Club Meeting

Ian McAlpine, who has recently transferred from the Rotary Club of Crompton and Royton was invited to give his ' My Life & My Job' to the Club.

I was born in Failsworth, which is 4-5 miles northeast of Manchester and the birthplace of the poet Ben Brierley. My father was a cotton spinner, and mother initially a machinist. My father left the cotton industry in early 60’s, with the mill closures, and worked for British Aerospace in Chadderton, which under its former name Avro was the home of the Lancaster Bomber during the war.

Both parents were keen on gardening, so I spent part of my childhood involved with this. My mother became a teacher of Floral Art in various parts of Manchester, later specialising in Japanese Floral Art (Ikebana).

I have been married to Sheila for 45 years (we met via Scouts/ Guides/Church Youth Group) and have lived in High Crompton, Shaw the whole of this time. I should explain that Crompton, as in Crompton & Royton Rotary Club, is officially the name of the area, of which Shaw is a part, and is situated between Oldham and Rochdale. Sheila taught Maths at Crompton House, which is a C of E Secondary School, and was also Head of Year 7.

We have two children who were keen on Scouts, Guides, Gymnastics and Music, and both gained the Queens Scouts and Gold D of E awards. Our son is a Civil Engineer living in Wellesbourne, near Stratford on Avon, and our daughter a Management Accountant living in Nantwich. We have four granddaughters between the ages of 7 and 11; my daughters’ two children attend Peartree Primary in Nantwich. The reason for moving to Shavington was to be near our daughter, but it also cuts the journey time to visit our son.

Education and Career

I attended primary school and, initially, secondary school in Failsworth, but moved to Openshaw Technical High School in Manchester at 13. I enjoyed Chemistry at school, due to an inspirational teacher, and after “A” levels decided to work in the chemical industry, for JR Geigy in Trafford Park. After 2 years, and an HNC, I decided to go to university and gained a London BSc Degree, and then PhD from Salford University in 1968.

My first job was at the Gas Council, in Solihull, where I worked on chemical uses for natural gas. However, it was not the role that I had expected so I joined Magnesium Elektron (later MEL Chemicals) based in Swinton, Manchester, in 1969 and was there for 35 years.

The company was initially part of British Aluminium, then British Alcan and later the Luxfer Group, which has its head office in Salford Quays. The company was the world’s leading producer of speciality zirconium chemicals. I started initially in R&D working on new products for the paper, textiles and paint industries. My initial work was with the paper industry and developing new products and technology for paper coating. In this I eventually became involved with intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks, and also food contact regulations, because of paper packaging for food.

I then became section manager responsible for all new product development. In 1990 I did an Alcan sponsored MBA course at Keele University which, although difficult to combine studies with work, was the best move I made for confidence boosting in management and learning the workings of a very large company in the case of Alcan.

I later became Technical Manager responsible for R&D, plant and sales support, and QC. My work involved close cooperation with customers and so lots of travelling in Europe, the USA and Japan. The company had a plant in New Jersey, USA, which I visited regularly, and also one in Japan as part of the aluminium company Nippon Light Metal. Zirconium is a little known element but has wide industrial uses. I worked with industries mentioned earlier but also ceramics, automotive catalysts, and artificial gemstones.

I was involved in the early days of fuel cells, which are now becoming popular for power generation. I also worked with suppliers to the automotive industry, such as exhaust catalyst producers, as well as oxygen sensor producers. These areas involve materials chemistry, which is very important for the technologies of the future with new battery technology and the hydrogen economy. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry I follow the developments in both these areas, via the journal, and will be interested to see which way things progress.

I have given lectures to large audiences in the USA, Japan, Sweden and the UK, and have visited many universities in the UK as part of my role to set up sponsored research with leaders in relevant fields. I have met a wide range of people all over the world and found most to be friendly and cooperative. Perhaps it is the scientific community which brings this out. If you know your subject you are always made welcome.

Interests, hobbies, etc

My earliest interests were gardening, and then scouts. I joined the Scout Movement as a Cub, then went through the various sections to become a leader. When we moved to Shaw I joined St. Mary’s Scouts as a Scout Leader, and then became Group Scout Leader. I was also involved at District level with adult training, and latterly as Deputy County Commissioner for Greater Manchester North.

I have attended events, camps, jamborees, etc in the UK and overseas. I particularly liked outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, and trained people for D of E, through Scouting and also Crompton House School, where Sheila ran the Bronze award.

I became involved with Crompton House School over 20 years ago first as a Trustee and later as a Governor, and have seen many changes in education during that time. I found this very rewarding but sometimes frustrating, especially because I was health and safety governor!

Another interest I have is in travel. I was lucky during my business career to visit many places but not always seeing the most picturesque. So I decided to take Sheila to some places I had enjoyed, but this time as a tourist, and also to visit other countries in for example Asia, South America, Europe and Australasia.

I joined the Rotary Club of Crompton & Royton 10 years ago and have been mainly involved with youth and international committees. I organised mock interviews and Student of the Year with Crompton House as well as trips to District Excitement of Science events. A small team including myself and Sheila were also speakers for ShelterBox for around 5 years. I became interested in ShelterBox due to Rotary, and also my involvement in Scouting and survival skills, and enlisted Sheila and 2 others to help.

I have enjoyed my time in Rotary and hope that I shall be able to contribute.

President Tony thanked Ian for a very interesting insight into his life.