This is the biannual auto industry component/supplier show held at Palexpo in Geneva. May 1982.
I judged we should take a stand and exhibit. We needed new customers. Hopefully the Japanese auto buyers and engineers would attend. Joe Eames did most of the legwork, organising the stand and exhibits. It was a chance for us to launch our new corporate image and logo and our capabilities. Especially in innovative, reduced weight, reduced cost products.
On the day before opening Joe and I worked late, perfecting our stand and display. It was about 7pm and I said to Joe, “let's have a look at the 'opposition' without the crowds.” Only a handful of stand-builders were present in the vast hall. We came across the stand of a Birmingham metal-brasher we sometimes encountered and to my absolute amazement, prominently displayed was an exact replica of our Jaguar hollow pedal, but badly made (hand-gob-welded) and poorly finished. Clearly the Jaguar buyer had sent our copyrighted drawings to competitors. This supplier had zero R&D capability, I was incandescent! I removed the said components from their stand, put them under my jacket and threw them in an enormous skip outside. Joe was open-jawed! “It's passion, Joe. Passion!" We locked our Jaguar pedals away each evening in case of a retaliatory strike.
Don and I had words with Jaguar purchasing along the lines of: "We think up the innovations for Jaguar, do all the work, present measured results to you, at no cost to Jaguar. We present you with a better, cheaper product: our copyright. You promptly breach confidentiality and you kick us where it hurts. Why should we do any such work for you in the future? Do you have an answer to that?" They had none, except a lame excuse of checking our piece price. We later won the order for the complete pedal box. Quite right. There was no other UK supplier capable.
Back at SITEV, we manned the stand, meeting buyers, product engineers we knew. All good stuff. But our goal was finding new customers, who didn't know us. During day two, I got fed up with Chinese visitors photographing our products in great detail, clearly on plagiarizing missions for their emerging motor industry. I instructed my people to ask them to leave!
By good fortune later that morning, I was on the stand and a distinctly oriental gentleman, better dressed than most, was staring intently at our products. I was about to tell him to leave, when instinct stopped me. I cautioned my colleagues likewise. I thought him Japanese. He had authoritative presence and what's more, he looked familiar. As I walked up to him I asked was he Mr Tarada. He looked at me puzzled and replied, “yes indeed" I explained we had met 18 months previously when he had been a member of the Nissan Fact Finding Tour of the UK, exploring the UK auto component sector.
This was at SU-Butec in Thame. Realisation and perplexity appeared concurrently on his face. I explained further I had given him a presentation of Rearsby Components. "But", he said, "that was BL?" "We are now totally independent. At arm’s length from BL.
The company was bought out by myself and the top management,” I explained. “Independent!" He quizzed me more. The concept of a MBO was totally alien to him. Totally. He did, however understand; no BL involvement. No impediment to working with us.
He said he would return at 14:00 hours with his Chief Engineer!
What a breakthrough. Amazing luck. The fact I was able to distinguish Japanese from Chinese was based upon my earlier visit to Japan. The more incredible fact I had recognised him, was on a finest fine thread of distant memory. Pure instinct. I gathered my colleagues around me. "This is it!" Only one breakthrough is required.
I briefed them. These people are Japanese. 14:00 means precisely 14:00, to the second. Be here, be brilliant and let me lead. I warned my colleagues typically, Japanese look younger than they are. Don't underestimate any of them. Thorough professionals. More senior than they would imagine. Serious and dedicated. Taradasan arrived at 14:00 with his chief engineer and support staff. They spent an hour with us.
They were serious. I gathered a UK Nissan vehicle plant was to be built. They had agreed with the UK government: 60% initially, rising to 80% local product sourcing.
SITEV what an investment!