"In 1974 we built the factory Musical Producers and Manufacturers Ltd. from scratch on the south side of the plot and attached it to the existing warehouse. New offices were also built along the Arusha Street frontage, and another warehouse on the north side to house Emerald Appliances, our appliance division. The attached picture was taken just before I left in 1979.
A new boiler was sourced from South Africa and installed in a new and separate safety housing on the east side. Tape duplication machines and splicing equipment for cassette tapes were also purchased.
4 Swedish Toolex Alpha semi-automatic presses were sourced together with extruders and two AB Europa plating baths from Sweden – all brand new. A second-hand Neumann cutting lathe plus electronic support gear was supplied in the UK – may have been from Abbey Road. As part of the conglomerate Lonrho, we were able to hire a Tradewinds DC-8 to pick up all of the Swedish equipment, call in at London for the lathe, and then fly straight into Ndola where we were waiting at the airport with a 40 ton truck to unload. The general manager of Teal South Africa, Andy Bailes, came up to oversee the installation, along with two colleagues - factory engineer Peter Homewood and electronics man, Maurice Halliwell. Four weeks later we were in full production."
- Geoff Paynter (formerly of Teal Record Company Zambia Ltd.)
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