Memories of Stoke-on-Trent people - Ken Green

Ken Green

A Life in the Ceramic Tile Industry 
section 11

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1959

The year 1959 was one during which a lot happened within Richards Tiles and by the end of which my perception of the “tile world” and our place in it had radically changed.  

A lot of planning had taken place during 1957/58 and the implementation of those plans took place during 1959.  I’ll relate events in chronological order.

Just the slightest sense of unease had come about because of foreign competitors’ new tile designs.  Furthermore, advanced tile making equipments of Italian origin were becoming available.  No UK supplier had anything to compete.  In 1958 we bought an electronically controlled press from SACMI – WELKO.  Sacmi built the press and Welko provided the electronics.  The two companies later parted and there were initial service problems causing the press to be dubbed “Green’s Folly”.

Both companies went on to each provide a comprehensive range of equipments and project engineering services to the ceramic industry worldwide.  I was, many years later, to have much to do with Welko Industrale Spa.

We decided that we should have a closer look at more foreign factories.  There was not much difficulty in arranging this, our standing was good and many foreign tile manufacturers had visited us.  

In February 1959, Brabazon Ellis, Harold Warrilow and I flew to Denmark and then on to Bromolla and Upsala in Sweden to visit factories.  We went on to visit further factories at Turku and Helsinki in Finland.  One usually learns something from visits and this was no exception.  I was still writing the report on this visit when Lawrence Bullin was seriously injured in a car accident at the Arclid crossroads, near to Sandbach.  He eventually made a good recovery but his absence coincided with an extremely busy time and he was much missed.  We had just started to commission AG2, the new floor tile plant at Adderley Green.  We had some problems, but AG2 was soon in a satisfactory state.

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