Orbituary

Anthony Willard Bagnall born, 12 August 1945 passed away on Saturday, 04 July 2020 at the age of 75. A Yorkshireman by birth, Tony arrived in South Africa in 1972. On completion of his schooling, he joined a Sheffield Mill chemical laboratory before embarking on full-time metallurgical  studies. Upon qualifying, he moved on to what had been Samuel Fox and was now part of the nationalised British Steel.

In the late 1960’s, he returned to Aston University taking a course in industrial metallurgy and management techniques. Having completed the  course, he realised that the UK was entering a depression and he and his wife decided to emigrate to South Africa. Upon arrival he joined Union Steel in Vereeniging.

Hearing about Tony, Dave Walker invited him to join Southern Cross as Melt Shop Metallurgist and he accepted the post in September 1974, explaining that it was the chance to work on the Argon Oxygen Decarburization( AOD) that was the big attraction for him as well as the growth prospects of the company (Source: The Chrome Connection)

During his tenure at Southern Cross, which later became Middelburg Steel and Alloys (MS&A), he held various positions, amongst them Operations Manager of the Steel division. In 1991 MS&A was sold and Tony was named chairman of the subsidiary company Thomas Begbies while remaining Technical General Manager of the Columbus Joint Venture and later Columbus Stainless. He played a crucial role in leading Thomas Begbies to a profitable position and then selling off the business.

Tony had a wealth of information and contributed to all aspects of the business from raw material inputs to market development of stainless products including 3CR12. He retired from the stainless steel sector in 2003 after 29 years. He then spent several years with a carbon steel company in Thailand sharing his vast steelmaking experience to the benefit of the Thai market.

Tony will be remembered for his wisdom, patience and attention to detail by many colleagues who were fortunate to have crossed paths with him in the stainless and carbon steel industry.

His technical knowledge, professional advice and expertise will be sorely missed in the steel industry.

Sassda, Columbus Stainless as well as the entire stainless steel community would like to express heartfelt condolences to his wife Sheila, their children and grandchildren.

Obituary released by Sassda and Columbus Stainless (Pty) Ltd.