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Monty Prichard
• At a time when the Motor Industry Research Association is having to look tc individual users to replace much of the financial support of the Government and the SMMT, Monty Prichard's diplomatic flair anc international reputation make him an ideal choice as the new president. He believe.i fervently that the Association can be made
'focal point for guiding national authorities ir achieving realistic pollution, noise and similar
legislation; and he thinks MIRA can anc
should help governments to develop suitabla test facilities for these and other tasks. HE stresses that MIRA is unique in being E central co-operative research establishmery which can nevertheless guarantee secrecy tc individual clients.
The message that MIRA should becorru more international comes well from a mar who spends more than half of each yea outside the UK and who is an internationalis by birth. Five generations of Prichards havi had strong associations with India: Monty'r great-grandfather owned the Delhi Gazetti and Monty himself was born in Calcutta.
Although he was educated in England, afte serving an engineering apprenticeship wit diesel makers Lister he went to the Far Eat for them, and when war came he served ir the Indian Army, rising to Lt-Col.
In 1953 he went to Peterborough as Fran Perkins' personal assistant and six years latei as joint m.d., he negotiated the sale of th company to Massey-Ferguson. Now as group vice-president of Massey-Ferguson an a director of the main board his company bas is in Toronto but he lives in England and sti chairs every product meeting at Perkin: where he is group chairman and m.d.
Mr Prichard sees intercooling of diesel! successful on the latest 6.354 mode spreading across all the bigger engine contributing to efficiency and quietness. An in the up-to-300 bhp sector he sees no ga turbine threat in the next 10 years.
He welcomes EEC membership, not least i slashing the high French and German tariff against UK engines. Before Britain agreed t membership, Perkins had already decided t shut its French engine factory and this wi bring more work to Peterborough — and t hauliers, whom Perkins uses to suppl Continental markets direct. Over 90 per cer of Peterborough products are sent byroad.
Now Montague Illtyd Prichard (the Illtyd a 'family name from his ancestral Heil ford /l/Vales borderland) has the satisfaction c seeing the Prichard internationalism cor tinued through his sons, both of whom hol responsible posts in the American financi world.