Vale Keith Wells BE FIEAust Monday, 29 August 2016

A tribute to Keith Wells BE FIEAust (06/01/1936 - 14/08/2016)

Keith Wells was an active member of Engineers Australia during his 58 years’ of membership, serving as the Tasmania Division Chairman in 1984 and as a member of the Division Committee for a number of years.

Keith worked all his professional career of 40 years with Cadbury and for the majority of that time was the company’s Tasmanian chief engineer. In that time, he managed a wide range of projects and development work at the leading edge of food manufacturing and factory services technology.

Keith commenced work assisting the company’s Technical Director, Sir Victor Burley, who made the Claremont factory a key development base for Cadbury’s world-wide manufacturing operations. His first task was to manage the design and implementation of a ground-breaking continuous process for crumb making. Crumb is the milk/sugar/cocoa basic ingredient of the famous Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate. This project was effectively a pilot for world-wide application and Keith subsequently spent an extended secondment in the UK translating the design to a much larger application.

Keith was an acknowledged expert on milk chemistry and processing. He managed the development of Cadbury’s dairy operations at Burnie and Edith Creek on the North West Coast, overseeing the installation of state-of-the-art milk evaporating and powder plants. He also managed the development of site services, including the innovative electrode boiler at Claremont which enabled the factory to negotiate a long term industrial tariff contract with the Hydro Electric Commission. Refrigeration was another field in which he led the company in maintaining a cutting edge approach to machinery and control.

When the Bulmer cider company were seeking supply from Tasmania, Keith managed the installation of apple pressing and juice concentration equipment at Claremont and subsequently visited Bulmer plants in India in an advisory capacity.

In response to the development of environment protection protocols, Keith collaborated with Roger Locke and the Glenorchy Council to implement state-of-the-art industrial waste treatment on the Claremont site. He also helped lead Tasmanian industry in their negotiations for the establishment and implementation of new Environment Protection legislation.

Keith Wells made many community contributions, some derived from his devotion to the interests of his wife Sue and their four children. He was deeply involved in the Scouting Movement and in all aspects of sailing at the Austins Ferry Yacht Club. These two interests were combined when he co-founded Tasmania’s Sea Scout Regatta some 50 years ago. He later sailed his yacht, Windrush, out of the Derwent Sailing Squadron and made the Tasmanian Bass and Flinders commemorative circumnavigation in 1998. His great love of bushwalking and camping led to a passion for and involvement in skiing at Mt Field. Keith was also prominent in Rostrum and a board member of The Friends’ School.

Obituary Author: Ted Best