Around the World in 50 Years - Jim McAllister
In May 2024 Jim McAllister hit an incredible milestone: fifty years of service to Glenfield Invicta Ltd . A fantastic achievement. 29-07-2024
There can be very few, if any, that know more about patterns, casting and valve manufacturing and refurbishment than Jim.
When Jim first joined Glenfield Invicta in 1974, other significant events that year included:
- Scotland qualified for the World Cup, the only team from British Isles to do so.
- US president Richard Nixon resigns over the Watergate scandal.
- ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ The legendary Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman.
Jim started in the foundry as a trainee patternmaker, creating the casting for valve bodies and components. A highly skilled occupation, back in the day the patternmaker would typically use wood to build the patterns from technical drawings generated in the drawing office:
‘The complexity and cost of the casting process meant the focus was on getting the pattern right first time, every time.
At its peak during my time at Glenfield Invicta, there were ninety patternmakers, and our pattern registers listed over 10,000 patterns.’
Over the past thirty years, Jim has used his extensive knowledge in the roles of Service Manager, Project Manager and latterly as Supply Chain Manager, applying his expertise to projects across the world, including the Selangor Dam in Malaysia, Festival City project in Dubai and regular visits to our sister company ORBINOX Group in Spain, to name but a few.
‘Ever since I have been at Glenfield Invicta, we have refurbished and repurposed old valves and returned them to fully operational service. I am currently working on a Glenfield 39” steel valve created for a hydropower plant in the Scottish Highlands. The valve is around 115 years old; when I retrieved the original drawings from the Glenfield Invicta archive, which were dated 1906! We will thoroughly inspect and clean the valve up, replace any worn parts, and add new operating gear. The valve will then be good for another one hundred years.
The current focus on sustainability by water companies means there is renewed interest in repurposing old valves.’
AVK Group purchased Glenfield valves in 2001:
‘AVK has invested more in the Glenfield Invicta site than all the previous owners combined. It is a source of pride to work in the refurbished factory and offices.’
In his spare time, Jim is a keen golfer, and being in Scotland he’s spoilt for choice when it comes to great courses, his other passion being football and in his youth, Jim played junior football (the equivalent of ‘non-league’ standard in England) for Darvel. In 1976, Jim had the honour of playing at Hampden Park in the Scottish Junior Cup Final, sadly Darvel lost 3-0 to Bo’ness United. The crowd that day was an incredible 20,161!
