EGMONT BOX COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 August 1922, Page 3

EGMONT BOX COMPANY.

THE ANNUAL MEETING. The sixteenth annual meeting of the share- . holders of the Egmont Box Company was held at Eltham yesterday, the chairman (Mr. J. B. Murdoch) presiding over an attendance of about 40. - . In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance sheet (already published), the chairman said that at the beginning of last year the company was up against the big task of cleaning up the large bush at Ohutu, which was an expensive process. They had now got beyond this stage, and were in good bush. They had purchased great quantities of white pine to meet the increased demand for boxes and crates, and this pine had to be bought at high prices; so that their operations returned little profit. This year they would not need to purchase any timber, as they had large stocks and were cutting in good bush. In 10 or 15 years’ time, he considered it would be difficult to get enough white pine to meat their requirements. Referring to the changing over from butter to cheese by the dairy factories, the chairman said it made it a very difficult matter to supply requirements of crates or boxes. The company had met all requirements, cut to do so it was necessary to carry huge stocks of timber. He impressed upon shareholders the fact that the company was not in the .same position as the smaller sawmilling concerns, and could not expect to compete with their, owing to the necessity of supplying the whole trade, whereas the small companies received small direct orders, and knew what they had to supply. If the shareholders gave their own company direct orders for a certain purpose, they could meet them. The company had got away from the clean-ing-up process at Ohutu, continued the chairman, and they were now into the bush at Kakahi and Tuhua. There were good supplies of pine in each of these bushes, but there was also a good deal of hardwood. It meant cutting a lot of hardwood to get at the pine, and they would have to find markets for the hardwood. This was a position they had not. been in before. At Tuhua the st neks of timber had accumulated owing to the lack of railway facilities, but he hoped that in about a year’s time the Railway Department would have control of the line, and they would then get their timber railed at the ordinary rates. They would have to look for markets outside Taranaki for this accumulated stock. The profit on the hardwood they would have to cut would be better than in the case of pine, and they did not- have to make it up into crates or boxes. They were now cutting timber oh their own land, and were in a better position than they had been in for several years. They had spent £11,740 on the Tongariro Company’s line, and this would get them over the difficulty of building a line to the Main Trunk. They expected to have this sum refunded by the Tongariro Company. , CHEAPER BOXES. The position had. so improved, continued Mr. Murdoch, that they had been able to reduce the prices of butter-boxes by 2d, and of cheese crates by 3d each, and he hoped this was only the beginning of the reduction. He did not think they would be able to come down to the old prices, on account of increasing working expenses; but he thought they would get down to about 25 per cent, above the old price.. The reduction already made would mean about five or six thousand pounds. Last year their output had enormously increased, to meet the increase in dairy production, and they had turned out 251,358 boxes and 280,000 crates. Besides this, 1,819,526 feet of timber had been sold. The increase was 11,459 boxes and 28,370 crates. The total amount of timber cut was 6,640,000 feet. He did not think that this great increase would need to be maintained next year, but flhey had enough timber in stock to meet requirements if the increase in production of produce was maintained. Owing to many factories changing over from cheese to butter, the company had been left with too big a stock of cheese crate timber, and It might be as well to sell some of this.

The general position of the company was improving, and the new milling bush was going to be less expensive to run on account of the contour of the country being much better. At Tuhua they had paid £15,000 for the premises, and each year they would write off one-eighth of the cost. They had eight years to cut timber there, so that at the end of the period they would have the whole of the cost wiped off. This year they would be .cutting more pine, as they were in better bush, and the cost of cutting had dropped considerably. He was looking forward to a prosperous year. The motion was seconded by Mr. J. Marx, and after a little discussion was carried. DIRECTORS ELECTED. The retiring directors were Messrs. J. S. Connett, C. J. Belcher, and T. A. Bridge, and Mr. Belcher did not seek re-election. Mr. H. D. Forsyth was nominated to fill Mr. Belcher’s place, and there being no further nominations, Messrs. Connett, Bridge and Forsyth were declared elected. GENERAL. The chairman said they were endeavoring to have freights cut down, and he solicited the help of the shareholders in this direction. The retiring director (Mr. C. J. Belcher) was accorded a vote of thanks for his service to the company, and votes of thanks were also passed to' the chairman, officers and staff, for their past services. The meeting then turned to a discussion of the question of the advisability of making and exporting part-skimmed cheese, a report of the discussion appearing elsewhere. At a subsequent meeting of directors Mr. J. B. Murdoch was re-elected chairman and managing director.