NEW INDUSTRY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 570, 29 June 1933, Page 7

NEW INDUSTRY

SOUTHERN VENTURE VACUUM PACKING OF BUTTER AND CHEESE TO BE INTRODU CED. FACTORY AT, PALMERSTON N. Introdueing ia new industry and securing for Palmerston North the distinction of being the first town in the Dominion to have a factory for the packing of butter and cheese hy the | vacuum process"/ a large huilding is • shortly to be erected in Fitzherbert Avenue. It will he established on a site with the front elevation facing the avenue, land immediately in front of the present New Zealand Farmers' Dairy : Union factory. The huilding. will he one of two storeys in front and a single floor behind, and it is to he constructed on the most modern lines in reinforced concrete, with a colour finish. It will have a frontage of 56 feet and a depth of 138 feet, the central feature being an actual factory spa.ee of 7765 square feet. The plans have heen prepared hy Messrs. L. G. West, Son, and Hornihrook, architects, of Palmerston North. It is consider- . ed that the industry will prove to he a very valuable one to the city and to the farming eommunity, and it is felt that its progress will he followed with keen interest. Vacuuitl Process Explained. Ahout six years ago the vacnum process of preserving fruit juices was patented hy a gentleman in Napier, The patent rights were secured hy a company in Wellington. Since then experimental work has heen carried on : is the packing of butter, cheese, meat, etc. Samp'les of the products under , this system were sent to England, | India, South' Sea Islands and the Far 1 East, and excellent reports were re- §

Eeived as to the quality on arrival. One 1 of the drawbacks in connection with I New Zealand butter has heen our in- | ahility to export in pats, but this has 1 now heen overcome under the vacuum | process. It has the effect that the | butter axrives as fresh and in the same H eondition as when it was packed. It 1 prevents hlending, ia,nd the butter is i spreadahle. | The New Zealand Farmers' Dairy | Union in Fitzherbert Avenue, heeame | interested in the process and sent 1 Home a trial shipment. This proved | to he an unqualified success and most 1 excellent reports were received from 1 leading statesmen and others in Eng- | land, with the result that orders have i been coming to :h!a.nd regularly, and 1 to-day fortnightly shipments are he- g ing sent. The premium received on | London prices is most encouraging. | It means that every ton of butter sold g under the vacuum process brings an additional £18 to £20 per ton into New Zealand, and the more it is extended f the mere employment it will give in the Dominion. The Dairy Union, through its chairman, Mr. J. A. Nash, M.P., has entered into an agreement with the Vacuum Compiany for the latter to pack its butter, and it is intended to extend the sale of butter into the Far East. For some time past regular shipments have been made to Rarotonga and are giving entire satisfaction. There as a hig demand for penny pats in England and already a small sample shipment has heen sent Home. The High C'ommissiener for New Zealand, Sir Thomas Wilford, stated that New Zealand was lagging behind in the sale of penny pats of butter and cheese. If v the demand comes it will mean the employment of a much larger staff. The factory will enable the union to pat and pack in, the tin containers and put under vacuum within a few hours of the butter coming out of th'e churn, making for a finer and hetter quality. Last season 30,000 cheeses were packed under vacuum, of which 6000 were sent Home and realised 78s per cwt. against 56s on the general market. The cheese must be kept for six months to allow it to matere. The demand is so great that for two months no vacuum cheese was availahle. The packing of ham, heef, mutton and sausages has been carried on very successfully, and it is probahle that ia. meat pacldng factory will also he established in Palmerston North. Mr. Nash states that his directors were elated at the results so far achieved, and that each' cable message from Hom.e had increased the size of the orders received. If that was maintained, it would prove to he very heneficial to the suppliers. The Vacuum Company's patent rights have heen established throughout th'e world.