To my brother’s absolute horror, nine years my senior and far more conservative than I was, I instructed him to sign the contract. It was around May 2001, and our melamine line would be pressing the first board and HPL [high-pressure laminate] 11 months later.
The period between ordering the melamine press line and pressing the first board was an exhilarating time in my life — the realisation of a long-term dream. For my brother, conversely, it was a time of anxiety. He was not a happy man. He continually fretted about what the dominant player could still do to our business. However, we managed to keep the press line quiet for long enough so they could not react to the news before it was too late.
During a visit to our offices, a long-time acquaintance and employee of one of our suppliers leaned in with a wink and said in a mock whisper, “If you’re thinking of putting in melamine capacity, now’s the time. Neither we nor the dominant player can meet demand right now.”
There was great excitement the day the huge press frames and 40-foot-long containers began arriving. The entire workforce and staff took time out to observe this momentous event. Even my brother showed keen interest. The riggers saw the destuffing of the containers and the unloading of the massive press frames, bolsters and the huge hydraulic cylinders with 450mm diameter pistons. It was an impressive spectacle, the likes of which I would witness several times over the next five years — and each time would be just as special.
The press line took almost three months to assemble, install and test before our first board was pressed. A hole had to be cut through the reinforced concrete floor between the ground and lower ground floors so the huge press frames could stick through. For weeks the factory buzzed with riggers and electricians as the press took shape — a towering structure pushing through concrete and time alike. I was sitting on the fire escape staircase that served the three floors one morning when my chief engineer came walking up.
We both remember as though it were yesterday. I said to him as he neared, “Now we are going to have to make chipboard!” Two years later, he and I would fly to Beirut, Lebanon, of all places.
Kilometres of cable and electronic wiring for the melamine line took electricians a few months to install. William Tell was a stimulating place to be, and there was a growing sense of anticipation of something extraordinary about to happen.
When the electronics finally came alive, the computer screen on the central control desk lit up with the Wemhöner logo and the words “William Tell” on the screen. It was a pinnacle moment, and all the press “recipes” for different parameters could be scrolled through. And then there it was on the screen: high-pressure laminate (HPL).
Until that point, this was probably the most exciting time at William Tell — and there had been many magical moments over the previous 22 years. We were now finally able to compete against our arch-nemesis and their HPL brand Formica. It had taken 15 years from the time we had made our first post-formed kitchen worktop in 1987 — and years of combating the competitive shenanigans — to finally be on the threshold of being independent of our HPL requirements.
As it transpired, we only made test runs on HPL products and the results were naturally world-class. But we soon became so busy producing thousands upon thousands of standard melamine-faced boards that we never found the time to produce high-pressure decorative laminates!
One afternoon, during the commissioning process, the managing director and the technical head of our dominant competitors arrived unannounced and effectively demanded to see our press. Word had finally reached them, and I was surprised it had taken so long. I took them to a window in our production office that overlooked the press sticking through the floor with its prominent blue Wemhöner logo. They were not satisfied and insisted on seeing the press up close.
So, I graciously walked them through the ground floor components factory and downstairs to the press line. As we left the staircase on the lower ground floor, their eyes widened, visibly in shock, and the managing director exclaimed, “Fuck me! Look at the size of those pistons!” I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. His words are indelibly imprinted in my brain. He was incredulous, and both were stunned into silence. It was the most impressive line, approximately 40m in length, and the latest technology by the leading short-cycle line manufacturers worldwide.
What stunned them most of all was when I showed them the computer and pulled up the various production “recipes” for normal melamine production on the screen. Then as I scrolled through them and switched over, “High-Pressure Laminate” showed up on the screen. They were gobsmacked, to say the least. Finally, there was a state-of-the-art plant that could make high-pressure decorative laminates in far better sizes for the market. They were astounded.
Suddenly, William Tell was a competitor for their Formica — innovative, independent and better equipped than they were. It must have scared the hell out of them. The 10,000m² lower ground floor offered ample space for raw materials and finished goods, perfectly suited to mass production. As their footsteps faded up the staircase, I looked at the giant beneath our feet and knew: William Tell had finally stepped out from under anyone’s shadow.
Business Day
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