Is there still anyone with courage to accept the “Chinese challenge” ?Are there still true British warriors that do not want to give up, in spite ofthe large scale importations of Chinese fireworks ?
Naturally you have to lower your productions costs, to diminish pricedistance between Chinese goods and yours, but maintaining your qualitysignificantly superior to them, am I right?
Let’s defeat the Chinese with their own arms!
* Import and use only cheap Chinese basic material to manufacture yourproducts.
* Put a 2nd small own factory within China mainland, to makethere those products with too much man-craft to be made in your own country. Weshall not lose the exclusiveness of our own products, contrary to commonimportation from there. Actually foreigners are welcome in China.
* Mechanize or even automate (labor costs zero !) Class D firework. Ihave got some realistic ideas about.
* Once putting (see above) an own factory into China let’s offer theChinese authorities to help them in creating a new safety regularization fortheir firework factories. The German regularization (don’t be angry) is thebest in the world. We’ll have 3 benefits:
- We’ll save Chinese lives.
- Doing so, we’ll be even more welcome there than other foreigners.
- If the Chinese will obey to a sophisticated safety regularization intheir factories, like us in our countries, their production costs becomesignificantly higher and completion in the international market will be fairer.
All my life I did never accept the stupid idea that in future the onlyfirework in the world will be from China ! I am a Ph.D. of Chemistry andengineer of pyrotechnics from Germany. I live and work in Brazil, where Imodernized local fireworks industry. Don’t be skeptical: when I went there alsonobody believed that it would be possible to do, what I already did. I acceptedthe Brazilian challenge because of the cheap man-craft in Latin America. Now,after 12 years, things have become different, things here, because of newregularizations have become too complicated and too expensive. I would preferto change to a different country.
My philosophy is:
* Separation between explosive material and workers, the more thebetter.
* Simplification of class D assembly, to minimize man-craft and even topermit (future) automation.
* Environmental protection: substitution or rather toxic prime mattersby less offensive ones, such as antimony, lead and mercury, fluorine; to make apowder without sulphur (I have excellent formulas).
* Ecological plastics: whereas the injected pieced help to saveman-craft, material itself degrade by UV radiation of sunlight.
* Better colourful compositions by calculation of the components.
* Skyrockets without stick.
Annexed you find my curriculum and will see that I’m not a fool.
Yours truly:
PhD. Toivo Willmann
Rua Pernambuco, 105 – Fátima
35560-000 Santo Antônio doMonte – MG
Brazil
telephone: 0055-37-99073659
e-mail: ogalofofo@hotmail.com
annex:
Curriculum :
born: 11 May 1957, Münster, Germany
languages: English, Portuguese,Spanish, German
school: primary, secondary, final mark:excellent
university studies of Chemistryuntil Bachelor of Chemistry (12 February 1982, mark: excellent)
Dissertation in Biochemistry: 12February 1987, mark: very good,
published in “Nature” 324, 15 Dez. 1986, pages 688 – 691
After I went as scientificDevelopment Volunteer to Panamá (1987 – 1989), not with so much success. Thisadventure did not have good effect upon my career.
Formerly I was a “Pyro” (fireworkhobbyist), beginning as 15 years old boy. Now I decided to transform my hobbyinto profession. In my first employment I sent being in “Heaven”:
1990 – 1992 Nico Pyrotechnics Ltd.,Trittau (near to Hamburg, Germany).
Jobs:
- Two-Bang (non-lethal arm)
- diverse class A and B fireworks
- class D skyrockets
- class D indoor effects
Learning:
- turning lathe operation
- how to make round stars in astar-pan
- use of hydraulic presses and theirmoulds, operation with special safety, pressing with dry
compositions
- safety examination laboratorymethods for compositions and products
- National Examination with Licenseas Manufacturer of Pyrotechnics
Went to Spain to learn more aboutthe artistic aspects of firework .
1993Pirotecnia Igual SA, Barcelona
1994 – 1995 Fuegos Artificiales Por Amor SL, Valencia
1996 – 1997Pirotecnia Esteve SL, Valencia
Jobs:
- indoor
- ski-torches
- environmental protection
- making of compositions
- letting off of firework displays
- development of simple assembly ofdouble and triple pistilled rounddisplay shells
- development os simple and reliablemaking of colour changing stars (up to 5 colours within
one star)
- instruction and motivation ofworkers
- substitution of natural resins(red gum, shellac) by synthetic ones
Learning:
- professional letting off offirework displays
- artistic aspects of class D making
- making of display shells up to 16”(400 mm)
- leadership in a crew of workers
- how to make a black powder factoryat extreme low costs
I decided to have a try aspyrotechnic Development Volunteer in Brazil:
1998 – 2007Fogos Confiança Ltda., Santo Antônio do Monte – MG
In the beginning I found: thosehorrifying sulfur-chlorate compositions, hand-made pumped stars, hand-rammedfountains and skyrockets.
Jobs:
- introduction of star pans
- change from chlorate-sulfur toperchlorate or nitrate / metal and resin
- hydraulic pressing of gerbs andskyrockets with dry compositions,
- making of the presses and theirmoulds
- use of injection molded plasticsin class D making
- development and construction ofown injection molds to make the factory independent
- development of a similareasy-to-assembly system for paperboard round shells, to satisfy
customers that do not like plastics
- making of a simple black match anda quick-match machine
Learning:
- how to work in a very strangecountry
- how to develop plastic injectionmoulds
- how works a very primitive andcheap paperboard case parallel winding machine.
Because of my innovations that soonwere copied by nearly all Brazilian fireworks factories here, the citygovernment of Santo Antônio do Monte, the town, where I am working, made me“Citizen of Honor”.
Had several tries in some otherBrazilian factories:
2007 FogosVulcão Ltda
2008 FogosSaturno Ltda
2009 FogosAliança Ltda
2010 FogosPlanalto Ltda
2010 Mecânica Mineira
2010 went back to Fogos ConfiançaLtda, where I am working until today.
Jobs:
- turning lathe operator
- to better star compositions
- to make match and spollet machines
- safety
- a semi-automatic variation of myquick-match machine
- a safe and cheap black powdersubstitute, (being patented in Brazil)
Learning:
- how works the Chinese“visco”-match machine, which was copied by the Brazilians
- how to make graphic display shells
Other activities:
Creation of friendships andpublishing in pyrotechnic discussion forums (Internet):
- Feuerwerk Forum, Germany, much
- UK Pyrotechnic Society Forum,Great Britain, little
- APC Pyrotechnic Forum and PyroGuide Forum, USA, quite little
Edited by drtoivo, 14 September 2011 - 08:32 PM.
