FREEZING ACCOMMODATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 58, 28 August 1911, Page 7

FREEZING ACCOMMODATION

ENLARGEMENT OF MOTUROA FREEZING WORKS. At Saturday's meeting of the Taranaki Freezing Works Company, Mr. A. Morton, chairman of directors, referred to the proposed enlargement of the works at Moturoa. These were re-erected only a few years ago, it will be remembered, after having Ikicii destroyed by fire, the former wooden buildings being then replaced with brick. Mr. Morton said the directors had for some time had under consideration the advisability of enlarging the works. In the first place, the company found its space often severely taxed at the flush ef the season 1 , 'and if a very large increase were brought about it would be found verj-diffunvlAo handle the produce coining "foHtarli;" 'ft did not follow that ibecause there "were chambers for 30,000 to 35,000 boxes of butter they could handle even 25,000. Some days elapsed between the day of closing the chambers on produce for shipment and the actual day of shipment, and during all that time the? stififf «was coming in, and it was not possible ta use the two chambers. They couldn't put the surplus from one chamber into another then. The directors had also considered the probability':of,,': /s(flflE business in frozen pork. that very soon there would , \c*iffisk shipments from New Plymouth toWe world's markets, and froze% |stek: promised to .become a very considerainje item in .Taranafci's exports. It to the directors that in tic ajtysejicc of, other works in proximity to this eompany*:cou]d conveniently handle* this stuff, and even if meat works -Srere. established here the company could still compete jn handling this particular kind of produce, for the reason that, its «shareholders were the dairy companies, and therefore the farmers, of nearly the whole of North Taranaki and part of South Taranaki, this giving Oicni« sort of prior right to the business. In two or three years it was expected that the frozen pork industry would be a very large business indeed, and the directors had thought it as well in making additions to provide such accommodation as would cope with increased business in that respect. He announced that tenders were now being called, and the additions should be completed in a little over three months' time.

In answer to a question, Mr. Morton said the enlargement was estimated to cost about £3OOO. The present gradingroom, a lean-to 24ft: wide, would be done away with, and in its place would be huilt a freezing chamber 35ft. wide, with a similar chamber above it. A now gmding-room, 25ft. wide, would be built, and another chamber above this also, thus giving three additional chambers, capable of accommodating from 27,000 to 28,000 boxes of butter. The upper chambers, however, were intended for cheese, and the new grading-room could, if necessary, be converted into a freezing chamber. The additions are to he carried out in brick.