The passing of Sir Angus Tait

Messages of condolence from dealers around the Asia-Pacific region have been flooding into Tait Electronics in Christchurch following the death of the company's founder, Sir Angus Tait, at the age of 88.

Managing director, Michael Chick said the country, the company and the worldwide radio industry is the poorer for his passing.

"He was an immensely determined yet compassionate man, a great innovator and mentor for so many. He was humble and curious - never seeking the limelight but never shy of making his voice heard if it would help business and education in New Zealand."

Beyond the 850 employees, many other people also knew Sir Angus - former employees, partners around the world, customers, dealers, as well as NZ business people and the Canterbury education community.

Michael went on: "He was a selfless soul, refusing to sell the business despite overseas buyers making offers in the 1980s. As a result, many jobs were saved and the company has gone on to earn over $NZ2 billion in exports. The Tait Foundation has given millions of dollars to a variety of causes, most recently to Canterbury University's Wireless Research Centre."

As the chairman of the company, he had been coming to work most days. However, he was always quick to emphasise the team aspects of the firm as he surrounded himself with talented and motivated radio engineers, designers, sales people and technicians.

The man and his life

Sir Angus first flirted with electronics when he was 13. Then a student at Waitaki Boys High School in Oamaru, he cast aside his homework to tinker with electronics. His teenage curiosity led to a lifetime as an industry leader in radiocommunication and a passion for education.

He founded Tait Electronics. From its humble offices in Christchurch, New Zealand, starting from a potato warehouse in the city centre to an international company with offices and customers in over 130 countries.

However, by the time he started this venture he had already survived one of the worst passenger ferry disasters in New Zealand's history, spent six years representing his country in World War II and had overcome bankruptcy.

Sir Angus started life needing to be independent because his father died during an influenza epidemic before he was born. However, he managed to seize any opportunity that went his way, and his first break came when he landed a job at a local radio shop at aged 17. To get the job he had to convince his mother he should leave school without any formal qualifications.

He sat a few trade exams and picked up the odd credential in the next four years before, at 21, joining the Royal New Zealand Air Force where he became involved in airborne radar in England for six years before returning home with his wife, Hazel.

Not knowing where to take his career, Sir Angus found his calling at the Post Office, where land mobile radiocommunications systems were being installed.

The NZ Post Office was putting single-frequency stations at high points around the country, leaving the industry and, more specifically, Sir Angus, to develop the mobile equipment.

In 1948 Sir Angus formed his first company, A.M. Tait Ltd, on the back of mobile radio sales to two taxi companies. A.M. Tait Ltd (the 'M' stood for McMillan) developed the AM T4 radio, which contributed to much of the company's success.

Without any sort of business plan the company's staff swelled to 100 people by the mid-1960s, when A.M. Tait Ltd even delved into making televisions! But by 1967 A.M. Tait Ltd was in receivership.

However, instead of taking an early retirement, Sir Angus mortgaged his house and started again

The space race led by the US to put the first man on the moon would open new doors for Sir Angus's next venture. A lot of effort was put into developing RF transistors to provide astronauts with suitable radiocommunications, which in turn led Tait to become the first company in Australasia to build the all-transistor mobile radio.

From there, Tait Electronics Ltd developed. During the 1970s the Tait Miniphone boosted the company's sales and took Tait to the top of the New Zealand market. So by the end of the 1970s, Sir Angus had launched a global assault on the technology market when the company began exporting to Britain.

In 1982, Sir Angus moved Tait Electronics to its current home on Wairakei Road, Christchurch. He bought the former Fabiola Fashions building, shaped like a 20-tooth circular blade, for a snip at $2 million.

By the time the 1990s rolled around, Sir Angus had also steered exports to the US and Australia, where subsidiaries had been established.

The success of Tait Electronics was highlighted when, in 1994, the company won the NZ Governor-General's Supreme Award for Exporter of the Year for the second time, while the following year the Queen toured the company's facilities while on a royal visit.

Sir Angus also received personal accolades during the same decade. In 1996, he was made an honorary doctor of engineering by the University of Canterbury before being knighted in 1999.

His passion to promote education and nurture local talent led to the company contributing financially to the University of Canterbury's engineering school.

When Sir Angus was 75 he put his shares in Tait Electronics into a trust. Here he followed a similar path to the German company Bosch, which was put into a trust by founder Robert Bosch before he died in 1942. Today, Bosch is one of the largest and most technically advanced powertools companies in the world.

The move meant that manufacturing jobs would stay in Canterbury for some time to come, at the expense of an accumulation of Sir Angus's personal wealth.

Sir Angus's selfless business practices created mutual loyalty with staff; retention has remained very high. He provided staff with health and superannuation benefits, long before the latter was made compulsory.

Casual Fridays and the focus on in-house training were also part of the culture built by Sir Angus.

Always an amateur radio enthusiast (call sign ZL 3NL), he kept up to date with the latest technologies. Until the end, he drove to work in his red Alfa Romeo.

Rather than a parking space, he pretty much parked right by the front door. After all, it was his name on the office sign.