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