DAIRY FACTORY COMPANIES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 92, 27 July 1910, Page 8

DAIRY FACTORY COMPANIES

MIDHUWT. Over a hundred sluireholders \*ere present at the annual meeting of tho Mixl'hurst Dairy Company on Monday. Mr. A. Brown, chairman of directory presided. The report and balance-sheet was adopted. In moving the adoption, the chairman said that this year had been the most successful the company had ever had. The company had not last year lighted on such a 'soft tiling as regards the price obtained, but it would be found that a pound of butter nad been made out of less than ever before. The management and also the better quality of milk were responsible ior this, and very few lactones could show a better average quality of milk than Midhurst. The output had increaaea 47 tons, without taking in any iresh ground, at a less expenditure of wages by £47, due largely to the shutting up of same of the creameries. The company could, under the last award, hairo reduced some of its employees' wages very considerably, but as the directors had considered the award scale of wages would press unduly hard upon some of the 'hard-wonking employees, they had not been put on award wages. This year £250 of proiits from 'the Freezing Com* pany had been put into the profit and loss account and added to the amount paid out for butter. Five per cent had been written off the company's property, which was allowing in a generous manner for the loss caused by depreciation. The company's liability to" the Box Company was nearly paid up, and shareholders' money in that concern bore interest, and the Box Company ihad been of much service to dairy companies in keeping down the price of butter boxes. The Farm Account for the year showed a small profit. The Stanley Road cream* ery had showed improvement and should >*oon pay expenses, as suppliers Bad undertaken to bring this creamery up to the standard. After considerable enquiry the directors had decided to put in a pasteurising -giant, chiefly with the object of dealing with winter milk, but the plant had been put in in sucn a form as to enable it to be used all the year round, if considered advisable. The pasteuriser had proved very successful, ut it was only a pasteuriser and could not be expected to deal entirely with turnips. If the turnip trouble got worse it might be better to close down altogether in winter, and he would ask offenders in this way to take the uint 'and then the company would get on better. He thought it would be a step in the right direction to pasteurise the whole output. The pasteurisation ci skim milk was comparatively inexpensive, and if at a low cost they could do away with the tuberculosis troublp, they should certainly do so. Apparatus to conduct skim milk pasteurisation experiments was being put in by the company, and if it proved successful the practice would be contamufed.

In reply to questions, the chairman s baited that the butter had cost' 9d per lb. to manufacture. The company had now reached, the position of being ablQ, to control its own eh<wg, and m stare - .' holder wisWng to get rid of his sWea coTwa consider himselif harshly treated when tihe company would pay him 1W for them. He was against any interference witih the shares as they were situated iat present. Government experiments had proved that it cost from Vid %<i per 10001b. t$ pasteurise afcthf ihilljj - f • ft.was resolved tttilt it he a recommendation to th# directors of the manager's and sectary's salary be increased to the' same rate as that paid at factories of- equal size. ' There were* thirteen nominations for six vacancies' on the directorate, and "; e Jl f, o,] « elected: Messrs. Skedlgwell, W. Rogers, G. Knox, W. Hathaway, W. Wellington and A J Peirrott.

Mr. A. Brown was subsequently reelected chairman of directors. —(Abridged from Post.

MANGQREI. An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the MangorelCoSPfS 4 v ® Company was held in the Public Hall, Egmont Vlllftge, on Motjj day. The meeting was convened by the directors in pursuance of a requisition from a number of the shareholders for the purpose of striking out the present articles providing for the retirement of directors, and under which each director holds his seat for a term of three years and to substitute a new article providing that all the directors should retire annually. Mr. A. Morton, chairman, of directors, presided.

The meeting was attended by nearly one hundred shareholders, and after a considerable amount of discussion had taken place, the special resolution, which was moved by Mr W. Mundt and seconded by Mr. J. T. Burkitt, was put to the meeting and lost.

A News reporter gathered yesterday that the meeting was the culminating point of a dissatisfaction which has existed and been increasing amongst a certain section of the shareholders for some time past, and the faction aetin<* in opposition to the directorate turned'up in strong force. The object of the resolution' was to effect a clearance of the board of directors. The debate waxed warm at times. The shareholders harm* fully put (before their fellow-co-operators • the pros and cons of the case, the chairman addressed the shareholders, and talked very straightly, replying to the statements made. His speech lasted for nearly three-quarters of an hour, and at its conclusion the motion was put and lost, although there was a small majority in its favor in the room. A large number did not vote.

The meeting "cleared the air" very considerably for the annual meeting.