Secunda Branch
The more involved one becomes, the more you will find lands on your plate, not a dull moment or a day without a new challenge. It was mentioned only recently that no branch could function like the Secunda Branch - without conflict. My answer to him was that you only need an energetic committee with active and motivated members and then any branch can have the same atmosphere.
August for us was no different to any of the previous months. Endress + Hauser hosted a training evening for our members on the radar level measurement principles. It was again well appreciated by our members and their guests. Thanks again to Johan and colleagues for a well prepared presentation.
Our site visit to Wika also was a great experience. Our Chairman could not join the group but the feedback was overwhelming. Synthetic products and electricity are not South Africa's only products. It was very educational to see how, after only going through a few processes, not much more than a piece of flat metal winded up emerging as a pressure gauge. Thanks to Brian and Dennis who made the trip possible.
The Penmac Roadshow in Secunda also was an event not to be missed. The Secunda Branch also manned a stall displaying golf shirts and caps. On the day we received nine applications for new membership. Let no one ever say our area is small. The show filled five halls in the Sasol Club and every stand stayed busy for the whole of the afternoon.
The Secunda Branch congratulates Tony Jacobsen with his new position at Endress + Hauser and bid John Immelman goodbye. We wish them both all the best in the new positions, and to John we will miss you, not only as a valued supplier but also as a great leader in the SAIMC Council.
The branch plans meetings for 18 October and the year-end function in November. This will conclude our activities for this year. Next year we will again kick off with the AGM in January. We are eagerly awaiting an invitation to the JHB Branch golf day. Unfortunately none of our members could make it to the one hosted by the Cape Town Branch as much as we would have liked to.
Remember to order your shirts and caps.
Where will the Secunda Branch surface next?
Piet van Rensburg (Chairman)
Cape Branch
All out there please take note that our annual Golf day is on Sunday 18 November (hear that - Jhb and Secunda?). Come and join us! Space is limited, so please book early to reserve your place. Tee-off times at Milnerton Golf Club will be from 11h00 to 12h38, entrance is R80 for fully paid-up SAIMC members. For more information on pricing and sponsorship opportunities, contact me at 083 309 7418, or e-mail: [email protected]
Star attraction on the horizon
There is a good possibility that our next tech visit will be to take a look at systems aboard the Cunard Liner QE2 when she visits CT in November. Now beat that!
Derwyn Oxley, Chairman
Zululand
Johan's disparaging comment about the Durban and Zululand branches in the August issue just cannot go unchallenged!
Joining forces as we have so often done before, the two branches recently staged the annual 'Industrial Orientation Tour' for the S2 & 3 'Controls' students at Natal Technikon. The timing was not good; we landed in the middle of a widespread industrial water shutdown in Richards Bay, which precluded us from visiting some plants, but then again, there is always something new to see in Richards Bay and, without any scratching, we still had a full three-day program - seven plants in all and many more principles of measurement and control.
The objectives are to expose the students to a wide cross-section of processes and the application of concepts. The trick is to do so at zero cost to the Technikon! The pundits tell us it is not WHAT you know but WHO... They are right!
By contacting the right people at the plant, we were able to get right into the heart of it; up inside machines where electronics were hidden in the most hideously aggressive environments. And by contacting the right people in vendor companies, we were able to persuade them to give a talk on the application of their product in that particular plant, in exchange for a donation towards the cost of accommodating the students for three nights in a nearby hostel.
There were some wide-eye moments, accompanied either by expressions of disbelief or silence... They will never use the word 'awesome' again! Hey, and there was still time to party afterwards, thanks to the generous sponsors!
To the vendor and host companies that made it work, we say 'thanks a million'; without you guys on board, our tour would have no boat and nowhere to go. To other firms who would like to help us, give one of us a call or drop a message in my in-box. And to the other branches we can jointly say, 'BEAT THAT'!
John Crossland (Chairman)
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