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David Plastow
• A chassis manufacturer was astonished when it took Rolls-Royce Motors only five days to provide a specially tailored experimental version of the Eagle diesel for a new application; but Rolls-Royce Motors' managing director, David Plastow, would regard this as the sort of service to be expected from a company which, although in Britain's top 300, is small enough in automotive industry terms to be agile and flexible.
This 40-year-old executive, whose aura of dedicated leadership is almost tangible, controls the £40m-turnover, 8000-personnel company formed from the old R-R oil engine and motor car divisions, and which is now a separate entity.
Talking to David Plastow one gets the exciting feeling of a company really goinc places. Young he may be for such a senior pos but he admits for example, to a great regard for the Gardner way of doing things. Rolls ha; about 17 per cent of the UK heavy diese engine market and is looking for 25 per ceni plus. And it is lack of capacity, not lack 01 orders, which fixes that target.
I already knew that R-R had designs — anc indeed hardware — for almost any increase ir gross vehicle weights; David told me the were not interested in coming dawn th( market into lighter diesels. And he believe: that operator pressure for fleet standardizatior could give the Eagle a good opening it Europe, How about rotary diesels a ia Wankel Well, the main potential advantages are i cost and bulk (the latter particularly importar for military uses), especially at around th 350bhp band on which they are working. Bc if the military programme got the go-aheai production engines would be five years awe' civil models seven to 10 years.
Vehicles are in David's blood. Hi grandfather was North of Englan penny-farthing racing champion; his fath( (who has been to every motor show sinc 1919) had a cycle business, went MI motorbikes, raced for Nortons and founde SP Commercials for Ross at Grimsby. Day himself was a Vauxhall apprentice for fiN years, then ran a REME workshop. He join( R-R through a regional sales manag appointment, was involved with tf petrol-engined road tanker project, and real went through the mill as the man responsit for negiotiating the Wankel licence.
David Plastow devours his job wi enormous relish; yet insists on having time his family; and — unlike many busine golfers — plays golf for fun. A relax
fireball. B.