Datuk Adam

This is Leica Factory in Heerbrugg Switzerland



The villages next to the factory




This is the TM3000 that was used for monitoring in the underground tunnel.


UEFA 021 - Datuk Adam


Sometime in March 1994, my Sales Manager proposed another training for me in Wild Heerbrugg factory in Switzerland. Isn’t it fabulous?


Yes it was an Unexpected European Fabulous Adventure.


This time around, the training was on Wild TM3000. This was the first series of electronic motorized theodolites that was used in the tunnel monitoring, which made its debut in 1992.


These theodolites cannot be operated manually. Every movement is controlled by motorized gears which were activated by joystick.


There were many tunnel monitoring projects in the pipe-line for monitoring of Underground Trains stations. Thereby, there will be an increase in the usage of the motorized electronic theodolites. Therefore,it was time for training on servicing and repair.


By 1994 Wild Heerbrugg Ag, had evolved to Wild Leitz Ag and finally to Leica Ag. The name changed after a merger of Wild Heerbrugg with Leitz GmbH, Cambridge Instruments UK Ltd & Leica Ag. All I knew it was Wild Heerbrugg who had the majority shares.


As the result of the merger, the diversification became wider. We were then involved in industrial measuring instruments and cameras.


I went to meet John Richards of Siam Travel at Beach Road, to arrange for me the best option, so that I can see as much of Europe, within that stipulated time. I told him that my wife and I also wanted to visit my sister in Paris. Then, I wanted to cross the English Channel in a train via the new underground tunnel from Carlisle in France to Dover in London. Finally, we wanted to fly home from London.


John proposed KLM, which will takes us to Amsterdam. Then a free domestic flight to Paris. John worked that out very intelligently.


John Richards was a very nice man and jovial too. Once John, I and another colleague Donald Andris were together and we cracked jokes after jokes that we laughed our stomach out. John came to our office quite often, as his company was our corporate travel agent. Our office staff travel quite often to various places as we were a regional office.


Many times, I just called John to arrange a ticket for me to KL, Kuching, and Brunei, and it was delivered to my home at night. It was that easy and hassle free too.


One week later, my wife and I came out with a brave plan. We told John that we want some modification to his original plan.


I was to fly on KLM first to Zurich via Amsterdam. From Zurich I would traveled by train to Heerbrugg. At the end of my training, I was to take a midnight train from Heerbrugg to Paris, to meet my wife at Charles de Gaulle Airport on a Thursday morning.


On the other hand, my wife was to fly one month later, on Wednesday night reaching Paris in the early Thursday morning, with transit in Amsterdam. John said,


“Datuk Adam, that’s no problem. I can fix it.”


All praises to God Al-Mighty, he made the plan worked smoothly. It was a first time for me at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and first also for my wife. Yet, I wonder, how come we were so daring to make a date there.


In addition, my sister was all so willing to meet us at the Charles de Gaulle airport.
All 3 of us, my wife, my sister and I, had no hand phone. We praised God again and again, that we met quite easily in the airport arrival hall.


===========will be continued===============
~drafted on 07.12.2006
~edited on 19.03.2007
~at Woodlands avenue 5
~21:30 hrs