Opening of Acrow's Coronation Works atSaffron Walden

Autor(en): [s.n.]

Objekttyp: Article

Zeitschrift: The Swiss observer : the journal of the Federation of SwissSocieties in the UK

Band (Jahr): - (1956)

Heft 1278

Persistenter Link: http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-691442

PDF erstellt am: 23.09.2022

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July 27tli, 1 950. THE SWISS OBSERVER 8437

Opening ofAcrow's Coronation Works at Saffron Waidenby The Rt. Hon. R. A. BUTLER, C.H., P.C., M.P.

Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons

on JUNE 22nd, 1956.

A little over fifteen months have passed since onMarch 18th, 1955, the Rt. Hon. R. A. Butler, thenChancellor, of the Exchequer, laid the FoundationStone of the Arrow Coronation Works (whichceremony was fully reported in our issue of April 15th,1955) in the presence of a distinguished company in-eluding the Managing-Director and Chairman of thecompany, Mr. W. A. de Vigier, — a compatriot ofours, — the Swiss Minister, and Madame Daeniker,members of the Board, the Mayor of Saffron Wahlen,etc., etc.

These works — so called because they were firstplanned in the Coronation Year of U.M. tiie Queen —were opened on Friday, June 22nd, 195(1, as is rightand proper, by the man, who fifteen months ago laidthe foundation stone.

On that occasion, the Chairman of the company,Mr. de Vigier, remarked that he was particularlyanxious that the foundation stone should be laid bythe Chancellor of the Exchequer, because he con-sidered him more than any other man responsible forthe commercial and industrial prosperity enjoyed bythis'country. A further fact, which prompted him toentrust Mr. Butler with (lie ceremony was, becauseof his close connections with Saffron Waiden, whichconstituency he has represented in Parliament forover 25 years.

»

By courtesy of the Management, I was privileged— together with a number of colleagues of the Englishand Swiss Press — to witness this impressiveceremony, having also been present Al lien the founda-tion stone Avas laid.

jSTo better day could have been chosen for theopening of the doors of these fine Avorks situated ona plateau. overlooking the picturesque and old toAvnof Saffron Wahlen, and surrounded by acres and acresof meadoAvs and Avoods.

After clays of indifferent Aveatlier, the sun wasbrightly shining when, in a. fleet of cars, Ave startedfrom tiie Headquarters of the Company, at 8, SouthWharf, London, W.2 on our JO miles journey, whichwas interrupted at Epping where the Company offeredto the representatives of the Press a sumptuousluncheon.

Almost on the stroke of 3 o'clock, Ave arrived infront of the new Avorks Avhich presented an impressiveview. On a high mast the Union Jack, accompaniedby the Swiss and Essex County flags fluttered in akeen breeze. The presence of the SAviss emblem Avas,no doubt, meant as a compliment to the Chairman ofAci'oav's Avlio hails from our country, and also as amark of respect to the Saauss Minister avIio Avaspresent.

Opposite the front doors of the works a temporarypaA'ilion was errected Avhere the official imu'tés,numbering about a hundred, took their seats aAvaiting

the arrival of the principal guests. They Avere.slioAvnto their seats by a bevy of very attractive lookingyoung ladies. In an adjoining pavilion the band ofthe Welsh Guards, by permission of Colonel I). G.Davies-Scourfield, M.C., and conducted by Major F.L. Statliani supplied the musical programme. Outsidethe paA'ilion, a large number of workmen with theirfamilies Avere assembled to Avatcli the coming pro-ceedings.

First arrivals were the Directors of AcroAV(Engineers) Limited, Messrs A. V. Bauscher, A. A.Hobbs, Brigadier S. K. Thorburn, O.B.E., M. C., E.G. Crook, accompanied by their Ladies, these wereclosely folloAved by Madame W. A. de Vigier, thecharming wife of the Chairman, Mr. and Mrs. II. C.Drayton, Sir Peter Bednal, Lord and Lady Bray-brooke, the Mayor and Mayoress of Saffron Waiden,and the clergy.

When all Avere seated, the Right lion. Mr. R. A.Butler, C. II., P.C., M.P., Lord Privy Seal andLeader of the House of Commons, accompanied byMr. W. A. de Vigier, Chairman of the Company,arrived amidst cheers of tlve assembled company, andwere followed shortly after, by the Swiss Minister,and Madame Daeniker.

ARRIVAL OF THE RT. HON. R. BUTLER,ACCOMPANIED BY MR. A. W. de VIGIER.

8438 THE SWISS OBSERVER .Tillj 27th, 1956.

The band then intoned the National Anthem,after which Mr. R. W. Gonrdie, O.B.E., theCompany's Secretary, ascended to the rostrum towelcome the guests.

" This ceremony ", he said, " marks yet anothermilestone passed in the history of this young andvigorous Company, and it is an occasion in whichwe all may take some pride. I say " we all ", becauserepresented here this afternoon are our shareholders,suppliers and, customers, our work people and staff,our professional advisers and the good people ofSaffron Waiden, and all of these people have helpedin some way or another, and at some time or anotherto raise this Company to the position which it findsitself to-day ".

Referring to the shareholders the speaker saidthat the Company could no longer be called a smallone, but that in spite of growing bigger and bigger itstill very much remained a family in the sense thatall its employees are treated as human beings andindividuals and not merely as numbers on a payroll.M I would like the shareholders to feel " he continued," that they too are important members of this happyand winning team, and that the name of Acrow willcome to mean more to you than simply a place werepart of your money is invested ".

After welcoming the Press, Mr. Gonrdie, intro-dueed as the next speaker, Alderman Ellis Rooke,M.B.E., J.P. Mayor of the town of Saffron Waiden,who referred in his address to the importance whichthis event has for the town of Saffron Waiden, andthe benefit thereof enjoyed by the Borough by the

opening of a second factory, wishing the Board successin their new venture. In conclusion, His Worshipemphasized the happy relations which had alwaysexisted between the Company and his Council.

The Swiss Minister, Monsieur A. Daeniker, wasthen introduced by the Secretary, inviting him tosay a ferv words. The Minister, who received a cordialreception said :

" My wife and T are delighted to assist at to-day'sformal opening of the " Coronation Works ". Onlyin the Spring of last year, we attended the laying ofthe foundation stone. I congratulate the Board ofDirectors and all concerned on the rapid completionof these works and offer my sincere good wishes for a

bright and prosperous future of this enterprise.Arrow's is a happy blend of Swiss and British

initiative, skill and engineering talent. Its success,reaching far beyond the boundaries of this country,and indeed of Europe, only shows what a sound andhopeful combination this can be. It is, more-over anindication of the close and friendly understandingwhich dominates the relations between our twocountries.

This Spring we celebrated in Geneva and inLondon the first centenary of the coming into forceof the Treaty of Friendship, Establishment and Com-merce between Switzerland and Great Britain. Thistreaty is the basis of our relationship ; it is a veryliberal treaty, embodying in its text the lofty idealswhich inspire our peoples ; it has been and still is thefoundation for a happy mutual expansion of our trade,Such beneficial relations existed, of course, many

THE SWISS MINISTER GIVING HIS ADDRESS.

July 27th, 1956. THE SWISS OBSERVER 8439

centuries before the signing of the treaty and were aconsequence of the political and cultural contactsfrom the time of Henry VIII. The first recordedAnglo-Swiss business transaction occurred in 15-36,when British theological students in Switzerlandopened a commercial side-line. They bought a specialkind of wood in (Maris and in Zurich and — makingit into long bows — exported them to England. Imust leave it to somebody else to trace the connectionbetween long bows and Arrow scaffolding or describethe many lanes which our trade and interwovenfinancial interests have been following since this firstrecorded deal. They will but prove that there is stillscope for expanding commercial relations even betweenhighly developed industrial countries. Such ties arethe safest guarantee for the continuance of the goodwill and close friendship which so happily existbetween our nations.

In conclusion I wish to thank Monsieur de Vigierand the other members of the Board of Directors thatthey made it possible for me as the official représenta-tive of the Swiss Government to be present at thisCeremony and to wish them every success. With the' Coronation Works ' behind them, good luck is boundto follow "

The Minister's speech was warmly applauded.Once again Mr. Gourdie came before the micro-

phone, this time to introduce to the audience the

Chairman, and Managing-Director of Arrow's, Mr.W. A. de Vigier.

In his introductionary remarks he said : " To-dayI have spoken of some of those members of this happyAcrow team, but no team was ever good without acaptain. Our captain is second to none. With Mr.Bauscher and another he formed this Company in1936, and the story of those twenty years is a veritableromance of industry. His ability has been widelyacknowledged both at home and abroad, and only afew weeks ago he was made a Knight of the SwedishOrder of the North Star, an honour which has givenall Acrow employees much pleasure and pride.Success has not spoiled him, he still maintains hisnatural charm and employees can approach him aseasily as they could twenty years ago. He keeps Irisfinger on the pulse of every section of the businessbut in his enlightened way still gives his executivesthe utmost freedom of action, he thus does not stifleinitiative but encourages it ".

Amidst vociferous applause, Mr. W. A. de Vigiermounted to the rostrum, and when calm was restored,said :

" It is only one year and three months since Mr.Butler laid the Foundation Stone for these buildingson what was then a barren field. Today you have infront of you a factory and an administration block ofover 130,000 sq.ft. of covered floor area. The factoryis already in production.

ENTERING THE WORKS.Left to Right: The Swiss Minister, Mr. R. A. Butler, Mr. A. W. de Vigier.

84:40 THE SWISS OBSERVER July 27th, 1056.

Mr. Clark, our WorksCrook, and myself, last

Believe me when 1 say that in order to completethe Works by today we had to stage a photo-finishalmost worthy of Ascot Week, and I would thereforeask you to accept this as a warning that when visitingthe Works you will encounter wet paint everywhere.

The next stage of development which we areplanning is to build on this area, between the Worksand the town, a housing estate as well as a sportsground for our Staff and Workers.

To ensure that the machinery and equipment in-stalled in the Works will be the most modern of theirkind, our Works Manager,Director at Ilarefield, Mr.November visited over thirty factories in the UnitedStates, and we are satisfied that if we receive thesame co-operation from our work-people as we havedone in the past, we should be able to produce-in thesenew Works Acrow equipment at prices enabling us tocompete everywhere in the world, and especially inthe hardest market of all, the dollar countries.

The fact that we have built a third Works inGreat Britain and invested so much for the future isproof of the confidence the Board has in yourCompany's ability to forge ahead. At present over60% of our Company's total output is exported, andprovided we are able to stabilise costs in this country,I see no reason why this percentage should not bemaintained or even improved upon, particularly withthe many new products which we will shortly put onthe market.

Last year 1 travelled of 80,000 miles, visitingAcrow Companies and distributors overseas, andsurveying the last few remaining unexplored marketsto give our Company an entire world coverage.

I found everywhere eagerness to buy British goodsprovided they could be obtained at the right price andprovided that British firms were prepared to adapttheir products to the needs of local markets. This weat Acrow are always prepared to do, as we do realise

AWAITING THE OPENING.

Left to Right : Madame de Vigier, Mr. R. A. Butler, The SwissMinister.

the importance of giving customers the goods theywant wherever they may be.

I have said before, and I say again that to helpthe nation in its exports an International Trade Fairon at least the scale of the Hanover Fair should beestablished in London. Such a Trade Fair would notonly serve as a shop window for British goods, but,what is much more important, would enable Britishmanufacturers, workers and students to see foreignexhibits of a high standard of quality and finish andappreciate what people abroad expect and can obtain.Such a yearly International Trade Fair which mustbe the largest of its kind in the world is, in myopinion, an essential to win the battle for exports ".

Mr. de Vigier then expressed thanks to all thosewho were connected in one way or another with thenew building, presenting some of the workmen, whowith their own hands built the factory, Avith variousmomentos.

He concluded his address with the followingwords : " To the younger generation I hope Corona-tion Works will be an inspiration, and a reminderin the years to come that on the energy and iniativeof the individuals rests the welfare of one's country.

Finally, let us all at Arrow's dedicate ourselvesto the task of ensuring that this new monument toArrow's enterprise makes a worthy contribution tothe nation's prosperity and to Saffron Waiden inparticular ".

Spontaneous, and long applause greeted the wordsof the Chairman of the Company.

Further speakers were Mr. John A. Clerk, WorksManager, and Mr. A. V. Baucher, co-founder of theCompany, and a member of the Board.

July 27tli, 1950. the swiss observer 8441

The opening ceremony was then performed by Mr.Butler, who was loudly cheered on walking to thespeaker's desk. In his address the Lord Privy Sealrecalled the foundation stone laying, which he hadconducted fifteen months ago, and remarked on therelatively short period which had elapsed since thenand the opening of the works. " That is a tribute ",he said, " to the drive and energy of Mr. de Vigier ".

Mr. Butler mentioned that the new works weresituated in an agricultural area, and that he wantedto encourage agriculture and industry to get together." Produce more food at home, and send more goodsabroad, and we shall be a happy and prosperousnation ", he said.

The speaker related that Ac-row's had been inoperation for twenty years, whilst he himself had beena member of Parliament for 27 years. " They are amere child to me " he remarked, " 1 welcome this new" baby ", and reccommend it to your attention, andhope our friends in Saffron Waiden will nourish it ".(Applause.)

Mr. Butler then, amidst much cheering and firingof guns, operated an electrical switch which cut awhite tape stretched across the main entrance portals.

The guests, and members of the public were thenshown round the factory which in its new attire pre-sented a most imposing sight. Members of the staffexplained to the visitors the manifold articles whichwould he manufactured at the Coronation Works,from scaffolding to making steel office furniture, etc.

After a thorough inspection of the works, in-eluding the large canteen, which contains the latestimprovements providing comfort for the workmen andstaff; the guests adjourned to a large marquee wheretea was served, followed by a most generous up/icnf//.Mr. de Vigier, ably assisted by his charming wife,acted as perfect hosts. In the evening dancing and a

fire-Work display took place.During the last few years in which I have on many

occasions, been privileged to witness functions of onekind or another, of the Ac row Company, I have alwaysbeen most favourably struck by the cordial andintimate relations which exist between Managementand Staff. There is indeed, as the Chairman rightlysaid in his address, a " family spirit " prevalent,which is a healthy sign, especially in a time in whichso much unrest and misunderstanding exists betweensome employers and employees.

The Arrow (Engineers) Ltd., is a British Publicconcern, and perhaps does not strictly come in oursphere of activities, but in view of the fact that theFounder, Chairman, and Managing-Director is a

compatriot of ours, we feel well justified to acquaintour Colony with its progress and its achievements.

We are proud indeed that one of our countrymenhas by his intelligence, driving spirit, wide vision,and sheer hard work achieved so much in a relativelyshort span of time, which does not only honour him,but also our homeland.

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