Saiccor - The First 50 Years 5.8 MB - Sappi

The First Fifty Years
The capital cost of the flock plant was low, as was the energy cost,
but it was dusty and an everlasting source of fires� Added to this it
was a hydraulic nightmare, mechanically pushed to the point of
breakdown and the quality was always inferior to sheet pulp� Hence
over the years many people put in a great deal of effort to keep the
troublesome flock plant going� These included: from engineering,
Paddy Brannigan, Frank Rhodes, Bruno Scorovic, Giorgio Natali, Ido
Zanello, Achille Fontana, Enoc Baldin and Basilio Segatto; from
production, Marcello Malpiedi, Norman Boulter, Gino Rivetti, Bepi
Martelossi, Ennio Zan, John Davey and Eridanio di Marco; from
electrical, Graham Mortimer, Angelo Serravalle, Bruno Trevisan,
Jimmy McFeat, Piero Miniutti and Adelmo Chiccaro; from
instruments, Vic East, Barry Tokelove and Sergio Gori; from technical,
Attie du Plooy, Bryan Thomas and John Thubron; from the
development department Ken Reed, Ted Beesley, Ciano Ioppo and
Alfredo Battiston� Four operating chargehands put almost a lifetime’s
work into the flock� They were ‘Louis’ Szabo and Bill Ravenscroft
(who together for the first six months worked 12 hour shifts, seven
days a week), Warwick Harper and Roy Barry, while Rudi Riecker,
Garth Railton, Elijah Mkhize, Lawrence Zondi and Osborne Phungula
were there for many years�
Other capital work completed by early 1959 included an additional
200 mm steam main to No1 continua (January 1958); two
clariflocculators for the waterworks (February 1958); No 2 chipper
(same as No 1) and chip screens (July 1958); acid stage in bleaching
converted to fifth hypo stage and No 5 and 6 filters put in parallel
(December 1958)�
The number of people employed in August 1956 (after some of the
Italians had returned to Italy), were some 50 staff and 906 hourly
Some of those who were involved with the flock plant and were at its demise
in 1995: R Barry, L Szabo, E Baldin, S Stone and E di Marco
34