PAPERmaking! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 6, Number 2, 2020 PITA CENTENARY PART 2: WHEN ART MET SCIENCE Daven Chamberlain, PITA Publications Editor
The previous article 5 highlighted the events that led prior to formation of the Papermakers’ Association Technical Section (which morphed eventually into the modern Paper Industry Technical Association – known more widely as PITA). This new article will follow some of the events and issues faced by the Technical Section (hereafter ‘Section’) during its first forty years (1920-1959) – the period immediately prior to the introduction of Paper Technology as the new flagship publication. The period after WWI saw major developments in most industries, as science was used to evaluate and improve all sorts of manufacturing processes. However, the transition from an artisanal operation to a scientific endeavour was not without problems. For instance, as was noted by Hugh Rutt (Chairman, 1948- 50) “The industry after the First World War was still run by practical paper makers and engineers. There were very few chemists – in fact they were regarded as rather queer fellows who came forward with all sorts of untenable theories. The truth is that most paper makers at that time simply did not understand what the chemists were talking about. Consequently, if a man was a chemist, he was apt to be regarded with suspicion.” 6 However, the advance of scientific methods into papermaking was thanks in no small part to the Technical Sections of the UK and other national organisations – most notably those in Canada (founded 1915), Finland (1914), Germany (1905), Sweden (1908) and USA (1915). These all provided a forum for discussion and dissemination of scientific ideas and principles, along with journals for publishing research. Also, it is thanks to the work of these bodies, that national and international standardisation of testing methods entered our industry. In the UK, the embryo Section grew from a meeting that took place on 5 th March 1920 at the Midland Hotel, Manchester. A Committee was formed and invitations issued to membership on 31 st March 1920, a Constitution was adopted on 21 st April 1920, and the first General Conference held on 8 th October 1920, although a local branch in Aberdeen had started meetings prior to this. 7 Local branches then formed in Manchester and London. In a relatively few years local divisions were formed in London, Manchester, Scotland, and eventually, the West of England, and biannual national conferences started, one in London and the other in either Edinburgh or Manchester, which provided ready material for publication. From the start it was noted that to make real progress as an industry, it would be necessary to adopt modern ideas about science and engineering, and to cease the empiricism that had hitherto formed the basis of the craft. 8 However, mere academic training was deemed of no practical use. Rather, the scientist or engineer needed training in the special aspects of the trade, while the practical craftsmen needed some grounding of a more academic nature. This all required revision of the current training offered to industry members, therefore a major feature of the early years of the Section involved modernisation of the City and Guilds Examination curriculum to make it fit for purpose. 9 Four levels of membership were on offer from the very beginning: ‘ Ordinary Members’ were employees of paper mills; ‘Associate Members’ were employees of allied firms (suppliers); ‘Junior Members’ were those under 25 years of age, employed either by paper mills or allied companies; and ‘Corresponding Members’ were those resident abroad. In addition, occasional ‘Honorary Members’ were voted in, the first such being C.F. Cross of Cross and Bevan. 10 While ever the distinction persisted between the different levels of membership, ordinary ‘ Ordinary Members’ predominated, followed by ‘Associate Members’. Finally, a new category, ‘Corporate Members’, appeared from 1934. 11 Dissemination of information was also a priority; local meetings offered fellowship and networking opportunities, but without publication of the work to reach a wider audience progress would be limited. So, transcripts of the various presentations, many of them important reviews or in-depth research papers into different practical aspects of papermaking, scientific investigation of testing methods and procedures, philosophical tracts on the role of science or of management in the industry, and works on statistics, education, and even history, were published in the well-known series Proceedings of the Technical Section , bound from the start in the characteristic orange card covers – which may offer a clue as to the origin of the orange cover associated with Paper Technology . Seminal early works included James Strachan (Chairman,
Article 16 – PITA History Parts 1-3
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