Three-Column, Three-Mould Slab Press with Take-off Unit, view taken in 1972, O/No. K81740, c.1971

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• This press came to our family company Jaren Cementvarefabrikk and was in operation during 20 years making slabs 300 x 300 mm (duplex) and 500 x 500 mm. We sold the company in 1985 and the slab plant ended up with St. Eriks as owners and was closed down in 1992/3. St. Eriks is Swedish and had several wet presses. Our press ended at a storage in Vara, Sweden, where I saw it for the last time in 1998. We bought another press from Fielding and Platt in 1980; that was a single mould press with an automatic take-off device. It was painted in green colour and I could send you a picture if you like. That press was sold back to Alexandra Stone in UK some 5 years later.

  I am the last one alive among the owners and I was busy in the company from 1965 until it was sold. When ordering the 3 mould press in 1971, I did visit Gloucester together with the director of the financing Norwegian bank!

  By Tore Schjerven (31/08/2015)

• Hi John!  Nice to see Bob Blowers in this photo, standing by the take-off unit. I can’t quite work out who it is at the controls, likewise the three guys in the background to Bob’s left.

  The moulds look to be a bit deeper than standard ones and so I assume that they were specials.

  To return to the ‘operator’ it could be John Mabbett, I know he worked on a lot of ‘stone plants’ over the years.  Chippy Aston.

  By Graham Aston (15/10/2014)

• Hi Chippy!  You are quite correct identifying Bob Blowers. I am sure that the operator is not John Mabbett as he was much taller.  My thought was that it could be Pete Skelton.

  As regards the extra depth of the moulds, well-spotted!  I suspect that as the press was destined for Norway, their standards could be different from the UK.  As I recall, the three-column press was designed with the capability of both extra tonnage and larger/deeper mould sizes.  John B      

  By John Bancroft (15/10/2014)