plysu people no.1 spring 1971

8/14/2019 Plysu People No.1 Spring 1971

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THE JOURNAL OF THE PLYSU GROUP

Getting them essage ...

An army may march on its stomach butit lives or dies by its communications.

When we first started in WoburnSands we had only the small squarebuilding on Station Road and employedabout twelve people. Within the limita-tions of our simple machinery we wereprobably more efficient than ICI, GeneralMotors and the Post Office put together-Births, Marriages and Deaths, racingtips, local scandal, all circulated freely(sometimes before the event)-becausewe had the almost perfect .communica-tions network produced by a smallcommunity in very close personalcontact.

As we have grown through the yearswe have tried to maintain this contactbut with more than 500 people spreadover nearly half asquare mile techniqueshave had to change. By Tannoy, tele-phone and messengerthe word is passeddown the chain of command - butthere's not much traffic the other way.If the chairman arrives in the morningwith a good story it very rapidly spreadsthrough the factory. But if Jock on thenight shift produces a masterpiece it'soften shared by only those privilegedfew in the moulding shop.

No. 1 SPRING 1971

40000CAN EEOPENEDOver 200 meals a day are being served in the new 40,000 Plysucanteen. The catering is under the direction of Mr. Donald Pendle,the Catering Manager, and a staff of 14 including chefs, service staff,cashier, bar and kiosk attendants.

The Canteen has a floor area of 6,000 sq. ft. and is a Terrapinprefabricated building. In addition to housing the main works canteen,with a modern kitchen and service counter, there are separate staffand visitors' dining rooms.

Cupid in Drag 4Sky Ride 5Mainly fo~ Women 6Plysu People 7A Nautical Air ... 8

This new magazine which we aregoing to produce at quarterly intervalsis aimed to create a new level ofcommunications in all directions. Any-body who has anything of generalinterest to say will have a chance to sayit in print (if it's printable) and thecirculation will be such that anyoneconnected with the company all overthe world will have the opportunity ofreading it.

So help get this new project off to agood start by giving us plenty to writeabout.

IN THIS ISSUE ...David Stapleton's Night Ride 2280 Mill ion Characters. .. 3

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D A V l D S T A P L E T O N S N I6," R I D E(O r mo torsp ort for in somn iacs)Last June, David Stapleton (who has written this article especially forPLYSU PEOPLE) and his partner were 3rd overall in a restricted eventof 65 entries. In September, they were 6th in a closed event with 70entries and in November, they were 7th in a similar event, which isquite an achievement in the face of stiff competition. Also last Auguston a special stage on a disused airfield near Windrush, they put up thesecond fastest time.

Car Rallying has been myhobby for the last two years, andwhilst to some it may seem arather obscure way of enjoyingoneself, I assure you that, unlikeheavy drinking or over-eating, Idon't suffer any after effects thenext day! For the uninitiated letme explain what I mean.

Most of the rallies I take partin are held at night usuallybetween 10.00 p.m. and 6.00a.rn., the reason for this being theextremely 'low density of trafficon the back-roads between thesetimes; indeed, I can't rememberever seeing more than half adozen non-competing cars in anight. Areas of large populationsuch as towns and villages areby-passed where possible to

avoid disturbing all the non-rallying sleepers.

Before a rally can be put on,the route has to be approved bythe R.A.C., the Ministry ofTransport, and the Chief Con-stables of the counties throughwhich it passes. Residents ofhouses on the route are visitedby a public relations officer,appointed by the orqanisinqclub,and any really serious objectionshe may encounter from house-holders will cause the route to bealtered.

The length of the rallies variesbetween 150-200 miles and ofthis approximately 10 per centwould be farm tracks.vpot-holed'and grassy lanes, and loose-surfaced roads not necessarily

with a hard base. The overallaverage speed from start to finishas required by law is 30 m.p.h.-and by carefu I choice of roadsthis can often be quite difficultto maintain!Basically rallying is a contestof wits between the crew and theorganiser who at times can makethe most simple route-instructionlook like a problem for a com-puter to solve! The navigator,having made sense of the routecard, then translates the informa-tion to his maps and endeavoursto guide the driver round theprescribed route. For this he uses.the latest editions of 1" ordnancesurvey maps, and everyone whohas had the occasion to use thesewill realise their tremendousvalue, because not only do theyshow every single road in thearea including farm drives, butalso every bend and slight curveon each of them.

Everycompeting car is checkedbefore starting for lights, brakes,steeri ng, tyres, battery (whetherit's fixed down tight or not),general road worthiness andnoise (checked by an M.O.T.approved Decibel Meter). Any


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car failing to meet the requiredstandards, noise level especially,will not be allowed to start.So there you have it, thenavigator tells the driver whereto go (?) and the driver has tomaintain a certain time schedule

over various surfaces. Shouldthey follow the prescribed routethen they will encounter differenttypes of control at intervalsduring' the rally. This is therallying I take part in, and enjoyas a navigator.

A breakthrough isn't it just grandyou hold the proof within your handwith Uncle Jim and Rohan's blessingto have your say with no messing.Communications now can flowfrom penthouse, to the floors below,so here's your chance, but guard it well'tis sense we want, not just a yell.It's hard I know for any bossensuring he will have no lossand in this time, it may well bethat he's forgotten you and me.Forgotten! Maybe that's too strongas new events have proved me wrong,for on the notice board I seeShares on offer to you and me.For me I fear the news is lateBank Balance is in such a state,I'd like to plunge, I'd give my allbut two pounds ten is rather small.Still, better some, than none at allthe magazine is meant for all,I'll shout out loud, repeat with speedCommunication's what we need.

Rhyming Rab.Jock McGiII,Moulding Room.280 m illion characters

w ork ing for you .In July 1969 a new computer,the NCR Century 100, wasinstalled at Plysu. It came only 3years after the installation of thefirst computer, an NCR 500,which had been outgrown by atremendous increase in turnover.By April 1970 all jobs had beentransferred to the new computer,which is many times faster thanits predecessor,and it was taking,on average,about six hours adayto cope with them compared toabout 18 hours on the old '500'.

Information for the Century isencoded on magnetic tape bytwo 736 encoders, and once theCentury 100 has digested theinformation it is held on magneticdiscs, capable of holding overfour million characters per disc.The computer can access twodiscs at anyone time, thus beingable to get at anyone of overeight million characters in under1/1 Oth of a second. Anotherfeature of the Century is its high

speed printer, which, under cer-tain circumstances can print over900 lines per minute, each linecontaining up to 132 characters.Proposed work includes a con-tainers orders system and anextension to the wages systemwhich will enable you to recordyour own working day direct tothe computer by using a clockingin card and one of the "Addo"terminals you may have alreadyseen in the factory.Work on the Century includes,Stock Control, Purchases andAccounts, Housewares Ordersand Containers, Housewares,andIndustrial Salesand Wages.Eight people run the ComputerDepartment under the instructionof Alan Perryand Graham Shawwho have been with the com-pany 3~ years and 2~ yearsrespectively. Alan and Grahamdo the majority of the SystemsAnalysing and write most of thecomputer programmes. Alan has

special responsibilities forHousewaresordersand Contain-ers, Housewares and IndustrialSales, and will have responsi-bility for the proposed Con-tainers Orders System. Grahamlooks after Stock, Purchase andNominal Systems and is atpresent responsible for the newWages System. Over 12 monthsago Geraint Hughes, a juniorprogrammer joined the Depart-ment to give a hand with theproqrarnming load, and the teamis completed by June Slater andAnna Susikow, who look afterthe punching of all informationon the 736 encoders, and SusanHale, who operates the Com-puter while Pauline Ikin checksincoming and outgoing informa-tion, and qeneral departmentalhousekeepinq. We welcome anew recruit to "the department,Pat King, who is at presentlearning the use of the 736encoders.

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CupidinDragCharlie Crooks, our engineerstoreman, as in our picture, canproduce a nifty change of garb,did so at a St. Valentines Dance.

It was held on Saturday, 13thFebruary in the new canteen.After feasting on Chicken andChips, the dancers were treatedto a cabaret starring Charlie !

Certainly not "dragging theirheels" were Mrs. Dora Buck-thorpe, Mrs. Midge Hollier, Mrs.Audrey Britten and MoulderTonyHollis, who organised theevening.

Over 35 was raised and thiswill go towards more socialactivities.

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TWO NEWCOMERS TO PLYSU-a "hot-panted dolly" and thebrand new R.70 five gallon'container. Plysu are only manu-facturing one of them though-we needn't tell you which!

First shown to the packagingtrade at the Foodpack exhibitionin March, the R.70 container isto form the spearhead of Plvsu'sdrive to, enter the competitivefive gallon container market. TheR.70 will be produced on newautomated equipment, and theinstallation of further automatedsystems is planned to boostcapacity for this, and other fivegallon size containers, over thenext few months.

In case you're wondering whata "dolly in hot pants" has to dowith the R.70 she was on thestand at Foodpack.

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U p up and aw ay ..As part owner of a glider, I have beenasked to write an article on gliding. Thishas proved to be more difficult than Ithought. Gliding covers such a widefield of subjects that it is difficult not tobecome too technical when writingabout it. However, here goes on what Ihope will be of general interest to anumber of readers (writes B. Taylor).Gliding is a sport which has steadilyincreased in popularity over the last 15years, when it came within the reach ofthe average person's pocket: it istrue tosay that having joined a club and paidthe subscription (10 to 20), glidingthen becomes asexpensive asyou wish:or can afford.

Gliding Clubs provide facilities fortraining people to fly, usually a two seat,dual controlled glider for initial trainingand first solo flights: a single seater of asimilar performance to the two seater forgeneral flying: and a high performancemachine for- cross-country flying andcompetitions. Most pilots aim to becomea member of a group of two or threepeople who own their own glider, whichof course cuts down costs.Getting launched

A glider is basically an enginelessaeroplane, which is very controllableand does not, as is qenerallv believed,rely on the wind to keep it up. It has beendesigned for efficiency and can glideperhaps 3 miles for every 1,000 ft. ofaltitude. The latest machine can achieveglide angles of 1: 50, i.e. 50 miles from5.000 ft. of altitude, (this figure ofcourse would only hold good in fairlystill air).

There are two ways of getting a gliderairborne: either wire launched or aero-towed. The wire launch requires a longlength of wire, one end of which isattached to the glider by a quick releasemechanism, the other end is eitherwound in on a winch drum or towedbehind a vehicle. The glider ascendsrather like a kite at about 45 to 55 kncttsairspeed, and with a verticle gain inheight of about 20 feet per second, untila height of about 1,100 feet is obtained.The pilot then releases the wire andsearches for a rising current of air(a thermal) in order to obtain more

.height. The aerotow is more expensi,)e,'but as you are towed by a poweredaircraft, you can get higher, and canarrange to be towed to likely lookingclouds, where lift can be found.Spins and stalls

The average person could expect tofly solo after some 60 or more flights,during which he will have been taughtairmanship, emergency procedures, andrecovery action from unnatural situa-tions, i.e. spins and stalls etc. He willalso have learnt a little about soaringbut this is perfected with experience onthe single seat gliders. It is difficult todescribe soaring in an article such as

SKY R ID Ehis, numerous books have been writtenon the subject, but perhaps if I take youon an imaginary cross country flight ofsome 30 miles you will get an idea ofwhat it is like.

We arrive at the airfield at about9.00 a.m. By about 10.30 the glidershave all been inspected and towed tothe launch point. It is now our team'sturn to fly. We put on our parachutes,get strapped into the machine and do acontrol check; the wire is then hookedon and we signal for the launch tocommence. We accelerate rapidly andreach a height of 1,200 ft. beforereleasing the wire; we must now findsome lift fairly quickly or we shall bedown again in about 7 minutes!Flying high

We turn towards a village over whicha fluffy cumulus cloud is poised; beforewe reach it we encounter some heavysink which brings us down to 1,000 ft.,but underneath our cloud we feel theglider shudder slightly and our instru-ments tell us we are going up again. Thethermal (rising air current) is roughlycircular so we bank fairly steeply andcircle to stay in the lift. This has beena fairly good thermal and we havereached a height of 3,800 ft. before itdies; we must now find another. Notic-ing another cumulus cloud about 8miles away, we head for it but abouthalf way there is decays and break up;we must think again.

A good look around reveals somegulls circling over to our left; so we altercourse and arrive above them. Sureenough strong lift is there and up we goagain circling steadily. Up above us thecloud appears and starts to grow anddevelop. This time we reach 4,200 ft.,and off we go in search of further lift.Whilst we have been circling in the last2 thermals we have travelled about 20

miles from our base. We haveanother 10miles to go to reach our target. The nextthermal we find is weaker than the lastone and it takes us a long while to climbto 3,000 ft., but at least we have madeanother 20 miles over the ground. Welook around for more thermals but all theclouds have decayed and there is nomore lift about; we continue to glidedownwind hoping for more lift, but atthe same time searching for a suitablefield to land in. We do not want to landin a field of corn, or one which hascows.

We are now 'down to 1,200 ft. andhave found a large grass field where wehope to land. We fly round it to makesure that there are no obstructions,power wires, electric fences, slopes,gullies etc. It looks all right. A nearbybonfire tells us the wind directions sowe start our approach, coming in andlanding as we would at our base, andmaking sure that the glider will notoverturn in any sudden gusts by puttingthe parachute packs on one wing tip.The farmer whose field we are in arrivesand kindly offers the use of his telephoneto contact base while his wife providesa very welcome tea. Our friends arrivewith the trailer, we de-rig and finallystow the glider away. Off we go to thenearest pu b for a beer, and then home.Fellow travellers

There is already a considerableamount of interest in gliding within thecompany. Apart from myself, HeinzKarney, Richard Large and Harry Purserall have shares in different gliders (Harryincidentally is a qualified instructor),while Gerry Bounds, Terry Mason andJohn Speller have flown and greatlyenjoyed the. experience. A number ofothers have also asked for trial flights.Perhaps when we form a sports andsocial club at Plysu we may even have agliding section!

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JUST THE THING FORHOLIDAYSRoyal Family were in residence,becauseflags were flyi ngoutside.We went to the site of Expo '58,and then travelled to the marketsquare and took photos of abuildinq which had just caughtfire! We were then taken to ahouse where Brussels lace wasbeing made, and saw two ladieswho had been making lacecovers; blouses, handkerchiefsand dolls' dresses for over 60years!

"The afternoon passed veryquickly and soon it was 4 p.m.and time for tea. Afterwards wespent an hour shopping in someof the big stores. It was interest-ing to see,that in the majority of

Brussels boundThis beautiful soft cup bikiniin gorgeously printed Bri-Novais available in blue, orange,lime or pink for only 295andis available in sizes 32"-36".To complete the ensemblehow about this super matchingmaxi cover-up. Both the bikiniand cover-up were the winningdesigns in a project Silhouetteset at the Leicester College ofArt. They certainly make apretty picture.

Bridget White from Plvsu'sIndustrial Division is a memberofthe Aspley GuiseWomen's Insti-tute. She recently went on a daytrip to Brussels and has writtenthis account for "Plvsu People".

"We arrived at Luton Airportat 8.15 a.m. The flight:' on aMonarch 'plane took just three-quarter.sof an hour. We landedat Ostend and were then-met bya Welsh lady courier, who stayedwith us all day. We were thendriven to Brusselson the motor-way. Two hours later, we arrivedin Brussels.

"An hour later we were takenfor atour of Brussels.We saw thePalace and were told that the

Don't bediscouraged if your contributiondoes not appear in this issue. We hadtremendous response - far more thaneight pages will take - and hope,therefore, to publish items held over

in our next issue.

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Caribbean R ing4 oz. butter6 oz. plain chocolate4 oz. caster sugar4 eggs1 tsp. vanilla essence1 tsp. baking powder1 small packet instant potato15 oz. can fruit salad5 fl. oz. carton double cream

QUANTITY FOR 69", 3 pint ring cake tin,' piping bag withstar nozzle attached.Preparation time: about 25 min.Cooking time: 35 min.; Gas mark 4, 350"F(180"C).1. Melt butter in saucepan, add broken

chocolate.2. Stir over gentle heat until melted, remove

from heat.3. Stir in sugar. Separate eggs, beat in yolks.4. Add vanilla essence and baking powder

sieved with instant potato.5. Whisk egg whites until stiff, fold into

chocolate mixture.6. Turn into greased tin, bake for 35 min.7. Cool slightly, turn on to a wire tray to

cool, then turn cake upside-down on to alarge plate.

8. Drain liquid from canned fruit and pilefruit in centre of cake.

9. Whip cream lightly and place in pipingbag. Pipe stars round base of cake andon top.

10. Serve as a special pudding or cake.

S H O P !Mauve winter woolly suit, doublebreasted, lined jacket, nearly new5. Apply Mrs. L. Whitbread,Industrial Department.Cannon E.E. 35 mm. Camera.Automatic aperture setting. f 19lens. 25.

D. A. Bennett - Ext. 225

cases, Belgian products weremore expensive than Englishgoods.

"All too soon, it was time to gohome, we met the coach whichtook us back to Ostend Airportand boarded the 'plane at 8 p.m.During the journey we had abirds eye view of SouthendIlluminations, which lookedabsolutely marvellous!

I P l y s u p e o p leMr. Jess Cook, our SecurityOfficer, should have received aletter from his workmates but thepostmen went on strike. Sowe'vebeen asked to send a special"Get Well" messageto Jess fromall at Woburn Sands.* How could we refuse?-Editor.We welcome back Mrs. VioletEnever, forewoman in House-wares, who started work againon 1st March, after an absenceof 8 weeks, due to appendicitis.Congratulations to:

Mr. John 'Bunker, TechnicalManager, who married AngelaCarringion-Smith on 27th Feb-ruary in Eversholt Parish Church.

Marion Kirvy, Print Depart-ment, who married Mr. PhilipTrue, on 27th February inMaulden Baptist Chapel. Theyare now living in Luton.

Miss L. Peacock who marriedMr. M. Whitbread on 27th Marchat St. Margaret's Church,Lidlington.

DaveWillett, Engineeringstaff,who became engaged to WendyOsbourne on 20th February.

Gillian Murton, ContainersDepartment, who becameengaged to Liam Noone on 20thFebruary.

Twenty five new pence, a rod,line and a 10 lb. 10 oz. Carp!Jack Sorenson caught the Carpjust a few months ago.

Claude Phillips will give youthe details on how to join Plvsu'sFishing Club. Competitions areheld most weekends beside thePlysu Lagoon!Mr. Slocock has won the mag-azine name competition with hisentry / " Plysu People", but haskindly donated the 5 prizeto thefund for a Social Club. We weredelighted to receive nearly 100suggestions, and the winningtitle was chosen anonymouslyfrom a short list.

A id f i r s t Plysu has several keen first-aiders and some of them havejoined the newly formed AspleyGuise Red Cross Detachment.

This Detachment meets everyThursday at St. Marv's ChurchHall, Aspley Hill. Cadets at 6.30and Adults at 8 p.m. Althoughonly a few weeks old, the AspleyGuise Detachment has twelvecadets and thirteen adults.

The Commandant of the De-tachment is Claude Phillips whotold us that any person wishingto learn first aid and who wantsto become a member shouldcontact him, or just go along to.one of the meetings.

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A naut ical a irindespatchYou may have noticed the sailing boat taking shape in the old despatchdepartment beneath the main office. Let us dispel any speculation thatthe Company is about to start the manufacture of plastic sailing boats.The boat taking shape is thespare time hobby of Housewares'Director, Mr. Atkinson whoenjoys his sailing together withhis son, Richard at EmbertonPark, Olney. Since starting sailingat the age of twelve, Richard hastaken over the helm and althoughMr. Atkinson is used to givingorders on land, immediately theboat takes to water Richard is incommand.Olympic hopesThe combination has scoredsome successes in club com-petition winning a number ofseries races and taking secondplace in the major race "TheHelmsman of the Year".

Richard, sailing with anotherBedford Modern schoolboy wassuccessful in winning the AllEngland Championship organ-ized by the combined CadetForce at Portsmouth this yearand is looking forward to thelaunching of the new boat inorder that he can go on to takemore national titles. His dream is-to win an Olympic medalP Y S F eIf you possess boots, howeverancient, and are prepared to paceyour way around a football fieldon spare afternoons, Mr. KenWade of the Print Room wouldbe glad to hear from you. So faran unofficial football team fromPlysu has played two matches,but more volunteers are needed.Mr. Wade suggests a meeting inthe Canteen for all those inter-ested in joining Plysu F.C., withthe aim of entering the NorthBucks League. Plysu hope toprovide a pitch for practise and:matches.

. . . And from these smallbeginnings, who knows howfar it may be to Wembley!8

CABLESCAPERSMr. Donald Pendle, Manager of theCanteen is seen checking some of the"Chef's Choice" 3-course meals thatare being served to over 200 employeesdaily.

It really is surprising the thingsthat come through the post(when there's not a strike, thatis!) Here's something thatdropped onto Plvsu's doormatsome time back.To: The Managing Director,Plysu Products Limited.Dear Sir,

You will, I am sure, appreciatethat it is embarrassing for mem-bers of our staff .to refuse, inconformity with a strict companyrule, presents of any kind from thecompany's suppliers.

In order to obviate this embar-rassment I am writing to you, asone of our suppliers, to ask thatour views in this matter berespected.

Yours faithfully.And Mr. J. D. Cable's cryptic

response to this request:D-ear Sirs,

We thank you for your letter of7th December, which has wemust admit, stirred our con-science. We appreciate yourefforts to re-introduce intoindustry the rigid ethical codes ofbehaviour which obtained inbygone days .....

We are turning over a new leaf,and so that we may start with aclean sheet, we ask you toco-operate by implementing thereturn of the gifts which doubt-less were the cause of yourcommunications. To assist YO LJ,we append a list of presentsdespatched to your firm duringthe last financial year.1. A pair of polished gunmetal-

skates, inscribed "To H.R.H.the Margrave of Saxony inmemory of the hunting lodge-Tanya".

2. 1,000 Larranaga Cigars(Corona-Coronas) .

3. A Mink coat.4. 100 shares in Plysu Holdings

(Tel-Aviv) Ltd.5. A week-end in Paris for two.

It may not be easy to trace therecipients of these gifts, but a fewdiscreet enquiries at your nextBoard meeting will no doubt,clear the matter up.

The goods should be returnedin a plain case, marked promin-ently for the attention of thewriter.

Yours faithfully,J. D. CABLE.P.S. Is Paris as gay as ever?

WANTEDThis is your magazine, and

we're relying on you to providethe sort of information you'd liketo read about. So, we are askingeach one of you to contributeinformation of general interestregarding your hobbies, partici-pation in local events, specialactivities, details of future eventsthat other employees may enjoy,etc.

Just give this information toany of the following who willensure it reaches the editor:-M r. A. Perry-Computer RoomMr. C. R. E. Phillips-New Office

off Canteen HallMrs. Best-HousewaresMrs. Ingram-ContainersMr. D. Sinfield-Moulding Shop.

Produced by Paul Winner Marketing Communicetions Ltd. andPrinted by The Mount Press Ltd.

plysu people no.1 spring 1971

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