RANK XEROX

The house magazine of Rank Xerox Mitcheldean

Joe Marino chats with production personnel in the pilot plant: third from left is Peter Whiles, production manager for processor build operations.

Pulling together In the pilot plant IT 'S A N o d d feel ing, a r r i v i n g at the W e l w y n G a r d e n C i t y site in busy Bessemer R o a d and coming face to face w i t h so many Mi tche ldean and ex-Mitcheldean people.

There they are, w o r k i n g alongside W G C people i n the ' H ' b lock offices and l o o k i n g as though they 'd always been there.

It 's even odder, enter ing the adjoining ' A ' b u i l d i n g , and f inding oneself in wha t looks like a min ia tu re M i t c h c l d e a n assembly f loor , manned by people we are used to seeing on our home site.

This is the p i l o t p lan t — an essential part o f the way we do business today when developing a new produc t and one that is pu t t ing Leadership T h r o u g h Qual i ty principles i n to practice.

Here, for the first t ime , ou r shop f loor operators are help ing in the development o f a new product and inf luencing its manufacturabi l i ty .

I n 1985 Rank Xerox Engineering G r o u p acquired a new name when i t became the headquarters o f the M i d V o l u m e Business U n i t ; Joe M a r i n o , appointed vice-president and general manager o f the U n i t , came over f r o m the States and settled i n at W e l w y n where the new p rogramme, transferred f r o m Henr ie t t a , had got o f f to a good start.

This p rogramme is o f very special significance for Mi tche ldean . F o r the first t ime , as p rogramme manager R o n Cald icu t t explained, our site has lead responsibi l i ty w o r l d - w i d e for the processor o f a m i d -volume produc t .

" I t is very i m p o r t a n t — one o f the most i m p o r t a n t programmes w i t h i n the Reprographic Business G r o u p , " Joe M a r i n o t o l d us. " a n d Mitcheldean 's excellent repu ta t ion for qua l i ty over recent years was a s ignif icant factor in the decision to give i t a

lead r o l e . " The p i l o t p lan t is no t ,

however, a ' f i r s t ' ; the sett ing up o f a manufac tu r ing fac i l i ty on a small scale to t r y ou t the design, processes and t o o l i n g , and ident i fy and solve any problems that arise in advance o f first p r o d u c t i o n b u i l d , is an in t r ins ic par t o f the Business U n i t concept.

H a v i n g a stable p roduc t at s tar t-up w i t h the m i n i m u m number o f subsequent special actions enables a machine o f the required qua l i t y to be p roduced on t ime in a cost-effective manner .

W h e n the 1045 f ami ly , designed at W e l w y n , was being developed, the p i l o t p lant was located w i t h the m a i n p r o d u c t i o n p lant in Venray.

This t ime i t was decided tha t , d u r i n g the t ime o f m a x i m u m change, the p lan t should be kept close to the engineering loca t ion . A j o i n t W G C / M i t c h e l d e a n team

Team Xerox in action The c o l l a b o r a t i o n between the M i d V o l u m e Business U n i t and Mi tche ldean has demonst ra ted clearly that the barriers that used to exist between those w h o design the machines and those invo lved i n b u i l d i n g them are f ina l ly d o w n . The staff o f b o t h are un i ted in a c o m m o n purpose, " w o r k i n g together as one f a m i l y " as Joe M a r i n o puts i t .

Says site d i rec tor D a v i d Stokes: " T h e interchange o f people and experience at every level is an ou t s tand ing feature o f this p rog ramme .

" H a v i n g experienced staff f r o m a l l areas o f manufac tu r ing act ively suppor t i ng the p rogramme d u r i n g the p i l o t b u i l d phases w i l l help to ensure a smooth t r ans i t ion and start-up o f the p r o g r a m m e at Mi tche ldean .

" T h i s p roduc t is extremely i m p o r t a n t t o this site, b o t h in terms o f our managing un i t role and i n terms o f the par tnership i t w i l l forge between Mi tche ldean and the M i d V o l u m e Business U n i t .

" T h e m o t i v a t i o n , enthusiasm and f l ex ib i l i t y being shown by a l l Mi tche ldean employees at W e l w y n Garden C i t y are extremely encouraging and augur wel l for the future success o f this p r o g r a m m e . "

master-minded the p lann ing and setting up o f this fac i l i ty , led by V e r n o n Smi th (a fo rmer Mi tche ldean m?n) , w h o is the p i l o t p lan t manager.

The min i - f ac to ry came in to opera t ion last year, and the first t h ing y o u notice over the entrance to this h igh security area is the words " T o m o r r o w is t o d a y " — a constant reminder o f the pressure on the factory f loor .

Continued overleaf

From left: Pilot plant manager Vernon Smith, with Adrian Bruring, APO manager, John Overhury, co-ordinator of plant technical facilities, and programme manager Ron Caldicutt.

Continued from page I Bright and co lou r fu l , i t

covers some 30,000 square feet, the largest par t being devoted to processor assembly w i t h a ma in line, sub-assemblies, test, packaging, audi t and stores.

There are separate facilities for the accessories being bu i l t at W e l w y n and in N o r t h and South Amer i ca , and the presence o f representatives f r o m these locations lends the place a mul t ina t iona l air .

There are offices for the technical qua l i ty and material logistics staff, and for V e r n o n Smith and p r o d u c t i o n management, plus a conference r o o m for the many meetings that take place. A further facil i ty — much appreciated by the staff — is the refreshment area.

Dedicated team

Bui ld ing o f the new machine is carr ied out in blocks at specific stages o f development , a l lowing the manufac tur ing process to be planned d o w n to the last deta i l . Engineers, qual i ty and t r a in ing personnel work closely w i t h the operators on the t r y o u t .

Says p roduc t i on manager Peter Whiles: "The major con t r i bu t ion we make to the programme is to ident ify al l the engineering and manufac tu r ing problems we are l ike ly to encounter and ensure they are closed out . A n d we all w o r k together w i t h the engineering communi ty to resolve the problems.

"The emphasis in everyth ing

we do is on t e a m w o r k , and the team we have at W e l w y n f r o m al l the various funct ions is dedicated to the successful i n t r o d u c t i o n at Mi tche ldean o f a p roduc t that has achieved a l l its customer requi rements ."

Readi ly accessible over in ' H ' b lock (reached th rough a connec t ing passageway) are the design engineers and their research labs where the prototypes are developed w i t h the a id o f the most advanced techniques. M o r e "expat r ia tes" here — among them J o h n Jones, Dennis" Bendall and Bob Greenman w h o , inc identa l ly , received his 30-year service award in 1986.

Exp la in ing the benefits tha t engineering derive f r o m co-loca t ion w i t h the p i l o t p lan t , John said: " W e get fast feedback in m a k i n g design changes, and we can cope w i t h them better because i f any c la r i f i ca t ion is needed, we can contact the key person d i r e c t . "

Further integration

Deve lopment o f a new p roduc t involves the development o f new systems, the t a k i n g on o f new

Right: Pete Hughes, Pat Brown and Wilf Jones discu.ss tool drawings.

Below right: John George, Colin Phelps, Clive Cowmeadow and Richard Cooke talk over a technical matter.

Bob Osborne, chief engineer for the new product, and (right) Geoff Paton, manufacturing resource team manager.

responsibil i t ies. F l e x i b i l i t y is the order o f the day.

A n appo in tmen t w h i c h recognises the impor tance o f w o r k i n g together to b r i n g the p roduc t t h r o u g h f r o m the technical development stage to stable p r o d u c t i o n is that o f G e o f f Paton as manufac tu r ing resource team manager.

Geoff , w h o has w o r k e d in the U S A and at Mi tche ldean , reports to b o t h Bob Osborne, chief engineer for this m i d vo lume p roduc t , and to ou r site d i rec tor D a v i d Stokes w h o says: " I t h i n k the manufac tu r ing

resource team is a strong concept and w i l l w o r k wel l for this p r o g r a m m e . "

I n his new capacity Geof f co­ordinates the p i l o t plant act ivi t ies , spares and logistics, and advanced p roduc t ion operat ions ( A P O ) .

T o have the procurement o f hard and soft t o o l i n g carried out in the same place as the design, development and b u i l d i n g o f a new p r o d u c t is yet another i n n o v a t i o n , i n v o l v i n g further in tegra t ion o f staff.

Af te r losing our way a few times in the upper reaches o f ' H ' b lock , we found some more fami l i a r faces among the conf igura t ion con t ro l and f o r w a r d products procurement (FPP) groups.

Here D a v i d Sanderson, as materials manager (advanced p r o d u c t i o n ) , heads a team o f planner buyers and SQA people; he reports to A P O Manager A d r i a n B r u r i n g , as does Welwyn ' s Richard C r o n i n w h o is in charge o f conf igura t ion con t ro l .

The new product is sourced using C C M supplier bases, and close on 100 vendors are i nvo lved , some o f them new to

A sunrise meeting chaired by production manager Peter Whiles (centre right). Round the table, clockwise, are Barry Gates, SQA, Bryan Milton, production manager for certain accessories, design engineer Mike Lowman, shop control supervisor Gerald Ward, John Holman, model shop manager. Willy O'Halloran. configuration control, and Tony Currant, FPP.

Studying the total manufacturing engineering action plan prior to transfer are (from left) Pete Walby, John Overbury. Terry Jones and Dave Jones.

A discussion of vendor tooling changes between (from left) John Rawsthorne, configuration control, SQA co-ordinator Terry Cooling, Dave Sanderson, materials manager (advanced production), planner buyer Bob Parsons and Paul Ace, WGC procurement.

us and most o f them in Europe . " W e have had W i m H a a n f r o m Venray here, to help us w i t h the Cont inenta l suppl iers ," said purchasing manager Peter Street.

Mater ials are ordered through S O L A R and del ivered to Mi tche ldean for storage, supplies being sent on t o the p i lo t p lant as requi red .

Programme management responsibilities have also been re-aligned to faci l i ta te the transfer. R o n C a l d i c u t t , w h o has managed the p r o g r a m m e f rom the early design stages, now reports i n to K e v i n H o r r o b i n w h o has manufac tur ing p r o g r a m m e management responsib i l i ty for in t roduc ing the new p roduc t into our assembly operat ions .

Readiness t o transfer has

been reviewed w i t h the M V B U on a m o n t h l y basis u n t i l recently. This frequency has been increased to weekly as the p i l o t stage draws nearer.

The bu i ld -up o f Mi tche ldean personnel at W e l w y n is n o w complete, and these people w i l l f o r m a core o f experts w h o w i l l play a key par t in the smoo th t rans i t ion f r o m p i l o t p lan t to this site.

Weighty effort QC inspector George James had his own personal challenge. He went on a sponsored slim in aid of the spina bifida appeal and lost six stone in as many months, raising some £300.

Since then, he admits he has "put a big p o r t i o n " back on — no doubt in order to be able to slim for charity once again!

U iih his finger on the touch screen is electronics engineer .Mike Hazell. setting up computer-controlled assembly tooling for the new product. This major automated tooling project was carried out by a multi-site team of Venray. Welwyn and Mitcheldean personnel (Mike and Kevin James from our electronics laboratory). Led by Alec MacAndrcw (MVBU), the project has recently earned an RBG Recognition Award for Excellence..

Our residents O B V I O U S L Y T H E R E is much c o m i n g and go ing between ou r t w o sites; i f you ' re m a k i n g a day vis i t , a j o u r n e y o f some 125 miles has to be tacked on at either end.

M o s t o f the 50 or so Mi tche ldean people now at W e l w y n are residents, however; some have been there fo r a few months , others for more than t w o years.

A c c o m m o d a t e d i n i t i a l l y in hotels, the ma jo r i t y now live in rented houses or flats d u r i n g the week. Every M o n d a y m o r n i n g a r o u n d 5.45am they leave their homes to t ravel W e l w y n - w a r d s .

A n early start is v i t a l because o f t raff ic hold-ups due to r o a d w o r k s at the Her t fordsh i re end w h i c h can play havoc w i t h y o u r t i m i n g . " E v e r y t ime I t h i n k I 've got i t sorted ou t , they dream up some new divers ions ," said one c o m m u t e r .

However , since the c o m p l e t i o n o f the M 2 5 things have i m p r o v e d considerably.

T i m e is someth ing everyone is conscious of. " T h e week goes nowhere , " said Peter Street in EPP. " W e are here u n t i l 7pm or later i f necessary. But i t 's a creative atmosphere and we're a l l w o r k i n g happ i ly together.

"There are p len ty o f activit ies available in the evenings; they range f r o m courses at local technical colleges ( a n y t h i n g f r o m Erench to p h o t o g r a p h y ) to 'keep f i t ' activit ies such as s w i m m i n g and c i rcu i t t r a in ing .

" T h e facilities are very good in this area, and you can t ravel u p t o L o n d o n q u i t e eas i ly . "

I t ' s a challenge

" T h e atmosphere is b r i l l i a n t , " was h o w Sandra Gardne r pu t i t . U n t i l recently she was the o n l y w o m a n i n the p i l o t p lan t team, and "she has p roved an ideal candida te , " said Peter Whi les .

"The atmosphere is brilliant" says Sandra Gardner.

Sandra works i n the sub assembly section and she t o l d us " I t ' s very interest ing — y o u can see a b ig difference at each stage o f development . I f there is a p r o b l e m , y o u have the satisfaction o f being able to discuss i t w i t h the design engineer and get i t pu t r igh t fast. We ' re kept busy even when we're not b u i l d i n g — there's p lenty o f pape rwork and so on to organise and meetings to a t t end . "

Opera to r M i k e G r i n d l e d i d n ' t k n o w anyone when he came to W e l w y n , bu t he's f o u n d them al l very f r iendly and says " I enjoy w o r k i n g on a machine in the early stages — it 's a real chal lenge."

Ear l ier , p i l o t p lan t people t o o k on the W e l w y n engineers at darts, ten p i n b o w l i n g , snooker and p o o l and w o n the al l-purpose t r o p h y every t ime , t h o u g h W c l w y n halted this w i n n i n g streak by beating them at soccer 4;3.

M o r e recently, a number o f ou r people have been t ak ing par t in a general darts tou rnamen t ; it was w o n by an outsider , a W G C sub-contractor in p r o d u c t i o n c o n t r o l , so neither side cou ld lay c l a im to v i c to ry !

Quality manager Chris Ra wUngs and Nick Hopkinson, one of his engineers, reviewing progress on problems within the CCA system.

Quality award for Welwyn R A N K X E R O X Welwyn has received a Brit ish Quali ty Award in recognition of 'outs tanding achievements in overall business quali ty, and in raising to wor ld state-of-the-art the manufacture of electronic systems o f the highest quali ty. '

A major supplier o f PWBAs and photoreceptors to other Xerox manufacturing operations, Welwyn has to demonstrate to its sister operations that there is no better source available for these components.

This policy has led to the in t roduct ion o f a qual i ty strategy embracing 'Leadership Through Qual i ty ' which has resulted in greatly improved product quali ty, reduced manufacturing costs and a marked increase in annual product ion output.

Pictured at the presentation are (from left) Prof Pat McKeown, chairman of the judges, Gerry Lane, director, manufacturing operations, RX Welwyn, and Jim Lawler, controller, business quality & finance.

Social success T H E L S A social gets more popular every year. Some 190 people gathered in the c lub func t ion r o o m on Saturday, 8 November , m a k i n g a 20 per cent, increase o n last year's attendance.

A d r i n k to start w i t h and an excellent plated meal w i t h wine ( f rom the c lub cater ing un i t ) came free and were much appreciated.

I t was p r i m a r i l y an evening for cha t t ing w i t h o l d friends and colleagues, and there was a w a r m welcome for Fred Wickstead and his wife.

But there was no lack o f dancers. M a r y Meek and her husband K e n , w h o celebrated their ruby wedding last September, demonstra ted the style that has w o n them many medals, and even the most

senior member there — 82-year-o l d C y r i l Jamieson — t o o k a t u r n on the dance f loor .

Mus ic was p rov ided by the T a n d e m t r i o (an I r i sh j o k e ! ) , and ex-Mitcheldeaners G o r d o n H a y w a r d and Jeff M c C o y enjoyed a chat w i t h former colleagues in the in te rva l .

B i l l Cinderey ran the d r a w and £ 1 0 0 w o r t h o f prizes were handed ou t , i nc lud ing a mystery prize f r o m Sadie Pr i t chard .

One snippet o f news we p icked up f r o m D o r i s Barker was that the R E X C l u b o f Ross-o n - W y e are busy sampl ing the a lcohol ic beverages for w h i c h this par t o f the w o r l d is noted w i t h visits to Harvey 's at B r i s t o l , Symonds Cyder and W i n e at Stoke Lacey and , before l o n g , Bulmers at He re fo rd !

Lost your tie-pin's A service award tie-pin was found after the recent social. I f you think it may be the one you've mislaid, please contact Alan Cryer.

Golden Oldies to go on show -T H E R E ' S U S U A L L Y a gap in the L S A calendar between the social and the annual d inner in M a y , bu t 1987 w i l l be different .

A n Open Evening is p lanned to take place in the c lub house on Tuesday, 10 M a r c h — open, that is, to al l Rank X e r o x personnel, no t jus t L S A members. A n d the focus w i l l be on o l d photos , f i lms a n d memorab i l i a .

The f i lms are ' G o l d e n Oldies ' o f the sports days w h i c h used to be such a h igh l igh t in the o l d B A E days.

They cover the pe r iod f r o m 1949 to 1955 and i t should be fun t r y i n g to ident i fy some o f the par t ic ipants .

As for the photos , i t rather depends on y o u readers. C h a i r m a n A l a n Phelps tells us that whi le the commit tee have qui te a number , they w o u l d welcome more .

They can be o f any funct ions held in the past at Mi tche ldean , perhaps visits o f celebrities, or groups o f employees taken years ago — it 's the people i n the pic ture w h o matter .

I f y o u do have any items you w o u l d be w i l l i n g to lend for the occasion, rest assured they w i l l be taken great care o f u n t i l re turned to y o u .

I f , on the other hand , you

w o u l d be w i l l i n g to donate them to the L S A archives for others to enjoy l o o k i n g at not on ly o n 10 M a r c h bu t also in years to come, the commit tee w o u l d be del ighted to add them to thei r co l lec t ion .

Please get in touch w i t h A l a n Phelps or T o n y A l l e n no later than mid-February i f y o u can help. A n d remember, when pos t ing pr in ts , to protect them w i t h a card st iffening.

By the way, f o o d , as well as d r i n k s , w i l l be available on the night for those who wish to purchase i t . The fun comes free!

New members W E L C O M E T O the f o l l o w i n g nine members who jo ined the L S A at the beginning o f the N e w Year: Ken Dobbs (p roduc t engineering), G r a h a m H o o k (refurbishing) , G r a h a m M e r r y (harness section, parts manufac tur ing) ; Bernard M o r r i s (d iv is ional personnel); J i m Pearce ( Q A ) ; John Spratley (site personnel) ; Des Symonds and Ter ry Wear ( b o t h o f small copier assembly); Ne i l W i l l i a m s (site logistics, materials management) .

Old Timers entertain AS L O N G as there's a piano, the show can go on.

The only writ ten programme consists of cards wi th a list o f song titles and the key they are to be played in .

Nothing is rehearsed beforehand; it's spontaneous — and the audiences love i t .

The performers — all retired Rank Xerox employees — call themselves The O ld Timers. Their audiences are ' o ld timers' too, and their material dates from yesteryear.

Says long-server Bob Gladwin: " I t all started around 1980, when Jack Benbow and I offered to entertain the o ld people at Townscnd House in Mitcheldcan.

"Later we asked A r t h u r (better known as A n d y ) Hardy to j o i n us and it snowballed f rom there."

Now they go anywhere they are asked, weather permit t ing, just as long as it's in daylight.

Dur ing the recent festive season they were much in demand, wi th shows for the housebound, o ld people's homes and Darby & Joan Clubs at places ranging from Ruardcan Woodsidc to Tuffley.

As we went to press they were due at the Miners H a l l , Cindcrford, to entertain the bl ind and partially b l ind .

They have also performed at the Dilke and Lydbrook hospitals, and at Over hospital where the Gladwins' daughter Janet is a sister.

"We usually start by asking for a jug o f water and three glasses.

That keeps us going all the way th rough ," they to ld us.

Yorkshireman Andy is an experienced entertainer who has won many awards for his singing, yodelling and comedy act; he also plays the mouth organ.

Compere of the former Rank Xerox Variety Club shows, Andy learned his entertaining skills from his father, a professional who did variety club work for 25 years.

Also an cx-RX Variety Club performer. Jack Benbow comes from a musical family and does invaluable work at the piano, playing just about anything on demand, in any key required.

Jack trained at the mil i tary music school Kneller Hal l and could play a number o f instruments, on horseback and off! But the piano is his forte, so to speak.

Bob is yet another chip of f the old block. " M y father used to tread the boards professionally — unti l he fell out wi th one of the impresarios!"

He specialises in the Stanley Holloway type of monologue and sings "between the notes" as he puts it.

Altogether he has about 40 choruses of old musichall favourites in his repertoire, plus some numbers we'd never heard before, such as 'The Song of the Thrush".

Often he takes people on a musical tour, starting wi th 'Whi le London Sleeps' and travelling in song throughout the British Isles

Bob and l-ilccn Ohidwin and (riglit) Andy Hardy gather round Jack Benbow at the piano.

unt i l he gets back to 'Home , Sweet Home' .

He and Andy sing together too, and they usually end the show wi th the promise 'We ' l l Meet Aga in . '

Oddly enough, their jobs when work ing at Mitcheldean were all connected wi th stores in what is now bui lding I .

After 19 years in the machine shop. Bob spent six years in product ion stores; Andy was in stores maintenance, while Jack was involved wi th ISC internal audit .

Bob's wife Eileen, who used to work in electrical sub-assembly, plays an important part too by dr iv ing the t r io to and from their engagements. "She's our get-away man!" they to ld us.

She also gives them useful feedback on audience reaction. (Eileen was very amused when, on one occasion, some visitors came up and asked her i f she had enjoyed the show!)

There are inevitably interruptions when individuals are wheeled in or out, for example;

and i f anyone drops of f to sleep, the O ld Timers don' t take it personally.

The old folk love to hear again the songs that remind them of their younger days and they're encouraged to j o i n in . Bob and Andy wander about as they entertain and get close to their audience, some o f whom are hard o f hearing.

A t the end of the performance there's usually a welcome cup of tea and biscuits for the group.

But their real reward is in knowing that "we have brought a bit o f happiness to the o ld folk , and helped to keep alive some o f the o ld songs."

Finger exercise Jack Benbow lends a hand, or rather two, to helping people in another practical way.

Every Tuesday afternoon he goes to Foxes Bridge Day Centre where, using his expertise on the piano, he helps restore flexibility to people's fingers by giving them keyboard exercises.

BEM for the sergeant major T H I S Y E A R started in memorable fashion for Fred Niblett , tool inspector in bid.4, with the announcement o f his award of the Bri t ish Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List.

It came in recognition o f a long record o f voluntary service to the A r m y Cadet Force, in which he holds the rank o f sergeant major instructor.

Fred jo ined the 1st Cadet Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment ( A C E ) , 28 years ago.

For the last 22 years he has been an instructor, dur ing which time he has helped in the character development o f many local boys, some o f whom have gone on to j o i n the regular army.

In 1970 he received the L o r d Lieutenant's certificate o f

commendation; he also holds the Cadet Force medal and bar.

The Nibletts are very much an A C F family. Fred's brother Roger (who works in small batch) joined the same time as Fred and he too is a sergeant major instructor at Cinderford training centre, where Fred has been p la toon commander for the past seven years.

His son Andrew is a cadet sergeant there, and recently his wife Pat and sister-in-law Jenny (Roger's wife) also received the certificate o f commendation for services to the A C F .

Each year Fred organises a very successful one-day march (or walk, i f you prefer!) which attracts participants to the Forest from all over the country.

Last year's was in aid o f the

Glos. Regimental Museum appeal. R X M P made a donat ion to help wi th the cost o f certificates and medals for those who completed the course and to the museum i tself

Fred, who jo ined us in 1973, jumps to it when charity is involved; he was one o f the sponsored Mitcheldean parachutists in 'leap year' 1980 and, a few years later, he jumped wi th the A C F .

He was featured again in , 'V i s ion ' when he helped train some Mitcheldean apprentices in .22 rifle shooting which led to their coming first in the annual Glos. Association o f Boys' Clubs competi t ion.

That 's not the sum total o f Fred's involvement w i th the communi ty ; he acts as treasurer o f

Fred Mblett. BEM.

Ruspidge Memor ia l H a l l , is a trustee o f the local Welfare Committee and an observer for the Institute o f Advanced Motorists .

£Sm. business deal with Bulgaria U N D E R A £5 m i l l i o n contract signed last A p r i l , Xerox 1025 copiers (bo th 1:1 and R E models) arc being assembled in Bulgar ia , and order books are bulg ing .

Rank Xe rox has organised the assembly o f copiers i n Yugoslavia over a number o f years and , more recently on a small scale in H u n g a r y . But the Bulgarian project is outs tanding, for several reasons.

This is the first major co­opera t ion project in the C O M E C O N group — Bulgar ia being one o f the p r inc ipa l manufacturers o f office au toma t ion equipment w i t h i n that g roup .

The copiers are being bu i l t f rom sub-assemblies (semi-k n o c k d o w n — S K D ) m o v i n g up to complete k n o c k d o w n ( C K D ) this spr ing, when parts w i l l be ordered to the no rma l Rank Xerox buy level; and the assembly fac i l i ty is one commissioned f r o m Rank Xerox — the first t ime this has ever happened in Eastern Europe.

A par t icular feature o f the project has been the speed w i t h which it has been accomplished.

Says Richard Wheat ley, co­opera t ion projects manager o f Rank Xerox Eastern Expor t

Opera t ions ; " W h i l e we have been sel l ing ou r range o f copiers, works ta t ions , pr inters , telecopiers and other products there for many years, dialogue w i t h Bulgar ia regarding local p r o d u c t i o n facilities has been go ing on since 1983.

" H o w e v e r , last spr ing, f o l l o w i n g a r o u n d o f economic reforms and the f o r m a t i o n o f a number o f indus t r ia l co rpora t ions , E E O began discussions w i t h an organisat ion now k n o w n as C P D (Combine for Peripheral Devices) and w i t h i n a m o n t h a contract was signed for three years in i t i a l l y at a value o f £5 m i l l i o n . "

Five-month programme

T h r o u g h co-opera t ion between E E O staff in L o n d o n and Sofia, C P D staff i n Bulgar ia and E M S D manufac tu r ing projects g r o u p ( led by A n d r e w S m i t h w i t h G e o f f H o w e l l , D o n Presdee and J o h n W o o d ) , a p rog ramme was moun ted to b u i l d an assembly l ine in a brand-new fac tory , t r a in Bulgar ian specialists in Mi tche ldean and P lovd iv , Bulgar ia , and ship equipment and goods f r o m one end o f Europe t o the o ther — al l in about five mon ths .

In spares packing, .lolui .Sluman and Ruth Nash pack crates ol'components lor shipment to Plovdiv.

The fac i l i ty , o f f ic ia l ly opened by E M S D di rec tor D i c k Ho lmes on 6 October , was the first p r o d u c t i o n un i t to be instal led inside the 12,000 square metre, single-storey p lant b u i l t by C P D specifically for the manufacture not o n l y o f copiers bu t also typewri ters , pr in ters , f loppy disk drives and other office equipment .

The p lant is located in a b ig indus t r i a l zone in P lovd iv , Bulgar ia 's second largest c i ty .

The opening o f the p lan t was t imed to coincide w i t h an in te rna t iona l technica l / t rade fair in P lovd iv in the a u t u m n , an event comparable to the Le ipz ig Fa i r in the spr ing , and the Bulgar ians were keen to show their East European neighbours this new development .

T h a t meant that th ings had to move fast. T o o l i n g had to be specified, ordered , packed and sent ou t ; the Mi tche ldean b u i l d process had to be adapted and sent to P lovd iv for t rans la t ion ; sets o f S K D ki ts had to be shipped ou t and o u r ISC expor t people were faced w i t h another challenge as regards documen ta t ion and i n v o i c i n g rules and regulat ions.

M a r t i n Exel l o f facili t ies

Above: Malcolm Hood and Roger Trigg and right Alec Davis (seen with translator) did a pre-tool tryout and proce.ts validation to check all was in order before , production commenced. i

engineering designed a rol ler t rack conveyor system complete w i t h bal l tables, plus all the electrics, the whole layout cover ing an area 28 metres x 16 metres. The bu i ld ing o f the system was sub-contracted to E M P (located in the M E W S ) who sent four o f their people out to P lovdiv in August for three weeks to set it up.

Things were ho t t ing up in Bulgar ia — in more ways t h a n one. I t was the country 's hottest summer for 100 years w i t h temperatures soaring in to the nineties.

Meanwhi le , a g roup o f technical and qua l i ty personnel f r o m C P D came over here for

Only 11 couple of weeks to go before the launch and. while building work continues inside and out. the team work fast to get the facihty operational.

t r a in ing , in somewhat cooler condi t ions .

F r o m mid-September to m i d -October, p roduc t engineers Alec Davis and Roger T r i g g , Roger D u t t o n ( Q C ) and M a l c o l m H o o d (aud i t ) went ou t to support the s tar t -up.

A w a i t i n g them i n the vast empty complex were the workforce o f about 20, the newly instal led conveyor system and 86 crates o f components and tools that had to be shifted.

They had to k i t the p roduc t ion l ine stores, fine-tune the line, and t r a i n and help the operators to get ten machines bu i l t by the end o f the second week in t ime for the p roduc t

launch. Say the team members: " W e

had splendid co-operat ion f r o m the C P D staff. There were male technicians bu t the assembly operators were a l l young women .

" T h e y were unfami l i a r w i t h the tools we had sent out bu t w i t h the a id o f interpreters and sign language we a l l managed to communica te pre t ty we l l .

" Q u a l i t y was very str ict , and the first machine they bu i l t had on ly t w o defects."

The general feeling was that the mission succeeded because they al l w o r k e d as a team. " I f something needed do ing , one o f us got on w i t h the j o b , no matter what i t was ."

The launch

The produc t launch took place du r ing the trade fair , at which the Br i t i sh Gove rnmen t was represented by L o r d Lucas o f the Depar tment o f Trade & Indust ry .

The newly bu i l t 1025s (they are marketed under the name Bultex, not X e r o x ) aroused great interest and there was l i t t le sign o f the compe t i t ion .

The event ran f r o m 29 September un t i l 6 October; on the 7th came the off ic ia l opening o f the C P D factory. I t was attended by a number o f Bulgar ian dignatories and the Bri t i sh Ambassador was present.

E M S D director D i c k Holmes, on behalf o f Rank Xerox , unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening o f the first p roduc t ion uni t w i t h i n the plant and paid t r ibu te to the Mitcheldean specialists on a very commendable achievement.

He also wished success to al l the other projects and products to be accommodated there in the future.

A l l this attracted valuable T V and press coverage. The 1025 was pic tured on the f ront page o f a nat ional newspaper and Mitcheldean staff featured in T V newscasts.

The results were g ra t i fy ing , i f not embarrassing — orders already exceed the in i t i a l p roduc t i on p lan!

Innovative trading

Deal ing w i t h countries that have non-convert ible currency calls for commercia l i nnova t i on and f l ex ib i l i t y , says Richard Wheat ley, and Rank Xerox has resorted to measures that include counter - t rad ing (the exchange o f machines for goods and services).

" I n the case o f the Bu lga r i an project , we found a West G e r m a n company whose supply o f mechanical typewri ters f r o m

We even took the paint

SOFIA ' f e , 7 X \W32

"We're international engineers at last!" was the first reaction Tony Rawlings, one o f EMP's directors, when we asked h im about their visit to Bulgaria to install the assembly line.

The installation components were f lown out separately, but Tony , fellow director Malco lm Burson and their two assistants did not travel l ight.

" W e took two big tool chests, weighing about 4001b, wi th us; they contained every bit o f ki t we needed for our work — we even took the paint.

" I t was so hot there we just wore trainers, shorts and a shirt which came in useful for wiping the face, and we were topped up wi th crates o f soft drinks and mineral water.

" F o r the first week we stayed at a place called Eagle's Nest — way up a mountain . We were given English breakfasts o f egg and bacon, but they came steeped in goat's mi lk .

" I t was something o f a shock, too, to see three huge b rown bears as we drove home f rom work one evening, one on a donkey cart and two walking behind on their hind legs.

"Later we moved to the big, international Novotel in Plovdiv. Wc were right at the top and one night I felt a bit unsteady; I decided I had either underestimated the Bulgarian wine, or the wind was rocking the bui lding.

Plovdiv, viewed across the river from the Novotel. The pedestrian bridge was erected specially for the trade fair.

Ton) Rawlings found this poster e\pressing the Bulgarian capital's hopes for the future.

Melons a-plenty in the market.

" I t wasn't unt i l I rang my wife several days later that I learned we had had an earthquake. That shook me again!"

a Far Eastern company had been frustrated. We proposed a Bu lga r i an version w h i c h , after some m o d i f i c a t i o n , was accepted. The project was thus funded by this t r i angu la r mechan i sm."

The fac i l i ty bu i l t a l lows plenty o f capacity for expansion in vo lume and variety o f products . Rank X e r o x is already in discussion w i t h C P D concerning d ivers i f ica t ion i n to other products such as telecopiers and compute r pr inters .

Th is w i l l call for add i t iona l counter- t rade activit ies and the mechanical typewri ters cou ld wel l be succeeded by Bulgar ian wine w h i c h , ou r Mi tche ldean cont ingent assure us, is very good indeed!

New model adds more mileage

Mike sets up a broad band bi-coneial aerial the necessary 10 metres from the 9600 to receive sound emissions of 30 to 300 MHz.

D U R I N G A spell o f w a r m weather last a u t u m n , an unusual vehicle cou ld be seen pa rked in ' A ' car park a long w i t h the Fords , BLs and Vauxhal l s .

I t was b rand new, capable o f p e r f o r m i n g at considerable speed, and powered by electr ici ty.

But a l though it was moun ted on four smal l wheels, si tuated one at each corner , these were in a f ixed pos i t i on , so the manoeuvrab i l i t y o f the vehicle was l i m i t e d to go ing r o u n d gradual ly in circles — and that on ly when being pushed /pu l l ed by four men.

This new machine was, as y o u ' l l have guessed, the Xerox 9600. But wha t was it d o i n g in the car park?

The pic ture showing M i k e Selwyn f i x ing up an aerial gives a clue.

A l t h o u g h upgraded f r o m a 9500 machine — a project w h i c h earned those invo lved a T o p Team award in 1986 — the 9600 was enhanced to such an extent it qua l i f ied as a new p roduc t w i t h a new serial number . I t was therefore necessary to re-apply for clearance before i t c o u l d be marke ted .

The machine was tested for rad io frequency interference in the n o r m a l way in ou r R F I faci l i ty in bid.3 w i t h satisfactory results.

But in order to gain V D E approva l for Germany , where launch was planned to take place early in 1987, a 'free field test' had to be carr ied ou t .

This test invo lved a con t inuous scan over a frequency range o f 10 K H z to 1,000 M H z .

Special test gear had to be

hi red to supplement our o w n measuring equipment , and the 9600 had to be pushed and pul led by the four men in ou r pic ture t h rough 360° , w i t h stops at intervals to take readings so that the m a x i m u m levels o f signals cou ld be established.

" W c had to remove the guard rails a r o u n d that par t o f the car park as these affected the results ," said J o h n Dennis , manager, C B A produc ts refurbishing.

" T h e test t o o k a week to complete so we jus t had to pray it w o u l d stay f i n e . " A n d i t d i d .

We ' re happy to repor t that

the necessary approval was ob ta ined in t ime and the launch in G e r m a n y got the go-ahead.

As those w h o visited the 9500 upgrade T o p Team stand at the recent Q u a l i t y C o n v e n t i o n w i l l have learned, sales have been g o i n g very wel l , not on ly in the U K but also in other European countr ies . (We hear F in l and has acqu i red a 9600 too!)

I n fact, sales expectat ions have been exceeded five t imes over, team leader Steve Watk inson (ROS) was happy to report .

The model provides a very useful replacement for the 9500; customers can see sufficient improvement in the upgraded machine to war ran t m o v i n g up to the 9600.

The enhancements which b r ing about the t r ans fo rmat ion include, in a d d i t i o n to an up- to-date co lour scheme, various modif ica t ions which make it quieter in opera t ion and more user fr iendly.

Big impact

" T h e one enhancement that has made most impact is the 60 per cent, reduct ion in j a m clearance t ime , plus the fact that in c lear ing the j a m the opera to r on ly has to handle clean paper f r o m one po in t , so there's no b l ack ing o f fingers f rom unfused toner , " Steve to ld us.

A n o t h e r enhancement, when the opera tor is do ing single-sided copy ing , allows the au tomat ic insert ion o f covers (perhaps in another co lour ) at set intervals; it also al lows for p r i n t i n g on cither side o f the back or front cover.

A t loa t ing baffle permits the feeding o f slightly heavier weight papers, and there's a self-m o n i t o r i n g device, t oo , to ensure consistent copy qua l i t y , no matter how the backg round o f the or ig ina l may vary.

A l l this has generated add i t iona l work for Mi tche ldean refurbishing operat ions, and a number o f 9400s as well as 95()0s are now being upgraded to 9600 status.

I. V ,

Far left: Manager Brian Buckland presents John Haggar with his 30-year award. Pictured centre and far right arc Bob Davies and Danny Haines, both 25-year award men.

Below: It was a case of "Congratulations, brother!" when Kevin Horrobin, manager, assembly operations, presented a 25-year award to Keith Horrobin recently. Also recipients of quarter-century awards on this occasion were (from left) Dave Acton and Adrian Eddv.

Service awards ^ f:^ 30 years

"Industr ial engineering gave me a good insight into all aspects of our operations" says John Haggar, who spent over 20 o f his 30 years wi th us in that discipline.

Five years' t ra in ing under the iearnership' scheme was completed in the work study department where John made a contr ibut ion to the setting up of the 'Xerox Bui ld ing ' (now bid. 12). " I held the end o f the tape for Dave Griff i ths when he was measuring up the site!"

But ' learning' hadn't finished; work study proved to be another, tougher, school. " I t provided excellent t ra in ing in diplomacy and avoiding missiles," John jokes (we th ink) . "We work study engineers used to stand wi th stop­watch and board watching operators at their tasks — an activity which d id litt le for our populari ty, since everything then was bonus-orientated."

John progressed to section leader, then section manager in resource planning; then came a new challenge.

In October 1982 John was appointed to co-ordmate the transfer o f the 1045 fuser ro l l operation f rom Venray to Mitcheldean, which involved the removal o f some tons o f machinery across the Channel.

" D u r i n g the transfer we had to make an emergency visit to the Dutch customs & excise because one of the items we were shipping across was a laser mike and we had to reassure them that this was a sophisticated measuring device — not a lethal weapon!"

Hot on the heels o f this project came another — the rationalisation o f our electrical vehicle fleet. Then, just two years ago, John moved into the quali ty organisation when he became manager, refurbishing Q A ; he is currently in charge o f dismantle & clean and parts manufacturing QA.

This has proved "another eye-opener" and, says, John, " I appreciate the problems which line managers have to face in achieving both quali ty and output schedules."

Teamwork is something John knows quite a bit about, having

played football unt i l 1972 for Worra l l H i l l ; he has also been the club's treasurer for the past 15 years.

He and his wife Doreen, who used to work in the harness-making section, have three children so there is lit t le time for hobbies; but John docs enjoy occasionally 'thrashing a guitar ' in a tr io which includes his sister and ex-Mitcheldeaner Brian Nelmes.

25 years

Both former pupils at the o ld East Dean Grammar School, Danny Haines and Bob Davies started on the same day in September 1961 as technical apprentices.

" M y earliest memory of that time was the humbling experience o f being given a white 'smock' down to my ankles and being taken to my first department — the tool stores, located in what is now the M E W S , " says Danny.

Dur ing the next few years, while the factory was growing rapidly in size, he and Bob were widening their knowledge of operations at Mitcheldean by spending a few months in most o f the various departments.

Then in 1966 they both jo ined the electronics development lab. as fully fledged engineers to work on the 914/720 and 813/660 models. This was back in the time when Mitcheldean re-designed products for the European market, and it involved much interesting and original design and test work.

Says Danny, "These were the halcyon days for engineers at Mitcheldean, and the beginning of a period of unparalleled expansion on site. It was also the period of unparalleled practical jok ing as well, when it was quite a regular thing to see someone chained to a fence or walking round wi th a ball and chain attached to their ankle — the accepted treatment for bridegrooms-to-be!"

W i t h the arrival of the 'seventies. Bob and Danny began to fol low separate career paths.

In 1972 Danny transferred from engineering to manufacturing to j o i n the electronic tool design department, ini t ia l ly work ing on the end-of-

line tool ing for the 9200 product. Four years later saw h im moving into product ion engineering management, and he was associated wi th the in t roduct ion o f the 7000DF and 5600 products.

He pursued a management career through electronic too l design and business planning departments, being closely involved in projects such as the new digital telephone exchange, on-line telex and the in t roduct ion o f 8010 workstations for 'electronic' processes.

In his current post as manager, low volume product engineering, he has recently been involved in the in t roduct ion o f the 1012 in bld.4.

Danny played skittles and darts for several seasons wi th Dryb rook R F C , but these days he is a confirmed gol f addict, being a member of Ross-on-Wye G o l f Club and a past captain and current secretary o f the Rank Xerox G o l f Society.

Back to Bob, who is the younger son o f Les Davies, our former chief metallurgist — he remained in design engineering, and after work on the 5400, went to the USA in 1976 for two years where he was involved in the development o f the succeeding product, the 5600.

On his return he was engaged on several projects including the design o f the 1075 sorter and the high capacity feeder for the 1045. Later, he transferred to bid.32 (now bld.4) for general electrical work and safety support for the 1025/1038 models.

Shortly before Christmas Bob became a member o f the national integration team work ing on the resourcing o f components for the 1012 programme — a task which wi l l necessitate some travel on the Continent.

Bob has been a singer since the age o f 17 and belongs to a five-piece band called Tanglefoot

whose lead guitarist is fellow engineer Clive Cowmeadow. This country and western group have performed at Mitcheldean on a number o f occasions, and have put out a couple of cassettes.

What wi th bookings for Christmas Eve, Boxing Night and New Year's Eve, the recent holiday was a busy time for them.

"We go all over the place," says Bob, "and we're already fixed up for a two-day country and western festival in Norwich next August . "

Keith Horrobin was among the very first group o f craft apprentices taken on in 1961, and is the only one to have made 25 years' service.

He recalls that "every Friday afternoon we had to mop the floor in the training school, and we had to make the mop — the squeegee type — between us. We got through quite a number as thev soon fell to pieces!"

From 1964 unt i l 1975 Keith worked in the machine shop, eventually becoming a mil l ing setter operator. Then, after some months in small batch, he was invited to do a NEBSS course and, on successfully completing this, he was appointed an assembly chargehand in refurbishing.

Unfortunately he broke an ankle about this time and had to commence his supervisory duties walking round the section on crutches!

1981 saw h im in 4000 assembly where he became an assembly foreman (1), after which he joined C B A assembly on 9400/9500 new bui ld .

Since then he has worked on the majority of small copiers, starting wi th the 2300 at Lydney; in October 1983 he transferred to bld.4 where he is currently a

Continued overleaf

Four 20-\cur nuurd people (from left) Dave Wood. Terry Zimmermann, Sister Collins and Bernie Hanford.

section manager on the 1025/1038 and, on occasion, acts as night shift manager.

His younger brother, Kevin — our manager, assembly operations — joined the company three years after Keith as a technical apprentice and has followed a somewhat different route.

Both share an interest in rugby and, in particular. Berry H i l l RFC where Kevin was chairman for a number of years.

Keith played wi th the club for about 20 years and is currently on the selection committee.

So perhaps it is hardly surprising that his son Julian is showing great promise as a rugger player, having played for the England under-l6s and under-18s in the last two seasons.

Keith has also played cricket for Berry H i l l , and has captained the 2nd team for three seasons.

Nearer home, he was captain of the bld.4 management side ("by courtesy of the other ten," he adds) when they played a series o f matches wi th in small copier assembly. They remained unbeaten.

Keith's wife Diane worked at Mitcheldean at one time. They met when she was secretary to Fred Court in manufacturing Q A , and they also have a daughter, Joanne, attending Laker's school.

Dave Acton came to us straight from school too, and took up his first job as shop boy in small batch. After a year he became an operator in the machining facility then known as 550 department, subsequently moving on to work on capstans and cutter grinding in the main machine shop where he remained for some 20 years (life was more stable then!).

Wi th the scaling down o f parts manufacturing activities, Dave transferred in 1984 to refurbishing for about 18 months; then in October 1985 he switched to small copier assembly in bld.4 where he currently works in the sub­assembly section.

Adrian Eddy joined us about a month later than Dave and he, too, started as shop boy — in the machine shop. He stayed there for more than 20 years, progressing from bar feeder and loader to stand-in setter on autos.

In 1970 he went wi th the section to Cinderford for ten years; then, back in Mitcheldean in the early 'eighties, he moved on

10 to operating a C N C lathe.

As wi th Dave, the restructuring o f operations resulted in his transfer to small copier assembly, and he now works on 1025/1038 frames.

Adr i an has always enjoyed cycling — an activity he shares wi th his wife — and three years ago he started cycling to work "par t ly because it's healthier but principal ly because it's cheaper."

But he admits to being a fair-weather cyclist and when conditions get bad he reverts to motor ing .

For ten years Adr i an was a ' D e m o n ' , playing skittles for the Forge Hammer team o f Cinderford and he has also taken part in our interdepartmental tournaments.

He has a silver tankard to remind h im o f the men's finals in 1975 when, as one o f the Cap Flatteners, he helped to br ing home the top t rophy to R X Cinderford.

20 years

Dave Wood, who is a member o f Danny Haines' staff, jo ined as an apprentice in 1966. Like Bob and Danny, he went into the dev.lab after t raining where he worked on the 4500 and successive products. The lab. was later merged wi th design engineering and from 1977 to 1979 Dave was involved principally wi th logic systems for C B A as well as D B A machines.

In 1979 he switched to ' F products, becoming section leader, electrical design, and he is currently a member o f the national integration team along wi th Bob.

A n oarsman, Dave has for the past 15 years belonged to Ross Rowing Club. " W e go to all the

local regattas and others up and down the country. A t this time of year we are t ra ining for the London 'Head o f the River' event in March .

"This is a t imed race from Mor t lake to Putney (it runs in the opposite direction to the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race)."

This stretch o f the river w i l l be pretty crowded then, for the international event attracts over 400 'eights', all eager to improve on their previous year's performance.

Dave firmly believes in rowing as a means o f restoring physical fitness. After undergoing a series o f operations in the past year he got himself back into condi t ion — a determined effort for which he was voted Ross Clubman o f the Year.

Terry Zimmermann began his apprenticeship at the same time as Dave but after his four years' t ra ining he joined the 3600 recondit ioning section as an electrical adjuster.

He subsequently worked on 914, 3600 and 4000 new bui ld as well as on the 3600 sorter and A D F . Some five years, ago he returned to refurbishing operations to to work first on D B A products, then more recently the 2080, 7080 and 980 engineering products.

Terry was a member o f the 1986 award-winning T o p Team whose project was the improvement o f D B A local communications. " W e are sti l l work ing on it w i th meetings once a for tn ight . "

His father, Ralph, was refurbishing operations manager before he retired in 1983, so "he was my boss for a year or so," said Terry. His brother Stephen

also works at Mitcheldean in small copier assembly.

For relaxation, Terry plays skittles w i th Tudor United; in the summer they play in the F O D league and in the winter the Ross League.

He also plays football for Howie H i l l . "Our ground is right at the very top, which is more than you can say for our posit ion in the Nor th Glos. league!"

Sister Collins was fol lowing in the family footsteps when she chose to enter the medical profession.

She was born in India, came to this country in her late 'teens, and trained at Gloucester Royal Hospi tal .

Fol lowing experience in industrial nursing at Pine End Works , Lydney, she held the posts o f staff nurse and night sister at Lydbrook and Gloucester Royal Hospitals.

So what made her revert to industrial nursing? we asked her. " I t was chiefly because I hadn't had a Christmas off for ten years," she said.

But when it came to taking over from Sister Townroe, who was retir ing, she was scared — not o f the nursing responsibilities but o f the documentation!

"Today we arc geared up for anything from a stomach upset to the surgical removal of toenails ( D r M a r t i n does the op. and we administer the anaesthetic — and it's not l iquid!) . We can offer more preventive medicine too, such as heart, sight and hearing checks."

Over the years our medical centre have raised some £8,000 for good causes.

" N o w we arc planning a fund-raising project in support of the Frenchay Hospital scanner appeal and we hope everyone wi l l be very generous," says Sister.

While information about patients is, o f course, confidential, she has a fund o f amusing anecdotes. Her favourite is of the time when Mike Bullock asked Nurse Barbara Meek (now retired) to make an appointment for him wi th the doctor. By mistake, she rang the vet's number and for some minutes he was under the impression she had a bullock in the surgery!

Look ing back over her 20 years at Mitcheldean, she says: " I ' ve enjoyed every minute looking after Rank Xerox

Joe checks out By mid-l9S7 Joe Watkms would have reached his 25-year service milestone and been featured in these pages.

Instead, we show him receiving a farewell gift from his colleagues which was presented by manager John Haggar and came with their best wishes for a happy retirement.

Joe joined QCas an inspector in 1967: two years later he became a jig and tool inspector and he continued working in that sphere for the rest of his time with us.

He played with Drybrook Band for many years and today is their treasurer.

A season up to par

The beginning o f November saw the 83,750th, and last, 1020 machine come of f the line in bid.3, having bui l t itself a great reputation.

Setting a new benchmark m quality (out o f 125 production weeks there were 73 in which no

audit defects were recorded), it continued that trend right up to the end, encouraging others to strive for the same standard.

Site director David Stokes to ld the assembled team: " I t has been an enormously successful product for Mitcheldean and we believe its

successor is going to be even more successful. Congratulations on finishing it off so w e l l ! "

Tak ing her leave at the same time was Norma Brown (seen centre behind the 1020) who had worked on the product since its in t roduct ion 3'/2 years ago.

Trophy time lor the goiters.

Y'Ciders lead again

employees and I 've had wonderful support f rom the staff and first-aiders."

When not busy caring for others, she paints in oils (mostly landscapes), attends pottery classes, plays tennis and badminton. Cruis ing is her favourite f o r m o f holiday and her current ambi t ion is to go to the Far East — again.

I t was just before Christmas that Bernie Hanford reached his 20-year milestone. He spent his first 18 months in the machine shop dr i l l ing section; then, about the time that his brother Dennis (ISC warehouse) jo ined us, he moved into assembly operations.

He has worked on refurbishing and new bu i ld o f models ranging from the 660 to D B A machines, including the conversion o f the 3400/3450 in to the 930.

Such work has on two occasions involved h im in trips across the Channel. There was a visit to Venray in the '70s in connection wi th the CEP (computer forms printer) ; then three years ago he went wi th a group to Lil le site to br ing the 1048 refurbishing programme to Mitcheldean.

"One day when the Erench were having a national holiday we made a t r ip to Paris to see the usual tourist attractions like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, and it was while underneath the Tower that we witnessed an unexpected drama," Bernie to ld us.

"We saw a man, dressed only in his under-pants, leaning out about half-way up and threatening to j u m p . Fortunately he d idn ' t ! "

Work ing in wood is Bernie's hobby, and his enthusiasm for D I Y tasks extends to bui ld ing houses — everything except the plastering and electrics.

He buil t a three-bedroom house with shop and f i l l ing station at Kempley, near Dymock . Then he sold i t , bought another house near Newent and while l iv ing in that, set about bui lding the home he lives in now!

Summer season 1986— Afte r two or three d i sappoin t ing seasons, by Y-Ciders standards, they at last came good , w i n n i n g 20 o f their 26 matches to come top o f the Forest o f Dean men's skittles league, d iv i s ion 1.

T o p averages were: 1st Chr is Warren 35.25; 2nd Richard Mat thews 34.52; 3rd John George 34.41.

The Rank Xerox ' B ' team finished four th in d iv i s ion 2, their top averages being: 1st B i l l Jones 34.61; 2nd Paul Sologub 33.91; 3rd Ralph Smi th 33.42.

Winter Season'S6/S7 — A t the t ime o f w r i t i n g the Y-Ciders had reached the halfway stage o f the season and had w o n 8 o f their 11 matches in d iv i s ion A , l y i n g in t h i r d pos i t ion in the league table, whi le the ' B ' team were occupying f i f th pos i t ion in d iv i s ion D .

Special ment ion must be made o f t w o long-serving Y -Ciders players.

F i r s t ly , p roduc t engineer

J o h n George has jus t comple ted 25 years w i t h the R X Skit t les team. He first p layed on 8 December, 1961 ( h o w o l d d i d he say he was?).

He is cur ren t ly team captain and he has led the team t h r o u g h many v ic to r ious campaigns d u r i n g his t w o spells as capta in . I n d i v i d u a l l y , J o h n has always been one o f the better players o f the team, w i n n i n g the league away averages at least twice and w i n n i n g the Y-Ciders averages on numerous occasions.

Secondly, Roy T a y l o r ( fo rmer ly a manager w i t h i n P E D ) recently comple ted 20 years w i t h the Y-Ciders . He made his debut on 30 September, 1966. Roy is one o f the side's most under-rated bowlers bu t can always be relied u p o n to rise to the occasion when requi red .

He has w o n the average on jus t one occasion — the 1967/68 season.

Congra tu la t ions to b o t h players!

T H E R E W A S a good t u r n o u t for the G o l f Society A G M and pr ize-giving held on Tuesday, 11 November , the venue as usual being the c lub house.

The cha i rman , D o n Meek , called order , and w i t h m i l i t a r y precision soon converted a pack o f beer-swillers in to an order ly meeting.

Reports by the treasurer, T o n y M u r r e l l , and the secretary, D a n n y Haines, indicated that 1986 had been a very successful year for the society.

Out ings had been very well at tended, i nc lud ing a visit to the Belfry — the scene o f earlier Ryder C u p t r i u m p h s , and finances were sound, w i t h a small credit carr ied f o r w a r d in to 1987.

Venues selected for the f o r t h c o m i n g season were: Rolls o f M o n m o u t h , Cirencester, C l c v c d o n , St inchcombe, and B u r n h a m and Ber row.

Officers were elected as fo l lows: chairman — D o n Meek; .secretary— D a n n y Haines: treasurer—Tony M u r r e l l ; other committee members: Dave Robinson , T r e v o r Jones, Dave James, B i l l Meek, Ron Ca ld icu t t , M a r k Ba rna rd .

A f t e r glasses had been replenished, there fo l lowed the second and more reward ing par t o f the evening — the prize-g iv ing , when the capta in , Dave Rob inson , presented cups and crystal tankards to the f o l l o w i n g winners :

Spring Bowl— Dave Robinson and Nigel Bayliss; Powell Cup — M i k e Bra in ; Summer Cup — Richard Mat thews ; Scratch Cup — M a r k Barna rd ; America Cup — Dave James; Interdepartmental Cup — Dave T y l e r and Dave James; Rabbits Cup — J o h n H o w l s ; Round Robin — D o n Meek; Order of Merit — M a r k Barnard .

Dave went on to thank a l l the society members for their past suppor t , and he b rought the f o r m a l par t o f the evening to a close by wish ing M a r k Ba rna rd a successful year as the 1987 capta in , u rg ing a l l members to cont inue to suppor t the society in the f o r t h c o m i n g year.

W i t h neither the past captain nor the new captain w i l l i n g to offer a r o u n d o f d r inks , everyone ret i red mu t t e r ing to the bar!

D . H . H .

RANK XEROX

Derek Cornock receives his Trivia Trail prize from catering manager Bill Broome.

He followed the trail D O Y O U k n o w how many hearts an octopus has? Or w h o invented the flush toilet?

It was p roduc ing the correct answers to these and other t r i c k y questions in ' T r i v i a T r a i l ' that w o n Derek Cornock o f goods inwards a handsome road atlas set w i th road maps for Great Br i t a in and Cont inen ta l Europe.

Jo in t ly sponsored by Sutcliffe and Henry Telfer, the quiz offered a consolat ion prize o f an atlas for the first

correct entry selected f r o m each restaurant (a star prize o f a E o r d Eiesta went to the first correct ent ry d r a w n f r o m all the consola t ion prize-winners) .

Derek had submi t ted his entry months ago so i t came as quite a surprise when catering manager Bi l l B roome gave h i m the good news — and invi ted h i m to a free Chr is tmas d inner in the C o u r t Restaurant on Thursday , 18 December, when he was presented w i t h the prize.

Skittles tryout T H E A M - 8 1 au tomat ic harness-m a k i n g machine installed in the w i r i n g section in b id .6 was recently handed over, and to mark the occasion and show their apprec ia t ion o f the assistance o f Rank Xe rox personnel in the ca r ry ing out o f t o o l t r ia ls , the suppliers — M o l e x Electronics — put up a t r o p h y to be played for in a Rank X e r o x / M o l e x match .

The contest t ook place in the c lub ski t t le alley on 4 November . W h i l e i t was a very fr iendly occasion, R X staff were

The RX s/de pose with their newly w specialist Tom Collett.

not disposed on this occasion to assist the M o l e x team, even though they had come all the way f r o m B o r d o n in Hampshi re!

The i r o w n managing d i rec tor was there to cheer them on while parts manufac tur ing manager L a r r y Sterrett tu rned up to support the R X side — which w o n by three pins.

Molex generously pa id for the dr inks and bar snacks, and arc now l o o k i n g f o r w a r d to a re turn match.

on shield, presented by Molex industry

Any news for Vision?

If you have, then please —

mail it to me in bid. 7/4,

or leave it at any gatehouse for collection by me,

or post it to me at Tree Tops, Plump Hill, Mitcheldean Gil7 OEV.

or ring me — ext.566 or Dean 542415

Myrtle Fowler, editor

Goodbye, brothers! JUST B E F O R E Christmas we wished a long and happy retirement to two brothers who, although they have worked at Mitchcldean for 13—14 years, have never seen the site.

For Ray and Lionel Jones are bl ind — Ray since he was 38 and Lionel since he was 11, due to an inherited weakness known as detached retina.

They worked on drills and capstans for some years after jo in ing us, then moved into spares

packing where Lionel has been employed for the past two years.

Ray transferred to bld.4 last A p r i l where, using a special too l , he has built 1025/1038 ducting assemblies, a j ob which even sighted people f ind none too easy.

Both are married and live in M o n m o u t h .

Lionel learned to read in Braille when he attended the School for the Bl ind at Bridgend, and he loves listening to music — Dixieland jazz is his favourite. He

is also an active member (top grade) o f the R A O B .

Ray likes to "mess about wi th carpentry; I have special tools and a system o f measuring," he to ld us. He too gets pleasure out o f music but his preference is for singers like Frank Sinatra; he also enjoys T V documentaries.

Before leaving, Lionel and Ray expressed their gratitude to the various people who over the years have kindly helped them get to and from work and guided them about the site during breaks.

Obituary

We are sorry to report the deaths of the following pensioners: Leonard Lewis, aged 67, on 25 November; Ken Fox, aged 64, on 16 December.

Our sympathy goes to their families.

Left: A parting present from 1025/1038 staff of a stereo radio/ctissette player and cassettes was presented to Ray by section manager Neil Bates. Right: Lionel enjoys a final pint with his 'guide dog' Bruce Nash (far left) and colleagues. Seen sharing the farewell 'do' is Mike Hope, and both he and Lionel received bottles of good cheer on leaving.