Saiccor - The First 50 Years 5.8 MB - Sappi

The First Fifty Years
From October 1970 the Board comprised: GS J Kuschke
(Chairman), FC Aldred,* CF Kearton,* K Reed,* OW
Tainton, AJ van den Berg and J Wharton�* (British)
Over this period, changes to the Board were:
G S J Kuschke died on 27 July 1971 – replaced by J J Kitshoff
J L van der Walt (Forests) appointed 7 May 1973
J Wharton resigned 8 October 1971 – replaced by H Brannigan
A J van den Berg resigned – replaced by P J van Rooy
Lord Kearton retired 14 November 1975 – replaced by Sir Arthur
Knight (Chairman of Courtaulds)
K Reed retired in December 1975 – replaced by J A Carrick
N S Wooding replaced Sir Arthur Knight March 1977
J A Carrick retired July 1978
F C Aldred resigned 1 August 1979 – replaced by J R Wrangham
J J Kitshoff retired 1 April 1980 – Tainton became Chairman
D N A Hunt-Davis replaced Kitshoff, but never attended a meeting,
resigning (from the IDC as well) at the end of October 1981
M Macdonald appointed IDC representative March 1982
Brannigan retired 30 June 1982 – replaced by N Boulter
Tainton retired as Chairman 31 March 1983 – N S Wooding appointed
Chairman
Lord Kearton retired at the end of 1975 and wrote to the Saiccor Board
conveying his great pleasure in having served the company from its
inception�
Johan van der Walt was a forester who joined Saiccor’s forests in
its earliest days� On 1 July 1960 he was appointed a Director of both
Saligna Forestry and Waterton Timbers, and a few years later
Managing Director of both� In the early 1970s he was also appointed
to both the Saiccor and Usutu Boards, remaining on both until he
retired in 1988� He died in 2000�
Johan’s management style was very ‘hands-on’ and autocratic,
but he ran a very successful operation for more than 20 years,
constantly making profits (20–25 per cent of Saiccor’s profits) while
keeping Saiccor supplied with timber, at a good price� He also ran
what was considered by many to be the best saw milling operation
in the world�
On 1 October 1971 John Earnshaw was appointed Chief Engineer�
An ex-RAF fighter pilot, Earnshaw had come to South Africa via ICI
to work for AECI in Modderfontein� He joined Saiccor in May 1964
as Services Engineer and on 1 January 1966 was appointed Divisional
Engineer (woodyard to bleaching)� Earnshaw was appointed to the
Management Committee in July 1973� Although not technically
strong, John was successful by being aggressive and a good manager
72
J J Kitshoff, Chairman
1971–1980
Johan van der Walt
John Earnshaw