NO LEVY PAID FOR THIS CHEVY

Back in the 1930s, a still was a popular accessory for many farmers in the mid-west - and the whisky those stills produced was well received by those who liked to drink but didn’t like to pay tax! Prohibition may have finished by 1935, but moonshine remained in high demand and its production could be very rewarding.

According to Boehm family history a two-door Chevrolet ‘Standard’, similar to the four-door model illustrated in the advertisement above, was exchanged with them for a consignment of moonshine by the local Chevy dealer. What is even more remarkable, is that the same car has remained in the family ever since.

Now owned by Kenny (Two-Gun) Boehm, President of Enviropeel USA and the grandson of the original owner, the car has been lovingly restored by the family and, as you can see in the photograph below, is a beautiful example of living automotive history.

Despite being more than eighty years old, the car runs as sweetly as ever and, now that the horn has finally been repaired, is as good as new. I had the privilege of driving it during a recent visit to the EUSA office and really enjoyed the experience. Kenny, who is now a grandfather himself, relishes the possibility that the car will remain in the family for generations to come.

No GPS on this model ... copy from the advertisement illustrated above:

"In addition to the all-important chassis features which give to each Standard Six model its splendid durability, performance and economy, the Sedan exhibits such refinements as the following: Long wearing, thick ply upholstery in richly beautiful colors; recessed arm rests in the rear compartment; carpet-covered foot rest; pockets of the upholstery material on the back of the front seat and on the right front door; robe rail; push-button internal door latches in door mouldings and the various other equipment ordinarily looked for in cars of a much higher price."

The 1935 Standard Coach was great value at $485. Now, Kenny tells me, a replacement tyre for the same car costs nearly as much, at over $400!

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT ...

21 Countries, 300 trainees


I was thinking about Sean Ong's globetrotting status, as mentioned in an earlier blog - so I asked him how many countries he had travelled to for training purposes. It turns out that Sean has trained in 21 countries: Brunei, Australia, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Congo, UK, Vietnam, New Zealand, Mexico, Namibia, Columbia, Japan, Korea, USA, Argentina, Iran, Trinidad, Belgium, Congo & South Africa - quite a list - and has probably eaten some pretty random meals while he was at it (Sean enjoys his food). In the process, nearly 300 Enviropeel trainees have passed under review ... but not all have made the grade. Sean is famously strict about the quality of his courses - he once failed a whole class of trainees in the Middle East whose work was not up to scratch!

Right: Sean embraces his inner tourist

NOW AVAILABLE IN GREEN AND GOLD

Actually, the history of green and gold is a little controversial ... was it South Africa or Australia that first took to the sporting arena in their signature colours? Since Enviropeel has been in Australia for so many years, it could be argued that we should be firmly in the Aussie camp but in this, as in all things, we have to keep an open mind - and it is clear that both countries have a lot more than just their sporting colours in common. 

So, we are very glad to report that something else they now share is Enviropeel. 

With a strong resources sector of its own, South Africa has long seemed a natural partner for our products and now the partnership has been sealed. To complete the process, Sean Ong from the Malaysian office and Josh Haycox from the UK recently flew out to Johannesburg to commission the equipment and train personnel at the premises of Robatech SA who are the Enviropeel licensees for South Africa. 

A local industrial coatings company, Velvolor, is working with Robatech SA to provide technical support and it was management and personnel from this company that received the training. The training was very successful and Velvolor, who are already involved in large-scale flange protection, are confident that Enviropeel is the perfect solution for ingress and corrosion protection in South Africa.

TRAINING IN VIETNAM

Our globe-trotting Training Manager, Sean Ong, has been in Vietnam recently on a mission to train employees of MinhAnh TechInfo Co Ltd (MTCL) in Vung Tau, Vietnam. MTCL have a very diverse portfolio of services, with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as an office and tool rental business in Vung Tau. The Company prides itself on the high levels of training it provides for its staff and the service it is able to provide for its customers so, having acquired an Enviropeel unit, they were keen to train their engineers in its use.

The training was organised at the Company's RentATool centre with the objective of certifying four Enviropeel applicators. After a week of training and intensive practice, the four trainees were duly certified with very good feedback from MTCL management.

The picture shows Sean (in orange) with the four trainees and their manager during training.

The Company has set up its own specialised anti-corrosion division based on its ability to resolve a wide range of corrosion issues using both Enviropeel and Alocit Systems. MTCL has already used Alocit offshore for Vietsovpetro, a Vietnam/Russian joint venture company with its HQ in VungTau. 

With high levels of synergy between its engineering service divisions and its newly acquired anti-corrosion capabilities, MinhAnh TechInfo Co Ltd looks forward to a successful future with Enviropeel and Alocit.