe instead of by fire. Open fire 3 are entirely dispensed with, all the heating throughout the building being performed by steam. This is the plan now adopted in the soap and candle factories of the old country, where the densely packed populations ( render it necessary that all smells of an offensive character should be kept down, so that the inhabitants in the neighborhood of the gas works would have had no more ground for complaint from the presence of the soap works than they have from the gas works itself. Our remarks have been confined exclusively to the manufacture of soap, but after the business gets a fair start the making of sperm candles will be entered upon. This is a branch of the business that has been successfully entered upon in Melbourne, but as it is a matter requiring more attention and time than Mr Gaby is likely to | be able to spare at the beginning of his undertaking he intends to wait till the rest of the works are in full swing. This is a branch in'which the engine power will be particularly useful, and for the purpose of preparing the tallow for candles of a superior description a refining vat will form part- of the appliances of the establishment. This adjunct will prove useful to other tradesmen, as all the waste from the butchers' shops can be prepared on the spot for candle manufacture. A circular saw is to be employed on the premises for the making of soap and candle boxes, and taken rs a whole the establishment will be most compact and perfect; indeed, from the plans laid down w,e believe there will be no factory of the kind in the colony to equal it. A portion of the material for the erection of the building is already on the ground, and before three months the works will be in complete operation. We shall from time to time note the progress made in this and. other industrial factories in the neighborhood of the city.