MAX WAS ALWAYS ON THE lookout for what he called “pasteurised” operations: a product that he might import then add a percentage to as it ‘passed his eyes’ on the way to the purchaser. The hunt for suitable products led to late-night phone calls to British companies as he sought to gain the right to represent companies he had found by, well, I don’t really know how in those pre-internet days.
One successful operation involved the sale of moisture meters, a few suitable for timber measurement but the greater number used to determine the moisture content of wheat and, thus, the correct time to harvest. It seemed there were very many farmers growing wheat on the flat plains beyond the city limits, if the stream of ruddy-faced chaps at our doorstep seeking repair and recalibration of their
