Record Output Produced By Sawmilling Industry

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1942, Page 6

Record Output Produced By Sawmilling Industry

Wellington, Aug. 26. A tribute to the way in which the sawmilling industry had produced almost record quantities of timber in spite of the big reduction in its available manpower was paid by the acting-Com-missioner of State Forests, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, when opening the annual conference of the Dominion Federated Sawmillers' Association at Wellington. Mr. Barclay said the timber industry's manpower had been depleted by enlistments to probably a far greater' extent than any other industry in the Dominion. There had been 2926 men actually transferred to the armed forces, while over 900 had been retained for essential purposes. With a total average of 7472 employees, it meant that the industry had lost to the armed forces one-third of its employees, practically all of them were highly skilled men, and only 10 per cent. had been retained as essential. Notwithstanding this fact, the industry had produced almost record quantities of timber during 1940-41; and though the returns for 1941-42 would show some decrease, due to shortened manpower, the figures for the current year indicated probably an all-out record of production as a result of extended working hours and greater concentrated effort. The Minister said this wonderful result was being attained without the slightest evidence of friction or complaint by either the sawmillers themselves or the timber workThe Government was highly appreciative of the results achieved, and considered that the highest praise was due to the timber workers and sawmillers for such a magnificent contribution to the war effort. Few people realised that practically the whole timber production of the Dominion was now being absorbed for war emergency purposes and that timber constituted one of the fundamental commodities in the prosecution of the war.