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(a) Soap and Candle Making 1938-39. 1945-46. 1946-47.* dumber of units engaged .. .. .. 19 24 Number of persons employed .. .. 520 704 732 Salaries and wages paid .. .. .. £112,041 £205,740 £220,000 Value of output .. .. .. .. £542,188 £1,157,983 £1,323,000 * Interim figures. While manufacture has been retarded by the shortage of alkalis, there has been improvement in deliveries of other raw materials, as, for example, paraffin wax. Candle output in the past year was much higher than in 1947, and indications at present are that the production of the soap and candle group in the coming year will be a record. (6) Cosmetic and Toilet Preparations 1938-39. 1945-46. 1946-47f. Number of units engaged .. .. .. * 38 Number of persons employed .. .. * 460 504 Salaries and wages paid .. .. .. * £105,292 £121,000 Value of output .. .. .. .. * £616,791 £655,000 * Statistics not available. f Interim figures. The products of further additional units recently established in New Zealand has increased the range of preparations available, while the re-entry into trade of more overseas countries is providing a greater variety of raw materials, with consequent beneficial effect on the quality of the locally-produced goods. (c) Plastics Since the first moulding-press was installed in this country in 1932 there has been steady growth in the processing of plastic substances, until now when we have eight injection-moulding machines and over two hundred compression presses in operation. In addition, a number of firms are engaged in fabricating imported plastic sheet into a variety of articles. In the initial stages there was a tendency to make a great many novelty articles, but recently the industry has been concentrating on utilitarian lines. A large variety of goods is turned out for other industries which often fill the place of articles that were previously imported. Examples are electrical switches and fittings, door-handles and other builders' hardware, buttons, and bottle-caps. Consumer articles now familiar in plastic include tooth-brushes, combs, buttons, babies' baths, sinks, and garden hose. (d) Paint and Varnish Manufacture 1938-39. 1945-46. 1946-47.* Number of units engaged .. .. 25 23 Number of persons employed .. .. 332 483 507 -Salaries and wages paid .. .. .. £78,452 £174,727 £187,000 Value of output .. .. .. £578,941 £1,655,582 £1,959,000 * Interim figures. The paint industry has been hampered by the shortage of certain raw materials ■over the past year, and production has not yet met the demand. The shortage was, and is, most acute in linseed-oil and white lead for the manufacture of leaded paints. Supplementary supplies of linseed-oil have been imported (in limited quantities) from North America, but the failure of the local crop from which half of New Zealand's

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