Inside Back Cover - C.M. (Clem) Anson and Steel

ISSUE : Issue 28

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1981/6/1

you old bugger, you don't know much about a steel plant if you think you can stop spending money. (Because up till A. V. Roe/ Hawker-Siddeley bought the plant, you were putting money back in that plant and mak- ing money with the plant?) That's right. Yes. (If they had put money in and run the plant properly....) They couldn't because they didn't have the competence. Any good steelmaker could have. No question in my mind. The tragedy was when Hawker-Siddeley came in the picture originally. They were completely incompetent. (And your opinion has never changed on this?) No. Reinforced it, if anything. (I wish you could say to me, they saw a way to make money by letting the plant go down, and this was a smart boardroom busi? ness deal..,.) I don't know why they ever came to such a decision, craziest thing I ever heard of, group of so-called industri? al people talking, making such silly deci? sions. (To get out in '67?) Yes. To aban? don this plant. At that time they could buy billets, for instance, from England cheaper than they could buy them from here. There was a slump at the time. Well, this was one of the arguments they put up to the government at the time, That's why they were closing up. They could get their steel supplies from England cheaper. (And if they had held onto it, if they had treated it right, would we have the prob? lems we're facing today?) Not if they had been competent operators. In fact, on the contrary, if they had gone ahead with Con? trecoeur as we decided originally, this plant would be making over a million tons every year. And it did make a million tons the first full year the government had it, (You put a tremendous amount in that plant,) I gave my life to it, in effect. My working life, I was appointed general manager of that plant in 1940, and in 1945 they made me general manager of the whole thing, not coal. (And you've stayed, not gone back to England or Australia.) People used to ask me when I was getting around 60, where you going when you retire? Every? body else pretty well who had anything to do with the running of it, when they re? tired, they left here. I said, I'm going to stay right here. I don't know any bet? ter place in the world. But as for the steel plant, I cut myself clear. Well, they put me on the board of directors for SYSCO, but I wasn't too happy there. (Were you the only one on the board who knew how to make steel?) Except for the president, and he didn't know too much about it. He had not gone through a life of steelmaking as I have. Thanks to Harvey MacLeod, Sydney Steel Corp,, for old photographs used in this article. Bird Island Tours CAMPING and CABINS A 2 1/2 hour cruise fro. MOUNTAIN VIEW BY THE SEA 4 miles off Trans-Canada Highway at Big Bras d'Or (902)674-2384 Growing Blueberries... What about your land? Expansion of the Nova Scotia blueberry industry has been dramatic with the lowbush blueberry developing into one of the most important horticultural crops in our province. In 1953, Nova Scotia produced 1.125 million pounds of blueberries with a farm value of $152,000. In 1979, provincial production was 10.7 million pounds with a farm value of S4.2 million and a total value to the Nova Scotia economy of over S8 million. Blue? berries are the number one fruit crop in Nova Scotia in total acreage, dollar return and export sales, providing one of the highest thousand acres. This could double our present yearly production. However, expansion will only be realized with landowners committing more acres to production on land which in most cases is unsuited for other types of The Nova Scotia Department of Agricul? ture and Marketing realizes the growth po? tential in the blueberry industry and has a number of programs to help landowners interested in commercial production. The Department has a land clearing policy which, subject to eligibility, offers financial help to growers for each acre cleared. The De? partment also provides the latest technical, research and production information avail- net incomes of any agricultural commodity But the blueberry success story is with its large scale commercial development based on years of steadily increased production. It has taken aggressive promotion by the blueberry industry and government, con tinuous research and improved cultural practices, expanded markets and a lot of hard work. There are about 20 thousand acres cur rently in production in Nova Scotia with the potential for developing another 10 to 15 able, along v through its specialists. assistance on berry prodi M ' vith sound advice,to the grower horticultural and marketing vould like more information or how to get your land into blue- uction contact: Nova Scotia of Agriculture and Marketing. ?? NOVA SCOTIA DEPARTMENT n OF AGRICULTURE & MARKETING J Hon. Rogers. Bacon, Minister ' Walter V. Grant, Deputy Minister

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