ATA- Albury - the 'DART' days:
I began self-employment by quoting for a microprocessor welder design for Inductoheat in Melbourne. The quote came out at 10 months and around $120K at $35 / hour but the company retention of 20% generated a refusal from me.
I contracted to Alfarm, an Albury Farm device company for around one month on methods of improving the microprocessor controlled Ford 'Blue-Line' auto seeder Karl Dittler and I had produced while at ATA.
Bob Meredith, the manager, stopped this work so, cap in hand I approached DART for work and was asked to quote for designing a Special Range they had been invited to quote on. I quoted $8K for ten weeks work and set about the job.
DART hadn't really changed from the ATA days excepting Lindsay wasn't there and some engineering staff and people in charge were new.
Bryan Green was now the chief software bloke since Graham Hayward had joined the Paper Mill at Ettamogah.
I completed the job, it came in at $2.2 million, eighteen months. I knew this was too much so with DART management approval I set the profit-margin lower and achieved $1.8 million.
I was invited to join DART, probably with Kennelly's instruction, as an employee and did so working on the software for a robot target that Bob Cowan was designing for Greg Butler, an awfully competent ex-SAS person who some time later drowned in the Gold Coast.
When the Special Range contract emanated I commenced designing my 'ideas' and co-ordinating the 12 or so team engaged on the project. Teams really run themselves if competent!
I learned the DART quote for the job had been $55K and I had done it for $8K! I got an office Mac LC out of this!
I didn't see Lindsay for some time. I kept away from him because I couldn't refuse his requests. This had caused me to ignore my family in the past. I know not why, but this is what many people had problems with.
It was alleged he was involved in some legal stuff against John Kennelly. He allegedly won because the proprietor of a local office supply company advised me that Lindsay had paid him $.95 in the $ outstanding debt from the ATA Receivership.
Lindsay had personally, apparently, settled much of the outstanding debt the ATA receivership had generated to Albury businesses!!!
I just enjoyed the technical work and the company of a team of really professional, competent colleagues, with minimal 'management' interference.
No bullshit sycophancy!
Then, around 1990 a 'Mortgagee' appeared.
| The Start | UK Office | Albury Factory |
| Post Iran days | Receiver Cometh | Belvis days |
| HUB days | DART days | ADI days |
| NEW days | The PEOPLE | EXIT |
| The History of ATA |