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Industrial

Over 30 years experience in the fibre cement industry
Conversion from asbestos cement to new technology

Eternit AG, 8867 Niederurnen, Switzerland (1980 - 1988)
(A major fibre cement manufacturer in Europe)

  • Established a complete testing laboratory for the assessment of the performance of the product in service and test its material properties
  • Designed mix formulations and make products on a Hatschek pilot machine for asbestos replacement programmes
  • Project management and sponsoring varied durability studies in collaboration with Universities and Technical Institutions. These included:
    • Ageing of cellulose fibres in cement based products
      Prof. Bentur, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel
    • Ageing of PVA and PAN fibres in cement based products
      Dr. D. Johnson, University of Leeds, England (collaboration with Kuraray, Japan)
    • Interfacial studies of PVA fibres and cement
      Dr. Rebenfeld, Textile Research Institute, Princeton, USA
    • Measurement of the degree of polymerisation of aged cellulose fibres
      Dr. U. Meyer, University of Zurich, Switzerland
    • Durability of the cement matrix
      Prof. F. Glasser, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
    • Micro-mechanisms of failure in aged fibre cement products
      Dr. D. Crawford, Electron Microscope Unit, University of Cape Town, (UCT) South Africa
    • Impact studies on fibre cement
      Prof. S. Mindess, University of British Columbia, Canada
  • The conversion from laboratory trials to major production trials and manufacturer of asbestos free products
  • The first major launch of roofing products on the market in 1983 in Switzerland
  • Collaboration with associated international fibre cement manufacturers for technical assistance in New Technology: participation on varied technical working groups in Latin America, UK, Ireland, Western Europe (Belgium, France, Austria, Germany) and South Africa

 

Everite LTD, Johannesburg, South Africa (1988 to 1992)

Responsibilities as General Manager of R&D at Everite Ltd., Johannesburg, S.A.

  • The technology adopted in South Africa was autoclaved technology and the conversion to New Technology was conducted in direct collaboration with James Hardie, Australia
  • This included full scale production trials testing of the products for strength properties and durability and test market the products
  • Optimisation of the production process and the use of cost effective raw materials
  • Development of innovative products to compliment the existing range of building products on the market
  • Diversification projects which included technical assistance given for the purchase of companies related to the building industry
  • Strategic planning for the most cost effective technical solution for the development of products without asbestos fibres
  • Quality Assurance incorporating quality awareness programmes and audits
  • Implementation of SABS quality standards
  • Environmental control of dust and noise in the factories. This required a team of experts to monitor and measure the factory environment
  • Purchase of strategic raw materials. This responsibility required a sound technical and cost effective input

 

Eternit AG, 8867 Niederurnen, Switzerland (1992 - 2010)

Responsibilities as Vice Director

  • Product Development for new innovative products in the Building Industry
  • Collaboration with external research scientists for basic research, in particular with North Western University, Evanston, USA, Prof. H. Jennings and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA,  Prof. V. Li
  • Fundamental research projects related to
    • Prediction of service life
    • Design application
    • Processing
    • Mix optimization
  • Joint diversification research and development projects with varied Institutes for example glass fibre reinforced resin composites (GRC pipes) Norway and Germany (Dresden)
  • Durability studies on fibre cement pipes in collaboration with the University of Padova, Italy, Prof. V. Bixio, Prof. A. Racanelli and Prof. A. Madalena
  • Project management for corrugated sheet development for EN standards
  • Project management for injection moulded products
  • Consulting for strategic raw materials for fibre cement industry