Plumbing Africa October 2019 | Page 62

60 PERSONALITY PROFILE A career spanning slide rules to iPhones Well into his mid-70s, Barry Chipps is still in the plumbing industry and shares some of his 50-years’ experiences, from cast iron to HDPE. By Eamonn Ryan | All photos by Eamonn Ryan Like so many people in the plumbing industry, Chipps got into it more by default than design – as he wanted a job either in the farming or engineering line. “But once I got into plumbing, I fell in love with it and really enjoyed the people. Plumbing has a culture of nice people,” he says. “I grew up on a farm in Ficksburg and after completing school I farmed for a few years and attended a technical college where general farming skills were taught. This included welding, tractor maintenance and more. “Shortly after this I was accepted as a trainee with Stewarts & Lloyds in about 1962. I was posted to Pietermaritzburg and started in their stores, complete with collar and tie as there was no such thing as casual wear. Stewarts & Lloyds were very big on training, development and motivation at its training centre in Vereeniging. This is where I learned various skills, and I’m sure many in the industry today will remember the names Wally de Kock and Larry Grudge. “The focal sectors at Stewarts & Lloyds Pietermaritzburg were municipal and agriculture, but we also had sugar mills, Alcan Aluminium, SA Rubber and more industries. Also, the first oil pipeline from Durban to Johannesburg was being constructed – all the welders being from Texas. Pietermaritzburg was the only branch in the group – apart from Scottish Tube in Durban – that sold plumbing and sanitaryware,” he explains. In those days, for bathrooms the industry could still only offer, for instance, cast iron baths and Shanks low level suites – and only in white. Colour options were just starting, lead traps and cast-iron waste pipes with star taps completed a bathroom. “In those days everything not local had to be transported by rail, unless you got a permit. It wasn’t like today when everything is wanted ‘now’. In those days the railways were fairly efficient, but even so a delivery from Durban would take a couple of days. Sewer pipes were salt glazed earthenware which were delivered by railway trucks packed with straw and unhooked in our siding. During this time, I ran the Comrades Marathon twice – in shoes of the day, which were simple canvas takkies with the toe part cut out. Pangolin Plumbing founder and plumbing veteran, Barry Chipps. www.plumbingafrica.co.za @plumbingonline @plumbingonline “It is awe inspiring to see how the product has changed over the half century, especially in the range of @PlumbingAfricaOnline October 2019 Volume 25 I Number 8