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Recess Screws Ltd

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pete.mason:
Screwfix or Toolstation were selling these up until very recently. When Pozidrive were launched Stanley did an intro pack like above, screwdriver and a selection of screw. Not sure when this was but thinking mid 60s, costing 7/6. I've still got the driver, grips perfectly and minimal wear, would that they made them like that now.

Smiffy:

Most people know of Jubilee clips and their connection with Gillingham, but there was once another company that had a factory in Gillingham with the potential to be even more successful.
 
We take simple things like screws for granted these days but it wasn't until 1760 that the first large scale production of them started. Up until then they were expensive to make, and so mainly used for specialist purposes. Slotted screws became the norm due to their ease of manufacture and it remained that way thoughout the 19th century.
 
Canadian by birth, Peter Lymburner Robertson had a talent for invention and originally worked as a travelling salesman. One day he was demonstrating a new spring loaded screwdriver when it slipped (cammed-out) and cut his hand quite badly. It was this that gave him the idea for a new and safer design of screw that would help to prevent this sort of thing from happening to anyone else. After a while he eventually came up with a design for a screw that had a cavity for the driver rather than a slot. This was not a totally new concept, others had come up with similar ideas but they hadn't been successful due to manufacturing issues. His new design was better, having a tapered cavity that didn't deform the head, was cold forged and cheap to make. He took out a patent for it in 1907, which was approved in 1909. After securing a means of production, this became known as the Robertson Drive and quickly achieved popularity with boat builders and furniture companies because of its ability to avoid the cam-out issue which could potentially give rise to expensive damage.
 
The factory was located in Ontario and in 1913 Fisher auto bodies, which made wooden parts for the Model T Ford, started using the Robertson screw in large numbers. Later they would use a newer Robertson screw developed for use on the metal bodied Ford model A. The opportunity soon presented itself to expand internationally, and this resulted in the establishment of the Recess Screw company in Gillingham. With the premises located in Pier Approach Road, this new company would eventually be providing employment for 400 workers. But with the advent of the Great War, the factory which had been set up to make "The screw that grips the driver" was largely turned over to war production. Making things such as firing pins for grenades and trench mortars, the company was eventually taken over by the government and Robertson decided to resign as director. With the main business still being carried on in Canada, the factory in Gillingham continued to operate but was eventually wound up in 1926. The assets were subsequently purchased by the Kent Construction and Engineering Company of Ashford, and renamed Recess Screws (1926) Ltd. Their own screw  manufacturing business being incorporated within the new company. I can find no other information regarding this company, including whether or not they continued with the manufacture of Recess screws.
 

 
Many other companies, including Ford, wanted to use these screws but Henry Ford also wanted an exclusive contract and a say in production. Despite this, Robertson refused to give up control and so the deal fell through, resulting in a considerable loss of business. By 1934, the Phillips screw had become available and unlike Robertson, Phillips happily licensed it out to many companies, including General motors. Eventually nearly all other transport and aircraft companies - including Ford, were using the Phillips screw. With the advent of WWII and a massive increase in industrial output, this resulted in the Phillips, not the Robertson screw, becoming the industry standard. Although to this day it is still extremely popular in Canada, outside of specialist use the Robertson design continues to remain largely unknown in the rest of the world.

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