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Publlehect br 1M Public Affaire Depertment July 1G80
PLASTICS PLANT FOR ELIZABETH GMH will spend nearly $8 million over
the next two years on a new plastics factory in South Australia.
Volume production of plastic components is scheduled to begin towards the end of next year.
The plastics components manufacturing plant will be located at GMH's Elizabeth manufacturing and assembly complex near Adelaide.
GMH Managing Director, Mr Chuck Chapman, said the company's move into the manufacture of plastic components was inevitable.
About 50 people will be employed at the new plastics operation.
The plastics factory will utilise existing buildings refitted with new machinery to produce plastic interior and exterior moulded parts.
"Plastic parts are being used more and more in the manufacture of motor vehicle
's because of their weight
saving and anti-corrosion properties," Mr Chapman said.
Installation of the new machinery will begin late this year.
"Our future model plans call for the increased use of plastic components in place of heavier metal equ!valents for increased fuel economy."
New facilities and tooling for injection moulding and extrusion processes will cost $7.9 million.
Mr Chapman said GMH's decision to establish its own plastic factory will not mean a sudden loss of bu:>iness for its current suppliers of plastic components.
It's full speed ahead for the foundry modernization and new engine plant construction at Fishermens Bend.
Construction workers are making rapid progress on the new fourcylinder engine plant and the foundry modernization and expansion.
Machinery for the new plant has been built and delivered to Fishermens Bend in record time.
It has taken only 1 2 months for the first of the major items of equipment - a transfer line for the cylinder block machine shop - to be built and shipped from Germany for the new engine workshops.
All overseas sourced equipment is now nearing completion and being shipped to Australia at an increased rate.
Locally-built machinery has also
begun arriving at Fishermens Bend for installation.
Around $30 million of local equipment for block, crankshaft and manifold lines is awaiting installation at "The Bend".
Production of the new fourcylinder engine for export is scheduled to start mid-next year.
Quotas will be increased monthly to reach capacity build early in 1982.
The foundry modernization and expansion program is nearing structural completion.
A new mould line is operating while induction melt furnaces and core making equipment are on site and awaiting installation.
Co odo e goes '4' The long-awaited four cylinder Holden Commodore should significantly Increase GMH's share of the growing four cylinder passenger market.
GMH Managing Director, Chuck Chapman, says the Commodore 4 represents a turning point for the company.
"The release of the VC4 means that for the first time our product line-up features more four cylinder models than sixes and V8s," says Mr Chapman.
The VC4 is available in four models - L sedan and station wagon, and SL sedan and wagon.
The Commodore 4 combines the widely-acclaimed space, comfort and ride and handling features of the top-selling Commodore design with impressive fuel economy.
A new Phase II version of the
Holden four cylinder engine powers the VC4.
The up-graded four is not only m o r e e c o n o m i c a l , b u t a l s o smoother, quieter, stronger and more responsive.
In tests conducted to the AS 2077 fuel consumption standard the manual transmission Commod�re 4 L sedan achieved 7.5 litres/1 00 kms (37.6 mpg) on the highway cycle and 1 2.0 litres/1 00 kms (23.5 mp2l on the city cycle.
Mr Chapman believes the Commodore 4 will change the image of four cylinder motoring in Australia.
He is also confident the fourcylinder Commodore will boost the company's share of the fourcylinder market to 16.9 per cent by the end of the year - a 1 5 per cent increase over 1979.
Commodore 4's impressive fuel e c o n o m y f i g u r e s h a v e b e e n assisted by a substantial weight reduction over the 2.85 litre six cylinder Commodore L.
New, lighter engine components and body mechanicals make the VC4 L sedan 58kg lighter than the six-cylinder model.
Retail prices of the four cylinder Commodore models are: L sedan $7403, L wagon $7795, SL sedan $8429 and SL wagon $9076.
Meanwhile, a Commodore 4 driven by motoring writer Matt Whelan and GMH Director of Public Affairs Evan Green has completed a gruelling 1 0-day around-Australia test.
The pre-launch enduro-drive Ia featured In this Issue's color centreapread.
The heart of the Commodore 4 Is the heavily revised Holden fourcylinder engine, which Is smoother, quieter, more responsive, and uses less petrol.
Page 2 - PEOPLE, July 1880
INTERNATIONAL N EWSWIRE ... I NT General Motors Is following with
Interest the development of the zinc-chloride battery system by Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. Arrangements have been concluded with GMC Truck and Coach Division to test one of these battery systems In Its ongoing electric van program. GM Is hopeful that this test will be underway before the end of the year.
At the same time, the GM Electric Vehicle Project Centre Is moving ahead at full speed with the development of a nickel-zinc battery. GM's research laboratories continue to work on other systems which appear to hold promise In this area.
GM's objective Is to market a battery-powered electric commuter vehicle by the mid-1980s.
. . .
The Automobile Industry Association In the US reports vehicle production fell to 330,600 units In May from 371,100 in April and 397,000 a year earlier. This brings the total for the first five months of 1 980 to 1.8 million vehicles, down 8 per cent from the same period in 1979. Exports In May totalled 1 76,800, down 5 per cent from April and 4 per cent below the May 1979 level. For the first five months of 1980, exports totalled 960,000 compared with 955,800 in the year-earlier period.
. . .
General Motors has announced that It will build a Fisher body manufacturing plant near Logrono, Spain. The 1 2,000 square metre factory will employ 350 people and supply components to GM car manufacturing facilities In Europe. Full production of Injectionmoulded consoles and Instrument panels, front and rear bumpers, as well as machine-sewn Interior upholstery, will be reached In mld-1982.
Saehan Motors in Korea Is selling its new diesel pick-up the "Max". The vehicle, which has the same front-end as the Gemini, utilises the Saehan manufactured Opel 2.0 litre diesel engine. Initial buyer reception is strong since this is the only diesel powered pick-up offered in Korea where diesel fuel is 25 per cent the price of petrol. Also, test demonstrated 30 per cent better fuel consumption for the diesel pick-up than with a comparable petrol powered unit.
Toyota and Nlssan of Japan said their exports In May set records. Toyota's exports totalled 1 63,11 4 units, up 5.5 per cent from April and 51 per cent from May 1979. Exports to the U. S. were 65,408
units, up 8.9 per cent from April and 39 per cent the same month In 1979. Nlssan, makers of Datsun vehicles, said overseas deliveries were 131,030 units In May, up 8.6 per cent from April and 41 per cent above the same month In 1979. U.S. deliveries were !59,819 units, up 0.9 per cent from April and 41 per cent above the same month In 1979. Deliveries were 59,819 units, up 0.9 per cent from April and 39 per cent from a year earlier.
. . .
Total hourly layoffs in the U. S. auto industry range from about 272,000 to 282,000. Out of that total, temporary furloughs are running about 40,000 based on an average of various reports.
Press reports Indicate that Brazil's ambitious plan to run millions of cars on alcohol Instead of petrol has run Into a snag - people are drinking lt. The Government Is considering "polslonlng" the fuel to make It undrinkable.
General Motors has announced the sale of Terex off-highway construction equipment total l ing approximately 1 .5 million U.S. dollars to the People's Republic of China. The order was for six Terex Division front-end loaders placed by the China National Machinery Import & Export Corp., for use in the construction of a hydro-electric and water control project on the Yangtze River. This sale to China is the largest single equipment order shipped to that country to date by the Corporation.
. . .
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said new car sales In the U. K. In May were 1 28,-1 7 4 - down 34 per cent from a year earlier. And, sales for the first five months of the year were 745,-570 - down 1 0 per cent.
. . .
Imports of cars to the U. S. are capturing about 27.5 per cent of the market despite softening in car sales over the past two months. Their anticipated sales in the U. S. this year are 2.4 million units - the fourth year in a row that foreign manufacturers will have sold more than 2 million units in the country. As usual, the Japanese firms lead the way.
Total U.S. domestic car sales during the middle of June hit a 19 year tow for the period with a 26 per cent decline, according to a Detroit Free Press report. The newspaper's tally for the 1 0-day period Is 187,479 cars sold, which compares with 2 53,694 units delivered a year ago.
GMH's big lead in sales race
GMH Is clear new car market leader after the first six months of the year.
Sales of Holden and lsuzu vehicles were well ahead of the opposition In the first half of 1 980.
Year-to-date figures compiled by ADAPS show GMH has 23.4 1 per cent of the total new vehicle market.
Its nearest rivals are Ford (18.91 per cent) and Toyota (16.77).
The other two local manufacturers - Datsun and Chrysler -have 11 .46 and 1 0.66 per cent of the total market respectively.
GMH's year-to-dale performance in difficult new vehicle market conditions is impressive.
It has managed to retain leadership by a wide margin in a market that has shifted dramatically to four-cylinder vehicles.
GMH also leads the passenger car market.
Year-to-date passenger sales
are 53,292 - or 24.72 per cent of the market.
That compares with Ford sales of 41,637 (19.32 per cent), Toyota 30,254 (14.04), Chrysler 27,560 (12.79), and Datsun 25, 113 (1 1.65).
The Holden Commodore is still Australia's top-selling car.
Commodore sales to June totalled 29,1 76, way ahead of Ford's Falcon (2 4,956) and Chrysler's Sigma (22, 146).
The spectacular success of the Holden Gemini in the small fourcylinder class also continued.
T h e G e m i n i h a s b e c o m e Australia's fourth best-selling car with year-to-date sales totalling 15,459 - significantly more than the larger Datsun 200B (12,928) and the Toyota Corolla (1 0,483).
VC GETS ROYAl ORDER
A Holden has won the Australian Touring Car Championship for the third year running.
The victory was scored by Marlboro-Holden Dealer Team driver Peter Brock, who won four of the eight races In the series In his Commodore.
Brock's touring car title wm -his third - was the Commodore's second major sport success.
Last August a team of three Commodores led by the race ace swept the board in the aroundAustralia Repco Reliability Trial.
Brock and his MHDT-Commodore are now clear favorites to continue their success in the Championship of Makes series of long distance races beginning at Adelaide International Raceway on August 17.
The combination is also early favorite to win the Hardie-Ferodo 1 000 at Bathurst on October 5 -a feat that would give Brock an unprecedented fifth victory in the mountain classic.
Brock beat Sydney's Kevin Bartlett in the ATCC. Bartlett's Channel Nine-Chevrolet Camaro came on strong in the final rounds of the championship.
According to Brock, lhG Commodore is the best touring car he's ever raced.
"It's so easy to drive, just like the road-going version," he said.
The flrat VC Commodore to be exported w .. shipped to Malayaill on
May 11 to Ita owner - Tuanku Raja Parlis, King of Malaysia.
Prior to shipment the vehicle was inspected by lhe Malaysian Consul in Melbourne. Sufian Taiman. The Consul is pictured left with Frank Fairley of Export Sales and Ron Miller of the Dandenong Materials Department.
The King is reported to have fallen for the VB Commodore sedans he saw at the Australain High Commision in Kuala Lumpur and wanted one for himself.
A request to purchase a new Commodore was forwarded to the Malaysian Consul In Sydney who contacted GMH Randwlck dealer Boyded.
Shortly after, the VC Commodore SL wagon, complete with 3.3 litre engine, power steering and air-conditioning was shipped to the Far East.
BROCK TAKES THIRD TITLE IN COMMODORE
Australian touring car champion Peter Brock's Holden Commodore leads Kevin Bartlett (Chev Camaro) In the final round of the championship at Oran Park.
"It handles and brakes better than any sedan I've ever raced - even better than the BMW I drove at Le Mans a few years ago.
"The Commodore is a more than w o r t h y s u c c e s s o r on t h e racetrack t o the Holden Torana A9X, which dominated touring car racing in 1978 and 1979.
"I believe it will be even more successful than the A9X."
Brock will field a second MHDTCommodore in the endurance races.
It will be driven by long-distance expert, John Harvey, who partnered Brock in the MHDT in 1978/79.
NEW DIREOOR Mr Bruce Black has been appointed Director of Manufacturing after
nearly 30 yea�s with GMH.
Mr Black, 49, was formerly Manufacturing Manager of the company's Fishermens Bend operations in Melbourne.
His a p pointment fol lows a reorganisation of some executive responsibilities within the company.
He succeeds Mr Reid Rundell, who is now Executive Director of Operations.
Mr Black joined GMH in 1952 as a draftsman at Wo odville in Adelaide.
He had risen to senior management level by 1968, when he was appointed Production Engineer at GMH's South Australian operations.
In mid- 1971 he was transferred to Melbourne as Manager of Central Production Engineering and Forward Planning.
His appointment as Manufacturing Manager at Fisher mens Bend . followed in late 1977.
As Director of Manufacturing, Mr Black will continue to report to Mr Rundell.
Mr Rundell now has ultimate responsibility for all manufacturing, reliability and quality control, cost r e d u c t i o n , a n d c o m p o n e n t s activities.
Messrs Jim Stratton (Director of Reliability and Quality Control), Ray Michnay (Manager, Cost Reduction) and Neil Griffin (Manager, Components Division) now also report to Mr Rundell.
In other changes, Mr John Rock has been made Executive Director
of Marketing, while Mr Bill de Long becomes Executive Director of Finance.
The Service Department now reports directly to Mr Rock, whose responsibilities are otherwise unchanged. Mr de Long's responsibilities are also as before.
All these changes are part of an overall restructuring of GM's major overseas activities.
• GMH's new Director of Manufacturing, Mr Bruce Black.
OI�LE�11 EDITORIAL ENQL'IRIES - Phone fishermens Bend nt. 1689, or write to PEOPLE magazine, Mail Point A2Ull, Fishermens Bend.
EDITORIAL STAFF - Richard Skjellerup, Jeff Fisher and Mark Fogarty. .
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS- Da\IC Casey and Geoff Weatherley.
·
PEOPLE magazine is published by the Public Affairs Department of General Motors-Holden's Ltd and printed by Peter Isaacson Publication , 46-49 Porter St., Prahran, Victoria, J 181 (phone 03-51 8431).
Editorial contributions to PEOPLE magazine are welcomed from all employees. Send to the address above, including your plant location, mail point and phone extension.
JOB OFFERS
FOR P'WOOD
EMPLOYEES GMH's efforts to find alternative employment for employees currently working at its Pagewood vehicle assembly plant in Sydney have resulted in offers of jobs for 550 people.
Since the closure announcement earlier this month, job offers have been received from a wide variety of businesses.
The majority have to date come from firms outside the motor industry.
T h e o f f e r s r e s u l t f r o m approaches to GMH b y outside companies looking for staff and contact by Pagewood Personnel Officers with dealers, suppliers and other motor industry-related businesses in Sydney.
Personnel Department staff are also working with the Commonwealth Employment Service to match plant employees with job vacancies.
In addition, GMH has forwarded a list of employees and their job classifications in groupings according to their residential postcodes to the Motor Traders Association of NSW.
The MT A will circularise the list to its members throughout the State.
Arrangements are being made for employees affected by GMH's deci-
sion to close the Pagewood plant on August 29 to go for interviews for the various positions that are available.
GMH's offer of employment at its assembly plants at Dandenong in Victoria , El izabeth in South Australia, and Acacia Ridge in Queensland has so far been accepted by around 1 0 per cent of the 1 200 Pagewood employees affected by the closure decision.
Interstate About three-quarters of the
employees who have elected to transfer interstate have nominated Acacia Ridge in Brisbane.
The decision to shut down Pagewood was announced in Sydney on Tuesday, July 1 by GMH Managing Director, Mr Chuck Chapman.
Mr Chapman stressed that the plant closure affected vehicle assembly operations only, and had not been influenced in any way by the export credit program.
He said GMH would continue to buy substantial quantities of com-
The huge alx-� fan In the wind tunnel can produce wind speeds of up to 240 kmlh. OMH engineers will hawe access to Mrodynamlc data complied at the Englneerlnst Staff Aerodynamics Laboratory - the tunnel's official name.
An aerial view of the Pagewood plant. Exhaustive studies have shown that to expand and modernise the factory would cost $1 00 million.
ponents and items required for vehicle manufacture from companies based in New South Wales.
"We plan to spend $120 million with NSW suppliers in the next year," Mr Chapman said.
"This business generates several thousand jobs. In addition, GMH dealers and our own Sydney office will give employment to more than 5,500 people in New South Wales.
"We are still, and intend to remain, a major contributor to the economy of the State.
$100 million "The decision to cease produc
tion at Pagewood followed extensive economic studies which showed that more than $100 million would have to be spent there to update major plant facilities.
A giant new wind tunnel recently opened by General Motors in the United States will play a significant role in the design of future Holden models.
GMH engineers will have access to the wind tunnel, which will help mcrease the fuel economy of the next generation of Holden vehicles through improved aerodynamics.
The new Engineering Staff Aerodynamics Laboratory at the GM Technical Centre in Warren, Michigan, began operations last month.
II took two years to build, and is the largest automotive wind tunnel in the world.
The only aerodynamic test facility that is bigger is the Lockheed Aircraft wind tunnel.
The GM tunnel will be used extensively in GM's world car design programs to reduce the air drag of its future models for improved fuel economy.
GMH is playing an integral role in these world car programs, and latest aerodynamic test data is forw a r d e d r e g u l a r l y to H o l d e n engineers.
In addition, GMH Assistant Chief Engineer-Body, Don Wylie. is a permanent member of the GM Aerodynamics Co-ordination Group - a worldwide task force that gathers and evaluates data on the aerodynamic performance of existing and future new vthicle designs.
Valuable gains in fuel economy are available through wind tunnel research, says Wylie.
"Half or more of the fuel burned
"The studies also showed GMH could become more cost effective and improve product quality by producing vehicles at three, rather than four, assembly plants."
Mr Chapman said the decision was made despite generous offers made by the New South Wales government.
He said these offers were aimed at enabling expansion of the Pagewood plant - which currently produces about 1 20 vehicles a day - and would have removed some of the restrictions which have hampered operations at the site for a number of years.
"I want to acknowledge the cooperation given us by the New South Wales government. Our basic problem, however, is one of economics.
by a car travelling at 80 km/h is to push air out of the way", he says. "Reducing this aerodynamic drag allows a vehicle to go further on a litre of petrol.
"There is considerable design flexibility in improving airflow. Minor changes can often have a significant effect on fuel economy.
"There is no rule-of-thumb formula - we keep learning with every pew wind tunnel test."
Don Wylie says the accessibility of a central, computer-run wind tunnel will enable GMH to complement local test findings.
"We are currently working with the owners of a local wind tunnel, and the sheer size and sophistication of the GM facility will provide an invaluable base for our developments."
The wind-cheating shape of Australia's top-selling car, the
"The age and limitations of the Pagewood plant make it too expensive to operate and too expensive to expand or modernise, despite the best efforts of the New South Wales government.
Continuation "In addition, we have an excess of
plant capacity and just could not justify continuation of Pagewood operations."
Of the 1300 people currently employed at Pagewood, about 300 will remain on the company's Sydney payroll when assembly operations cease. This number will be gradually reduced over a number of months as outstanding work is finalised until approximately 100 employees are left.
Holden Commodore. was the result of extensive aerodynamic research.
Prior to the completion of its own wind tunnel, GM used outside facilities to test full-scale models.
Substantial increases in GM's aerodynamic research time to improve fuel economy will result from the establishment of the Engineering Staff Aerodynamics Laboratory.
The GM wind tunnel is powered by a 2983 kW (4000 bhp) electric motor that drives a 13.1 metre (43 foot) diameter, six-blade fan.
The huge fan can produce wind speeds of up to 240 km/h (150 mph).
Besides using aerodynamics to obtain maximum fuel economy for new cars and light trucks, the new facility offers on-site development of engine radiator flow, body ventilation, and highway wind stability and handling.
GM AUTOMOTIVE WIND TUNNEL
� \tuNNEl J.IOM OfSIGN \l.t.JF
The layout of the GM wind tunnel, which is the second largest In the world.
PEOPLE, July 1 gao - Page 5
-
Pege e - PEOPLE, July 1 aao .
ROUND THE PLANTS ... AROUND THE PLANTS ... AROUND THE PLANTS ... AROUND THE PLANTS ... AROUND THE PLANTS
ENGINE PLANT TOUR A group of production apprentices who are being trained as possible
Production Supervisors visited the Flshermens Bend engine plant site recently. The photo above shows them discussing the new plant with Bob Young, General Supervlaor, Apprentice Training (extreme right). The apprentices are (from left to right): Charlie Kolouzlejczyk, Craig
Symons, Ano Doukoglou, Lyle Wilshire, Joe Privitera, Joe Collins, Jim Griffin, Steve Ogilvie, Russell Currie, Roy Ham, Greg Jobllng, and Jeff Deed.
Thanks from the
Heart When Arthur Jones retired
recently, he donated the proceeds of a collection to the South Australian Heart Foundation.
Mr J. Dunne, Chairman of the S. A. Heart Foundation accepted a cheaue for $251.00 from Arthur.
He said this was the first donation of this kind ever made to the foundation and presented Arthur with a memento key-ring.
Arthur, who was the South Australian Engineering Manager, retired after 22 years with GMH.
• Chairman of the South Australian Heart Foundation, Mr J. Dunne (right) accepts the donation from retiring GMH employee, Arthur Jones.
A pilot-build Commodore has been donated to the Newport Technical College's Automotive School.
GMH Director of Personnel, Mr Ed Ellison, presented the vehicle to the Principal of the college, Mr Ken Hall, recently.
The donation will allow motor mechanic apprentices to work on a modern vehicle incorporating the l a t e st developments In motor cars.
Mr Hall says that, since the donation was made, there has been noticeable improvement in attitude t o w a r d s t h e t r a i n i n g program by the apprentices.
The Newport Technical College is a new multi-million dollar development for t raining apprentices in M e l b o u r n e ' s w e s t e r n suburbs.
A n u m b e r o f m o t o r m e c h a n i c s a n d f i t t e r app rentices f r o m GMH attend the college.
The college Is due to be officially opened later this year.
IT'S
A FAMILY
AFFAIR It was a proud night for
first year fitter and turner Stuart Tyerman at the South A u st r a l i a n F i r st Ye a r A p p r e n t i c e E v e n i n g a t Woodville on May 29.
Like other apprentices from the July 1979 and January intakes, Stuart brought his family along for a plant tour and inspection of the Apprentice Training Centre. Around 350 people attended the function.
Our photo (above left) shows Stuart with his family, demonstrating the precision boring.of a bronze sleeve on a Nutall engine lathe. From left to right in the photo are his grandmother, mother and father, Stuart himself, his grandfather, and sister Oust peeking around grandpa's shoulder).
The two top performing fourth year apprentices at Woodville were announced at the function, with prizes being awarded on results obtained over the compulsory threeyear technical college training course.
The winners were fitting and turning apprentice Bob Giles and electroplating apprentice Rudy Galletti.
Meanwhile, a week earlier, S. A. apprentices who completed their training earlier this year were presented with their indentures.
Keith Lancaster (left) a tradesman trimmer at Woodville Is shown discussing the method applied to reviM a Gerber Lay with George Hutchins. The reviMd method resulted In material .. vlngs, and a Suggestion Award for Keith of $2181.00.
SUGGESTION AWARDS Suggestion awards of substantial amounts were awarded
during April and May. Congratulations to these people for their foresight and ingenuity:
ACACIA RIDGE R. A. Smart and D.G. Carrick
$3284.00 S. Grajczonek $680.00 S. Tail $395.00
PAGEWOOD K. Giitsidis $498.00
DA NDENONG R. Haley B. C. Howe
$526.00 $456.00
FISH ERMENS BEND M. Curtis $1000.00
V. Schultz W. A. Blair M. Niassos P. B. Fitzgibbon
$1705.00 $2485.00
$885.00 $1360.00
ELIZABETH
P. Sumner R. Hart R. K. Lancaster R. McDougall J. Robinson F. Sette G. Farrelly S. Grabowski
$770.00 $634.00
$2181.00 $804.00 $760.50 $760.5f
$1190.0 $698.00
INSTITUTE INTAKE
The 1 980 c ontin gent of GMH empl oyees to
th e G M In st itute recently left f or Fl int, Mich igan.
Pictured below from l eft: Malcolm W alsh (Engine ering, Fi shermens Bend); Mary Bertuna (Financ e, Fi shermens Bend); Jo e Loc i (Manufacturing, Fi shermens Bend); P hi l l ip Smi t h (Manufacturing, Eli zabeth); Willi a m Brown (Manufacturing, Woodvill e ); Mardi Kent (Per sonnel, F i shermens Bend); Li ndse y Si e de (Engine ering, Fi shermens Bend); P hi l McK enzi e (Reli a bili ty, Fi shermens Bend) ; M a rk St e w a r t (Manufacturing, Pa g ewood).
Shutterbugs second in State contest
The GMH Camera Club has gained second place in the slide group of the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies' annual interclub competition.
1 The competition was held over the '
Queen's Birthday weekend. Seventy clubs completed and this year's event marks the first time the GMH club has gained an award.
The GMH Camera Club Is one of the largest and most active clubs affiliated with the GMH Sports and Social Club at Fishermens Bend.
The club offers its members advice and organises competitions for them. It caters for experienced and novice photographers.
Also, the club has made arrangements in the retail trade so that members can obtain generous discounts on all photographic supplies and eQuipment.
GMH employees who are not members of the club can also benefit from the club's activities. A photographic processing service offering a 20% discount on all processing is available. This service is available through Otto Streubel at Door 21 in Plant 1 (mailpoint 1 11).
The club meets on the second Wednesday of each month in the Theatrette of the Technical Centre, starting at 7 pm.
Evening meals will be available in the canteen before each meeting,
1 which features a competition for the best print and slide.
An independent judge is asked to each meeting for the selection of the best prints and slides submitted. Points are awarded to the winners. The people with the most points at the end of the year are presented with annual prizes.
All the winning prints and slides for each month are entitled to be entered into the annual competition for the year's best print and slide.
The club also participates in interclub competition with the Broadmeadows and Corio Camera Clubs.
The GMH Camera Club was founded 27 years ago.
Membership of the camera club 1s confined to GMH employees. The annual membership fee is $2, and the joining fee is 20c.
Membership enQuiries may be made to Ray Jenner on ext. 1 245 or George Wallis on ext. 1511 at Fishermens Bend.
• Former Plant Manager, Mr Len Cocks, cuts the birthday cake celebrating Elizabeth's 21st year in operation. Elizabeth Fabricating Materials Manager, Mr Brian Griffin, looks on.
Tutor Warwick
PEOPLE, July Hl80 - Page 7
Plant Managers' return visit
Two former Elizabeth plant managers recently made a timely return to the production floor at GMH's South Australian vehicle assembly headquarters.
Len Cocks and Jack Hoey, who retired In 1966 and 1975 respectively, called at Elizabeth during the plant's 21st anniversary celebrations last month.
The former managers joined senior G M H executives at Elizabeth in a celebration luncheon.
And afterwards Mr Cocks, who was E l i z a b e t h ' s f i r s t a p p o i n t e d p l a n t manager, helped cut a 21st birthday cake to mark the occasion.
To celebrate Elizabeth's 21st year in operation a pictorial exhibition, tracing the history of the plant, was arranged for its 5000 employees.
The exhibition. consisting of around 60 photographs, went on show at five different plant locations.
The photographs depicted the plant during construction, portraits of machinery in use and long serving Body Hardware Plant employees.
The Elizabeth complex, north of Adelaide. began operations in May 1959 as part of a major Australia-wide expansion plan by GMH.
It now Incorporates vehicle assembly, metal stamplngs, trim fabrication, body hardware and a central warehouse.
WB Statesman and commercials, and now VC Commodores, are assembled at the South Australian plant.
Employment at Elizabeth is now 12 times the original level.
New manager
of Lang Lang One of GMH's most senior
engineers, Laurie Sparke, h a s b e e n a p p o i n t e d Manager of the Lang Lang Proving Ground in southeast Victoria.
Mr Sparke, 38, was formerly Supervisor of the GMH Noise and V i b r a t i o n G r o u p , S t r u c t u r e s Laboratory, and Vehicle Evaluation Group.
He had specialised In noise and vibration analysis since 1966 and was a member of a group of GMH noise and vibration engineers that won last year's Society of Automotive Engineers J. E. Batchelor Award for their paper "Noise and Vibration Control In Cars and Trucks".
Mr Sparke takes over as Manager of the Proving Ground from Hugh Vide ion.
Mr Vldeion has been appointed Executive Engineer following the retirement of John Marshall.
Laurie Sparke's transfer from GMH headQuarters at Fishermens Bend in Melbourne to Lang Lang has resulted In a re-organisation of his former position.
Ray Berrett has been appointed Supervisor of the Noise and Vibration Group, while the Structures Laboratory and Vehicle Evaluation Group are now administered by John Finlayson.
Mr Berrett and Mr Finlayson were formerly Experimental Engineers.
to retire earty
• Warwick Exton (right) at a recent lecture.
A 20-year career devoted to the training and development of GMH employees ends next month when Warwick E1don takes early retirement.
Warwick, 57, joined GMH tn 1960 as a Training Officer at Dandenong.
He has been the driving force behind many programs that have benefitted employees at all GMH plants since 1 9 6 7 , w h e n h e w a s a p p o i n t e d Manager, Training.
ISUZU
Most recently, he has been assisting in the development of the Management Training Programs at MATEC. The Financial Management, Problem Solvmg and Decision Making programs are am• 1g the latest he's developed for the company.
Warwick's interest in training has
gone beyond GMH. He has been a part
lime lecturer on Management at both
the Footscray and Moorabbin Techni-
cal Colleges.
GMH's popular lsuzu trucks are now assembled at the Dandenong plant in Victoria.
The diesel engined lsuzu SBR 422, JCR 420 and the longer wheelbase JCR 500 models are assembled at Dandenong from CKD (Completely Knocked Down) packs.
They were previously imported from Japan as fully built-up units.
Dandenong is an ideal choice for the production of top quality lsuzu units after earnIng Itself an enviable reputation maintaining top or second placing in GMC's monthly World Quality Index of products from its commercial vehicle plants.
One immediate advantage of local lsuzu assembly is the expanded range of colours available.
Fully built-up imported units were previously available only in white or beige.
lsuzu fleet operators may now order specific colour combinations which can be applied at the plant from GMH's extensive commercial vehicle colour charts.
GMH maintains close links with lsuzu of Japan. Engineers from Dandenong and lsuzu's factories in Tokyo are Involved in regular exchange programmes.
And two lsuzu engineers reside permanently in Australia.
•Left: lsuzu KB40 4x4. Above: Holden One-Tonner Chassis Cab.
•Left: Holden Panel Van. Above: Kingswood Utility. Right: The journalists and GMH personnel Involved In the trip to the Flinders Ranges.
'Roof of the world' trip
A trek through the world's highest mountain range, the H imalayas, is the kind of adventure most people only dream about
But GMH's Johan Kruize, a Senior Illustrator in the Graphics Department of the Engineering Drawing Office at Fishermens Bend, has done it.
Along with 16 other Victorian mountain climbers, Johan spent 26 days earlier this year exploring the snow-bound Himalayas.
The group was accompanied by 16 Sherpas - friendly mountain people who live in the high country at the foot of Mt Everest - and 43 Nepalese porters.
Johan was very taken by the people he met during the trip -especially the Sherpas.
"Always cheerful, happy and very helpful, they lead a spartan but simple life from which we could learn a thing or two," he told PEOPLE.
He was equally enthusiastic about the sights he saw.
"The scenery was breathtaking -a paradise for photographers.
"There were times I wished for a spare pair of legs, but I have not stopped talking about the trip which is the most exciting thing I've ever done."
Johan climbed the Himalayas in t h e m i d d l e o f t h e n o r t h e r n
hemisphere winter - the best time for travelling through the ranges. The panoramic views are not as clear in s ummer, when haze obscures the mountains.
The highest camp established by the group was at 4267 metres (14,000 feet). But many of the party, including Johan, climbed to 5395 metres (17,700 feet).
Johan is pictured (left), at the highest part of the trek, where he enjoyed a magnificent view of Mt Everest, the world's highest mountain.
To keep out the cold at that altitude, he wore two sweaters, three pairs of trousers, a parka, gloves, boots and a hat.
The party slept in two-man tents. At night the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees Celcius and remained below zero by day.
The food for the trip was prepared by the Sherpas.
The crystal-clear streams in the Himalayas are deceptive. Despite their clarity, the water is unsafe to drink.
World Car
teach-in
I e m p l o y e e s a r e 1 attending a world-wide train-1 ing program in preparation for 1 the local introduction of I I General Motors' next World
I Car. I A total of 27 production I I staff supervisors are current-• ly involved in a five-week 1
learning program in Germany. , I They are being instructed in t h e u s e of complicated I machinery they will work with
I at the four cylinder engine 1 plant currently under con-
I struction at Fisherman's I I Bend. I
Training in the use of the 1 machinery is being super- I vised by Opel which has I I posted students to various
I factories around Germany 1 using the equipment.
I Training is also being con- I 1 ducted at Opel's headquar- 1
ters at Russelheim, near I Frankfurt. I I Personnel from GM Brasil I I are also involved in the same I training program.
I And later in the year GMH I I manufacturing staff are due 1
to visit GMC Detroit for
I further Instruction. I L--------1
