Saiccor - The First 50 Years 5.8 MB - Sappi

The First Fifty Years
In early 1954 the factory buildings had progressed to the point where
preparations had to be made to bring out the Italian technicians and
artisans from SAICI to erect the plant and equipment� The Italian
government wanted as many people as possible to participate (in
order to help with their unemployment problem)� While the South
African government was happy enough to accept the Italians, they
were certainly not prepared to accept any communists� As a result,
the South African authorities scrutinised each and every applicant,
despite the fact that SAICI’s Dr Fabio Fonda had handpicked them
all� This caused delays and frustrations�
In March 1954 Francesco Nardi, the Erection Manager, Francesco
Dose, Enea Corrado and six artisans arrived in advance of the main
groups – including Gino della Martina, who stayed on at Saiccor until
his retirement in 1987 at 69 years old� He died in 1997� Gino was,
throughout his career at Saiccor, the Building Manager, where he made
concrete as hard as granite (nothing ever fell down) and ran his
department in a typically Italian autocratic fashion� In 1973 he was
also appointed Group Building Manager� He was for some time the
Chairman of the Italian Club in Umkomaas� Today his son Lorenzo
is a leading member of the Italian community in Durban�
The first group, comprising 58 people, including two women, a
nurse and a cook, arrived by Constellation on 23 April 1954 and started
work three days later� The last of the four plane loads arrived on 6
August, bringing in total 222 pulp experts to Umkomaas, in what at
the time was the biggest commercial airlift in South Africa’s history�
A further 30 arrived by sea in early October�
Work progressed rapidly, with 250 Italians and 400 Zulus� The
employment conditions for the Zulus were negotiated between
Cantacuzene and the nkosi of the Umnini Reserve at a lengthy ndaba�
(This sizeable reserve on the north side of the Mkomazi River had
been given to Nkosi Luthuli, by signed grant from Queen Victoria,
when the Zulus were moved from their land on the Bluff�)
The first group of Italians en route to Durban, April 1954
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Francesco Nardi
Gino della Martina