I was born in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand in the winter of 1950. Shortly afterwards, my parents uplifted me to the Belgian Congo where I lived with my three siblings until the mid-1960s. Building toy trucks made of balsa wood, bamboo and cassava while featuring “clicker sound” rear axles signalled an early interest in design and making things and wheels. My time in the now independent Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) came to an end in 1964 with my return to Ōtautahi. However, I’ve retained a very deep connection to the DRC and the African continent. 

My high school education was at Cashmere High School (Te Iringa O Kahukura) where I passed my University Entrance exams and also met my future wife. My first technical qualification was an Advanced Trade Certificate in Fitting, Turning and Machining however it wasn’t long before my curiosity to better understand engineering principles saw me qualify with a New Zealand Certificate in Engineering – Mechanical. I subsequently completed university papers in statistics and mathematics. These “pieces of paper” really just formed the basis for even greater ‘on the job’ learnings gained from working alongside multidisciplinary colleagues. You can check out my engineering career on LinkedIn here; https://www.linkedin.com/in/murray-taylor-b3a96425/details/experience/ 

I work hard at keeping my relationships alive, honest and close. The support of my wife, family, and friends over the years has kept me engaged in life. I am lost without the love and support they provide me; encouragement in difficult times, a listening ear when needed, challenge when a course correction was called for, and welcome laughs often whilst sharing food or coffee around a table. Balancing time commitments is always challenging however I’ve never regretted quality time spent with family and friends. 

Leadership has always interested me. I only recognised many of the best leaders in my career with hindsight, such was their low-key approach but deep influence. Interestingly, some of the worst leaders were immediately obvious with their heavy-handed approach and controlling influence. I’ve been blessed with more great leaders than poor and in the case of the latter, a good dose of forgiveness has enabled me to let go of the hurt. The following 5 Principles of Servant Leadership posted by Nathalie Heynderickx  on LinkedIn encapsulate how I’ve tried to live my working career:

  1. Character Traits | Lead with the heart and cultivate character traits such as patience, kindness, humility, respect, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty and commitment.
  2. Authority vs. Power | Develop authority by meeting your people’s legitimate needs (not their wants) instead of relying on formal hierarchical power.
  3. Influence | Acknowledge that influence is the essence of leadership and inspires people to action. You don’t need to be the official boss in order to lead.
  4. Focus on the Greater Good | Aspire for a more just and caring society. Jesus, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela are classic examples of Servant Leaders, as they had a great sense of responsibility for the people they led, selflessly.
  5. Legacy | Desire to make a positive impact on society.

Yes, I’m a sucker for wheels, on road and rail, ICEs, EVs and PHEVs, bikes and more recently e-bikes. For me, it’s all about the engineering and how it enhances daily life; quality, reliability, efficiency, style, and comfort. Oh yes, and I love a good road trip! 

I love and long for wisdom. I try and apply wisdom in every facet of my life. A selection of wise quotations which have resonated with me over the years can be found here. 

Several themes have emerged during my design career. In no particular order they are:

Conservation of Resources in industrial processes are often very accessible. Techniques to significantly reduce the consumption of precious resources such as water and energy by managing air/water flows versus product flow can help concentrate energy/contaminants in discharge flows. This in turn enables more effective heat recovery and reuse in drying and washing systems, and resource recovery from wastewater. Other techniques can significantly increase heat transfer coefficients while balancing temperatures. 

Comfortable Buildings: Insulation makes so much sense, for the environment, for one’s pocket and for quality of life. It doesn’t take a lot of insulation to make a difference but the more you use, yes, the more it costs but the better the outcome. Heating or cooling. The selection of building materials plays a key role in achieving well moderated temperatures contributing to a “comfortable” building. 

CAD Modelling and Process Modelling: Often helps to CAD model a new machine before you commit to building stuff and assembling nuts and bolts. It’s the same with modelling processes. I’ve found Microsoft Excel to be a powerful process modelling tool and it’s so good being able to model a process before building it. But remember it is an iterative process; once you’ve built and started running your first prototype machine, you can then go back and fine tune the mechanical and process models which all adds to your knowledge base. 

Heating Elements: Typically, these are resistive elements comprising a resistance wire encased in an insulating material such as silicon rubber or Magnesium Oxide and all enclosed in a protective sheath of some description. Selecting the sheath material is critical to meeting expectations of lifetime. Control techniques should be selected which minimise thermal stresses in the element heating wire with a view to increasing reliability. 

Heating Products especially foods without damaging them and/or changing their flavour. Element Power Flux (W/m2), also referred to as Watt Density (W/in2) is critical to safe heating of many fluids, chemicals, and phase-change materials such as fats. Foods include honey, butter; vegetable oils, sugars and chocolate while chemicals include paraffin wax, lanolin and petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline).