CASEIN MANUFACTURE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 299, 14 June 1912, Page 3

CASEIN MANUFACTURE

THE PROCESS EXPLAINED. . ' c MEETING AT. WAITARA. A meeting of directors of dairy factories, including Waitara Road, Tikorangi, North Taranaki, Moa, Midhirst, Maketawa, Bell Block, and Lepperton, was held in Waitara on Tuesday to consider the matter of dealing with casein —a by-product of milk. Mr. IT. Lepper (Lepperton) presided, and Messrs. Good, Vickerman and Holtz, representatives of the Oasein Company, were present, and addressed the meeting. In their remarks they said that evidently the great question was- the feeding value of casein whey. There was no doubt that this had been proved, both calves and pigs having realised higher prices than those fed on skim milk. As a matter of fact, so far as pigs are concerned, one man had two months ago received within £lO of his previous return, and had already received £7O for casein. The commercial value of casein had now been established, and the market price would be, on an average, £32 to £33 c.i.f. Hamburg. The demand was increasing owing to the many uses now found for it. To-day, some 400 factories in Denmark were manufacturing casein, Siberia, Argentine, Australia and New Zealand following suit. Denmark was now supplying some 4000 tons. Taking the average of the last ten years, cheese factories paid out between %d to Id more than butter factories, and now that casein could be paid for at the rate of li/ t d for butter-fat, it made butter factories more payable. Further, the cost of the installation of casein was much cheaper than cheese. They were there Teally at the request of factories in the district to give any information in regard to the establishment of the factory, the putting of the suppliers in the way of starting and finding a market. They were prepared to sub-license a factory to use their process, asking, in return, that the manufactured article should be consigned through them on the ordinary commission, advancing against the bills of lading and guaranteeing a market. If necessary, they would be prepared to take charge for some little time until those in charge were capable of doing so. It was pointed out that the increase : i the output of pigs in Denmark for the first year of casein manufacture had been over 300,000. Part of the process of precipitation was adding to the feed value of the whey. In New Zealand the. cost of manufacturing casein should run into about £7 per ton. The cost of installation at creameries was from £IOO to £l2O, and the main factory £2BOO, exclusive of the cost of land. A factory turning out 500 tons of casein - would certainly be a payable proposition. The f.o.b. price that could be offered would be approximately £2B per ton, but no : definite o(Ter could be made until such time as the quantities could be stated. Their company would be quite prepared to start the concern and pay out at the rate of 11/, don butter-fat.' At the beginning creamery managers would not get the best results, but with experience I this would improve. If 1200 to 1600 I tons could be produced in an area of, ! say, 40 miles, it would be better than i making a larger factory and extending the radius. The company was satisfied that it was no use suggesting that proprietary concerns should endeavor to run with co-operative concerns. It was prepared to consider an}' proposition that the combined factories cared to put forward. The following resolutions were carried by the meeting:—f 1) "That after having •heard the views and explanations of the . representatives of the Casein Company, I this meeting feels favorably impressed with the project of casein manufacture, and deems the matter of sufficient importance to place the position before the suppliers generally; (2) that the minutes of this meeting be printed, and sufficient copies be sent to each factory represented at .the meeting to place in the hands of each supplier, and a copy of the Casein Company's letter be sent to each directorate; (.3) that each fac- | tory notify the secretary of the result of the meetings of suppliers, and that in conjunction with Messrs. Smith, Elliot, and Knuckey, he cdnvene a- meeting of representatives appointed by each company for further consideration of the matter."