I note what Tempsford had to say about the somewhat abrupt negotiation techniques employed in the early days of MAEL. I also recall that the company came close to folding on more than one occasion in the very early days, once in particular after taking on some work from a now, thankfully, defunct African airline who didn't pay for the work carried out. The coffers were bone dry and it was with the help of the then current workforce accepting a very meagre pay deal, this in the days when inflation was in double digits, that kept them going at all. Thankfully, new maintenance contracts were signed not too long after this and the company recovered.