Saiccor - The First 50 Years 5.8 MB - Sappi

The Cantacuzene Period (1952–1965)
persuaded him to go to South West Africa, where he stayed for a
year� While on holiday in South Africa before returning to Austria,
Cantacuzene contacted him through a Swiss acquaintance and
offered him a job at The Lido�
Julius Mehlomane Mblambo was born in Natal in 1911� A quiet,
conscientious man, he joined Saiccor as a driver – a very good one –
in 1954, aged 43� He continued to drive until his retirement on 31
August 1971� He died in 1972�
Silvano del Vecchio was born in the province of Udine in Italy in
1921 and started work at SAICI� In 1941 he was one of 77 men who
formed the original ‘frogmen’ unit in the Italian Navy – a technique
invented and developed by the Italians� After the war he returned to
SAICI, from where he was sent to the new pulp mill in Mexico,
returning 13 months later� Dr Fonda persuaded him to come to Saiccor
in 1958, where he worked in the flock plant� He transferred to the
laboratory, where for many years he did lab cooks and bleaching work
with John Thubron, who called him ‘Pops’, a name which stuck� He
retired at the end of 1986� Silvano kept himself very fit by swimming
kilometers every day�
Eridanio di Marco was born in San Giorgio di Nogaro in 1935� He
served two years in the Italian Navy from 1953 and then worked for
a building contractor in Udine until, after a three-month course as a
laboratory analyst at SAICI, he left for Umkomaas in June 1956� He
worked in the laboratory until 1972, when he became a Shift
Superintendent, then Production manager of the flock plant in 1993�
He retired in 1999� As a younger man he played soccer for the Saiccor
Football Club’s senior team, and in Italy he was a member of the
Navy’s athletics team�
Renzo Cescutti was born in Aiello del Fruili in 1935 and started
work in a bakery at the age of 15� Renzo’s father Mario, who came to
Saiccor in August 1954 as an Operator in digesters, used his influence
to get Renzo a job at Saiccor� Renzo arrived in September 1955� He
worked as an Operator in bleaching, then as a Chargehand and finally
as a Shift Superintendent� He retired in March 1996, unable to take
the strain of the slow running of the factory� In Italy Renzo played
soccer, but changed to basketball and swimming when he came to
South Africa� He now cycles quite seriously�
Danilo Stroppolo was born in Torviscosa in 1938 and started work
at a metal workshop in a nearby village� He arrived in Umkomaas in
March 1956 to start a new life in a new country as an Operator in
SO 2 Recovery� He later moved to the workshop, where he stayed
until he returned to Italy to work for the Torviscosa municipality in
the early 1970s� He was a member of the SAICI swimming team and
won many breaststroke and freestyle events�
Col� Francis Hollington-Sawyer was born in London in 1911 and
worked in Burma for three years before joining the British army in
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Silvano del Vecchio
Eridiano di Marco
Renzo Cescutti
Danilo Stroppolo