COM2006 will proudly honour Dr. Gerry Hatch for his life-time achievements in a celebratory reception on Sunday, October 1st, 2006. Please join us to celebrate one of the giants of our metallurgical community!".

When Gerry Hatch was 35 and Works Manager of the world’s only ilmenite smelter at Sorel, Quebec, Quebec Iron & Titanium Corp. (Q.I.T.) many of his peers could not understand why he would want to quit such a job. He had played a key role in turning Q.I.T. from being a technical and financial disaster into an upgraded, technologically profitable company. It became the world’s principal source of high grade titanium oxide as slag for the paint industry and of high grade iron for the production of ductile iron. He believed there was a need for an engineering organization which could make contributions to the research and development, marketing, operating and financial aspects of industrial projects. Such an organization could appraise technology and corporations as well as carry out the engineering, construction and start up of projects in mining, metallurgy and chemical industries. The organization would work closely with clients’ senior levels of management not only to bridge the gaps between research and development, engineering, operations, marketing and finance but also assist senior management in setting the climate such that projects were developed in discrete milestones. He knew from his Q.I.T. experience such a comprehensive approach to developing and executing projects resulted in projects being completed on time, on budget and with the negative cash flow periods reduced to a minimum.

Mr. W.S. Atkins, who had a successful consulting engineering practice in the U.K. allowed Gerry the opportunity to develop such an organization beginning in 1958 in Toronto. The organization soon expanded to include clients in the transportation field. By 1965 the firm had grown from 6 to 60 people. Gerry and two associates purchased the firm which became Hatch Associates Ltd. By 1976 it had grown to some 700 people and had become the comprehensive one of a kind organization Gerry had set out to establish serving clients around the world on a repeat basis. These clients included Q.I.T., Stelco, Falconbridge, Noranda, Cominco and Alcan in Canada, major iron and steel and non-ferrous companies in the U.SA., South Africa, New Zealand, Central and South American and transit projects in Canada, the U.S.A. and Australia. Falconbridge’s ferro nickel and Noranda’s continuous smelting process for copper concentrates are examples of projects that Hatch Associates worked on from laboratory stage through pilot plant, engineering, construction and into successful commercial operations. The company was retained in the development of many successful process equipment systems as well as appraising technologies and companies for clients in the metallurgical industries. Since his retirement in 1990 Hatch Associates Ltd. withstood the severe recession in 1991 – 1993 and has expanded in Canada and abroad such that it has 6,000 people working on projects in 40 offices around the world.

Gerry was the first recipient of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s (CIMM) Past President’s Gold Medal in 1961 for his work at Q.I.T. In 1986 CIM awarded him the Airey Award and in 1988 the Inco Medal for his outstanding achievements and services to the mining and metallurgical industry. In 1992 he became a Fellow and in 1993 he was selected to be a distinguished Lecturer of the Institute.

In 1990 Gerry was the recipient of a Doctor of Science Honorary Degree from his alma mater McGill University. The citation included reference to Gerry Hatch having developed a “national asset”. In 1995 he was the recipient of the Gold Medal of the Ontario Association of Professional Engineers. In 1997 he became a Member of the Order of Canada and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from McMaster University in 1997.

He was born in Brockville, Ontario on July 30, 1922. He received his primary schooling in a one room school in the County of Glengarry. His secondary and university training was in Montreal where he graduated from McGill in 1944 with honors in metallurgical engineering. Physical disabilities prevented him from joining the armed services. As a result he was employed by Shawinigan Water and Power Company where he worked in the research and development department on developing metallurgical processes which required major quantities of electrical power. In 1945 he was sponsored by his company and was the recipient of a post graduate fellowship from the province of Quebec to enter the graduate school of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his doctor of science degree in 1948. His graduate work included all the graduate courses in the metallurgical and chemical engineering departments. His thesis was the first research work done on the distribution of sulphur between blast furnace slag and iron saturated with carbon under equilibrium conditions. During the four years prior to joining Q.I.T. Gerry worked at Armour Research Foundation in Chicago, Illinois. During this period he was primarily engaged in the development of process technology for the production of ductile titanium.

His wife, Sheila, who passed away in the fall of 2003, graduated with honors from McGill University in architecture. Before starting a family Sheila worked for a number of years as an architect in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Chicago. They have four children.

Upon graduation from McGill Gerry became a member of the American Society of Metals (ASM) and CIMM. While in the graduate school of MIT he became a member of A.I.M.M.E. His other memberships include P.Eng. Ontario and Quebec, Sigma XI, Canadian Academy of Engineers, Life Member of the CIMM and Distinguished Life Member of ASM.

Gerry is a member of St. George’s Golf and Country Club, The Badminton & Racquet Club and The National Club.

In retirement his interests include basic research, engineering education, philanthropic work with universities, hospitals and research institutes and working to increase the competitive position of small and medium companies (SMEs) by creating effective linkages between SMEs, students, graduates and professors. Gerry is a Director Emeritus of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research and a member of its Council of Advisors.