Radu Munteanu
Radu Munteanu and his wife Sophia were killed tragically in a terrible car accident in late 2006 .
After emigrating to Israel from his native Romania , Radu devoted much of his professional career to insulators with a commitment and intensity not often seen in the industry . For example , he worked tirelessly to set up a department at the country ’ s national utility , Israel Electric , devoted exclusively to insulator specification and performance monitoring . As part of this work , he helped establish an important test station in the Negev , where insulators were subjected to unique desert conditions .
He was also a valued contributor of several technical articles that appeared in INMR over the years as well as an expert speaker at three different WORLD CONGRESS events , the last in Hong Kong in 2005 . Radu had a unique sense of humor that often percolated into his work and made any time spent with him not only memorable but also enjoyable .
Arturo Zanetti
Arturo Zanetti , who passed away more than a decade ago , worked at Cellpack in the 1980s and 1990s as a specialist in application of hollow core composite insulators . Through his work , he helped advance this technology even as much of the high voltage sector of the day still regarded porcelain as their only choice for all substation apparatus .
I first met Arturo at a trade show in Amsterdam in late 1993 , when INMR had so far produced but a single issue . Yet he treated me with warm respect at a time when many others in the industry regarded this new publication with a mix of suspicion and skepticism . Later , Arturo was among my hosts on subsequent visits to tour Cellpack ’ s factory near Zurich .
Always impeccably dressed and softspoken , he was as generous as he was outgoing – a true gentleman .
Fred Daus
Fred , at left , loved to talk ‘ insulators ’ whenever an opportunity presented itself .
One of the pioneers in production of nonceramic insulators in South Africa , Fred Daus succumbed several years ago to a long history of heart problems and left a difficult void for his company to fill . He was an amiable and warm-hearted man who loved his work and who seemed to have friends all over the world .
I last saw him at the INMR WORLD CONGRESS in Marbella in 2003 and my enduring image of him is captured in this photo , alongside a display of his unique designs , listening intently to the needs of customers .
Joseph Lai
I was deeply shocked to hear that Joseph Lai drowned a few years ago while on family vacation . Over the course of a successful career as an engineer at China Light & Power , now known as CLP Power , he moved up into different positions within the utility . When I last saw him in Hong Kong in late 2005 , he was involved in the purchasing of specialized components for the high voltage network . We had met just after the INMR WORLD CONGRESS that year and he took time to provide information about a new helicopter-washing program for insulators that was just being instituted .
I first met Joseph in 1995 as part of an article INMR was preparing on overhead lines in Hong Kong . He was very gracious and took me across the island to visit a large substation near Castle Peak as well as to the network of 400 kV lines that traverse the New Territories and Kowloon from their source at the Daya Bay Nuclear Plant in China . I found him so knowledgeable in the specification and inspection of insulators that I invited him to be an expert speaker at our 2 nd INMR WORLD CONGRESS , held in Singapore in the summer of 1996 .
Joseph apparently still had young children at the time of his drowning and the terrible loss to his family and friends of a life cut too short is shared by the power engineering field to which he still had much to contribute .
Richard Martin
Only months have passed since Richard was felled by a terrible disease that robbed him of his golden years and removed from the scene one of the insulator industry ’ s most knowledgeable and respected experts .
INMR ’ s last issue published a Tribute to his numerous achievements over a career that saw him influence the development of insulator standards not only in Canada but throughout the world as well . His presence at INMR WORLD CONGRESSES , industry events and within working group and committee meetings will be missed , as will be his wonderful smile .
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