MAKETAWA DAIRY COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1917, Page 2

MAKETAWA DAIRY COMPANY.

ANmiAL MEETWG. j The annual meeting of the Makefawa! Dairy Comr. my wan held at. the factory on Thursday afternoon, when Mr. .1- :! Brawn, chairman of directors,, presided! over an attendance of about forty sun- \ REPORT ANT> BAMNCE-SHEET. f The- repovt and balance-sheet as; aI-$ ready published were taken a<i read.. Tn f ■ moving the adoption of same, the chair- j man. said that the quantity of butter had j decreased by 25' tons as compared with, i the previous year. This was, pretty gen- ' era! throughout Taranaki, and was due* I partly to- the fact that the season had | not been a very good one. Some: of their suppliers had gono to Rugby Road, whilst others had dropped out of supplying. Owing to the. war, herds had de- ' creased rather than increased. The payout had been, the largest ins t&e history of tho factory, owing to the high prices ' {"■ fling.. The balance-sheet showed that the- company was in a., good position, its I. buildings, plant, etc., having been writ- i ten. down very much. He pointed ouii that the factory, the main building" of; which, cost £7OO, together with the. cottage, stood on the books at only £304, about the price of tho cottage at present day cost, as was shown by the fact; that the casein additions were set down ; : at £379. Fuel, even on the smaller output, showed an increase from 39s 3d per I 'ton of production to 57s 3d. The average,) cost of coal had been £2 per ton, as I against 2fls last year, and he did not j think that coal (which they would have f to depend on more and more) had reach->tj. Ed its highest price. The cost of produe- i' ' tion per lb to f.o.b. had been, without depreciation, fat 1.92 d, butter 1.64 d; with depreciation, fat 2.13 d, butter 1.87 d. They had shipped four shipments totalling 2422 boxes, the average price received being Is SAd. Referring to the ' shipping difficulty, he stated that at Moturoa they had been able to accommodate all the butter, and were making additions that they hoped would prevent any serious blockage of cheese. Motu- j roa was now nearly clear of cheese, but I a month ago there were 24,000 boxes of i butter in store, though 8000 had gone J out since, lie saw no prospects of any i more butter going out for some time, though there was likely to be a further I shipment of cheese. He pointed out > that the Government gave preference to i beef, then to mutton, then cheese, no I mention being made of butter or lamb. ITe said they must give all credit to the Prime Minister for sending the butter away. Maketawa, he said, had no butter in store. A meeting was to be hold in Inglewood to discuss the question of | , selling the output of butter to the Government. He did not know what the proposal was. Until something definite happened regarding submarines, there was no great hope of more shipping ; facilities. He referred at some length to the' shortage of white pine, and stated . that he believed the Government would ! take some steps to conserve it. Ho ; showed that when the Box Company first ; started they could buy boxes for 10y 2 d. I whereas now the boxes cost Is 4%d, and but for the F.gmont Box' Company would cost considerably more. He then formally moved the adoption of tho report. Mr. Misehewski seconded. A shareholder asked whether the wages of their employees had been increased in comparison 'with the cost of living. Tho chairman stated that the wages 'had been increased last year and he in■tended if still a director, to further increase the wages this season.—Applause. The chairman stated that in estimating the dividend they had calculated on the money to bo received in connection ■with the sale of local butter. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. The two retiring directors, Messrs J. Brown and J. H. Donfbroski, were returned un-opposed. The chairman, in returning thanks, ;

i stated that he had been » director for |S2 years, and had. been chairman for 21 yeara. He pointed out that it was Yery I hard work for directors to carry on the I work of the factory during war time, | Mr. Dorobroski, hi returning thanks, | thought that the fuel account could be j I considerably reduced if suppliers w.ould 5 form a working boo and get firewood j. on the Durham, road, where there, <waa I plenty.. Mr.. T. EL Haraerfcon was re-appointed {auditor at a fee of £5 ss, being' aa inj crease of £1 Is.. I CASEDT. j In reply to a question, the chairman f stated tiiat if the manufacture- of casein I had .been carried on throughout the ;, whole, season, they would have been i able to pay out 2-Jd. They started I in February and lad paid out, a&d, and' £4O was the .best offer for green casein. Personally ho would like to see a cooperative drying plant erected 1 . There was. ...iwever, difficulty in getting the casein shipped.. _ It 'was decided to commence the manii'faeturo of casein in November^ f AK EXPERTS VIEWS. | Mr. R. W. D, Robertson,, New/ Zealand ['representative for Messrs Andrew Clem--1 onts. and Sons ,wlio handled the com: nany'a output, briefly addressed the shareholders in comtectioa with tho ■ : future prespects of butter and cheese, • on similar lines, to his remarks at Man- ■ gorei last week. The quality of MakeI tawa butter, despite the unsatisfactory j shipping arrangements, had proved uerjj t satisfactory. ' GENERAL. I The chairman stated that aa interim b.bonns of 3d would be paid out nest ■ week. The chairman stated that Maketawa factory was in a. splendid financial position. Votea. of: thanks were accorded Messrs 1 Robertson and Brown for their adj dresses, the. directors, »ta2 and the press.