D ouglas Richards

18th September 1970, Page 132

18th September 1970

Page 132

Page 132, 18th September 1970 — D ouglas Richards

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• The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders 25th Commercial Motor Show opens today. Last week the president. Mr J. D. Richards, told me: "The Society is now the most powerful trade association in the country. And it is as responsible as any, and more responsible than same."

The SM MT has become a strikingly different body in recent years, • no longer preoccupied mainly with exhibitions (though it does more exhibition work than ever) but involved deeply in consultation with government and in formulating technical advice. Douglas Richards believes the smooth acceptance of this wider role has latterly been helped by the recent re-structuring. Such occasional reorganization after frank self-examination is, he feels, vital to the health of any trade body.

At present one of Douglas Richards' SM MT enthusiasms is "educational affairs", a project which is intended to include advisory centres for potential recruits to the motor industry and {separately> for employers seeking staff.

Douglas Richards has the magnetism of a natural leader, is full of quiet charm and humour-and is one of the most "listenable" people I know, cultured, and cosmopolitan in the nicest sense, he speaks French, German and Spanish, and for three years has been the motor industry's representative on the international Bureau Permanent of manufacturers.

After salesmen, then accountants and now professional managers, he sees the fundamental engineer as the future top man in industry—and will advise his children accordingly. The Richards family has a long engineering history, but it was Douglas's father who started the Zenith Carburetter Co Ltd in this country, having earlier embraced Solex. Now a loose consortium of families runs linked companies throughout the world; for instance. Zenith in the UK is a close company run by the Richards family (Douglas is chairman), although the financial control is French.

Trout fishing is his listed recreation, to

which he adds -children" he has four between 21 and 15 years old and obviously finds them fascinating people.

As SMMT president since 1969, Douglas Richards has spoken firmly in public on the industry's labour troubles, but he is confident that the worst is now over. If the Government can only restore rhythm and stability, and therefore confidence, he thinks the whole of British industry, and not just motor manufacturing, can achieve truly surprising results. B.C.