Making Travel Goods

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 928, 22 March 1930, Page 6

Making Travel Goods

This is the seventh of a series of informative articles that are being published m THE SUN weekly throughout 19S0, describing many of New Zealand's most important industries.

HUGE WELL-EQUIPPED “LETHOLITE” FACTORY SITUATED in one of the highest parts of Auckland, with a wonderful panoramic view of the City and harbour, the factory of Palmer Collins and Whitaker Limited, in Ponsonby Load, presents a striking example of achievement in the manufacturing industry in New Zealand. In this, the largest travel goods factory in the Dominion, the latest labour-saving machinery and best possible working conditions combine in assisting a healthy, happy staff to produce on an economic and profitable basis a wide range of trunks, suit and attache cases, liat-boxes, etc,, covering every requirement of the travelling public.

Light and air stream in from a continous range of windows on all sides of the four-storeyed building; there is an atmosphere of spaciousness and cleanliness about every part of the factory that lightens the labour and at the same time eliminates the waste of time and material inevitably associated with cramped or dirty quarters.

Perhaps the most conspicuous thing to a casual visitor is the efficiency of the plant for the handling and manufacture of vast quantities of fibre suit and attache cases. The low price and light weight of these cases have won for them a place in nearly every household in the land; not a picnic or week-end party is complete without them, and thousands of children carry them daily to school.

The bales of fibre, as they enter the factory, are taken from the lorries by means of an overhead runway, which conveys them to the bulk store. From this store they are taken, as required, by a similar contrivance, to the elevator, and deposited alongside two powerful guillotines, which perform the first operation of cutting the board into the necessary sizes. From this point each piece passes onward through a continuous chain of machines-—bending, rolling, corner cutting, lock-fixing and riveting, until finally the keys are affixed and the finished case disappears, by means of a moving conveyor, to the warehouse floor below. The warehouse consists of a floor

two hundred feet long, filled with shelving, on which are stacked, tier above tier, in orderly array, the products of the factory. From here they are assembled on trucks and wheeled to the packing and despatch department.

Down in the basement, below the bulk store, are the boiler house, timber store, and woodwork department. Here are the frame-making and batten machines, and the necessary saws and other machinery for making the wooden foundation for trunks. The fire consumes the rubbish from the factory above, and the boiler provides the steam necessary for various manufacturing operations.

Letholite, now a household word throughout New Zealand, is one of the productions of Palmer Collins and Whitaker Limited. The handsome appearance, strength and lightness of these eases won the approval of the public from the moment of their introduction, and they are easily the most popular travel articles on the market at the present time. Letholite is made into a variety of articles, such as suit cases, attache cases, blouse cases, school cases, hat boxes, music cases, collar boxes and brush cases. They have the appearance of leather without its weight, and can be sold at a very much lower price. The higher class letholite goods are sewn together in a manner similar to that employed in the manufacture of leather cases. Owing to the hardness of the board it would be difficult,

if not impossible, to perform this operation by hand. The work is done by specially built sewing machines; these are known as edge-closing machines, because they sew the edges together at a right angle, by means of a diagonal stitch through the corners. When operated by an expert the sewing can be done almost as quickly as ordinary machining on a flat surface, and gives a beautiful even stitch that will hold as well as the best handwork.

Wardrobe trunks constitute another interesting speciality of the company. For many years the making of these useful articles of overseas travel was confined to the United States of America. Practically the whole of the requirements of Great Britain and the Continent are still imported from that source. Auckland, on the other hand, has the distinction of being able to produce wardrobe trunks equal to the best American article, and a steady demand for these has gradually been built up among our overseas travellers. In fact it is now generally recognised that no other form of package will give the service that modern conditions demand.

These trunks are manufactured almost entirely by hand, and require special training and expert knowledge to produce an article that will stand the hard wear to which they are subjected :in the course of a voyage round the world. They are practically indestructible, and provide an absolutely safe means of conveyance of valuable and delicate clothing, as they cannot possibly become unfastened in transit.

The history of the company is an interesting illustration of the potential opportunity for industrial development in New Zealand. The original firm was inaugurated in December, 1912, by Messrs. A. E. Collins and D. F. Whitaker, yho started manufacturing in a small shed in Prospect PL ace, off Hobson Street. A year or two later the factory was transferred to slightly larger premises in Graham Street, off Victoria Street West, where it gradually expanded, until, after the close of the Great War, the site fronting Ponsonby Road was purchased by the firm (who had then been joined by Mr. Mills-Palmer) and a modern two-storey building erected. A basement was added a little later on, and shortly afterward the business was converted into a public limited liability company.

Last year the company completed its present premises by the addition

of a four-storey building at the back of the Ponsonby Road factory, and the installation of the latest machinery and labour-saving devices for the handling of large quantities of goods. The factory now comprises 31,000 ft of floor space, the staff numbers more than 60, and the work flows through in a steady stream that tells its own irrefutable tale of organised efficiency and methodical planning. There is room in our country for an indefinite expansion of industry such as is represented in this factory. We are only beginning to exploit the possibilities of manufacturing. Let the motto of every New Zealander be “Buy New Zealand Products” and unemployment will be a thing of the past, our industries will flourish and increase in number, and New Zealand as a whole will be prosperous and happy.