One hundred years of Dormer Tools approaches

Now part of the Sandvik group, the engineering firm started life as The Sheffield Twist Drill Co, on 4 September 1913, but now has subsidiaries in 25 countries. Dormer has adopted the slogan 'Your trusted partner since 1913' for its centenary to showcase the company's reputation in the industry, and a range of activities has been taking place during the year to mark the anniversary. Memorabilia and artefacts from the company's history have been collated at Dormer's UK site at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in South Yorkshire, including items donated from the prestigious Ken Hawley Collection in Sheffield (see link, below). The items are currently on display as part of new-look training room, where new and experienced engineers can review the evolving development of cutting tools. Dormer has enhanced its online presence with a new centenary website www.Dormer100.com (see link, below), which will feature news and images of celebrations by Dormer employees and customers around the globe, alongside archive images and footage. A new corporate video is also being created, including a specific feature on the centenary. This follows the discovery of archive footage from Dormer UK in 1960s and 70s at the Yorkshire Film Archive. The videos have now had more than 2,000 views on YouTube. John O'Donoghue, managing director of Dormer Tools UK, said: "It is important to celebrate and recognise a centenary of achievements and developments at Dormer, but we are also keen to look ahead at the next 100 years. "We have grown from a successful Sheffield company to a major global organisation, with staff located in key global markets. The use of social media this year has brought together employees, customers and Dormer advocates from around the world, while also being able to showcase and reflect our heritage. "As we enter a new century in the company's history, we continue to look at the latest technology in product development and improved customer facilities, all working to strengthen Dormer's global position for a new generation." TIMELINE 1913: The company was founded in Sheffield on September 4 by Mr H.A. Dormer and Mr. L Robertson under the title of The Sheffield Twist Drill Co. Ltd, with a workforce of around 20 people. 1917: Business developed so rapidly that a trademark became essential. A Dutch agent suggested a windmill with a Dormer window. And, so, the Dormer Dovecote was born and was later registered as the company trade mark. 1937: Special purpose machine tools had to be re-designed and modified to keep pace with changes demanded by Dormer engineers. This proved so successful that Dormer soon began manufacturing and marketing its own brand of machine tools. 1939-1945: The burdens of war placed considerable responsibility on the 600 employees engaged in drill and reamer production at Dormer. The character of the work force shone through and a spirit of great comradeship developed at the Sheffield factory to meet the demands of Winston Churchill's "Tools for the Job" campaign. 1941: November 8, Winston Churchill made a surprise visit to Sheffield to show his appreciation for the way the city had maintained production of vital war requirements. The enthusiastic crowd included hundreds of Dormer staff, and the picture showing Churchill passing the factory on Napier Street was published in Le Courier de l'Air, an illustrated news sheet which was dropped by the R.A.F. over France to boost morale of the French Resistance Movement. 1948: First exhibition stand at Olympia. With a revolving drill as a corner stone, it became almost a landmark in the multitude of exhibits spread throughout the building, showcasing British craftsmanship at its highest level. 1952: An active Technical Advice Service was inaugurated to provide support and service both at home and abroad. Its success could be measured by its rapid growth. Originally staffed by one man, by the mid 1960s it employed a dozen trained and experienced engineers. By the mid 60s, it had grown from one person to a dozen trained and experienced engineers. 1953: The year saw the introduction of the famous 'Silver Ring' which, over the decades to come, became a symbol for Dormer's quality and accuracy. At this time, Dormer was the largest twist drill manufacturer in the world, with more than 2,500 employees. 1957: The Worksop factory was officially inaugurated in April – the realisation of Alex Dormer's vision to build a factory in rural surroundings. During construction of the new factory, locally recruited labour was bussed to and from Sheffield for training in new skills and manufacturing techniques. 1963: A four-storey factory extension was built along Napier Street, Sheffield. The new construction was particularly noteworthy in that its exterior incorporated stainless steel curtain-walling, the first of its type in the city. The additional space enabled production flow in the two main factories to be redesigned, with efficient groupings of the various stages of manufacturing linked by the very latest in conveyor belt and hoist systems. 1967: Dormer announced the acquisition of its new computer. At a cost of £135,000 – a considerable sum even now – the machine was leased from IBM. It needed its own air conditioned room and performed 30,000 calculations per second. In the same year a new Training Centre was opened. Work begins on a new five-storey office block and three-storey warehouse to accommodate the growing workforce, which now stood at more than 2,500 employees. 1975: SKF acquired The Sheffield Twist Drill & Steel Co. Ltd to become the world's largest manufacturer of high speed steel cutting tools. 1978: Dormer Distribution (Tools) Limited was officially incorporated on 24 May and commenced trading in the following month. A joint venture between the Sheffield Twist Drill & Steel Co Ltd and GKN Distributors Ltd, the purpose of the company was to improve service to engineers' merchants and tool distributors on a complete range of their requirements. 1984: On-line ordering introduced. Dormer was one of the first in the industry to make it possible for customers to order products electronically, at a time when the Internet was little more than a toy for University academics. 1986: ADX Drill range introduced in July and won the award for Technical Innovation at the biannual tool industry awards. 1987: In June, Sheffield's Master Cutler Peter Bray presented Dormer with the Acclaim Award for Technical Innovation for the ADX drill. 1989: Holbrook factory, on the outskirts of Sheffield, officially opened on June 21, and featured a new ultrasonic wash line and centralised coolant supply and filtration system. This self-contained sealed lubrication process was far in advance of anything else used in Britain at the time, and dramatically improved fuel conservation and the working environment. After visiting the Sheffield factory in 1975, HRH the Duke of Kent returned to inspect the new facility, and another milestone was reached when the first Royal signature was added to the visitor's book. 1991: The first Product Selector CD-Rom introduced. Meanwhile, in partnership with Aston University, CADCAM systems were used in the design of prototype products. 1992: Dormer becomes part of the Sandvik Group. 1997: To facilitate the move away from salt-bath heat treatments at Worksop, an Ipsen Vacuum Furnace was installed for the heat-treatment of taper-shank tools. This was a completely non-toxic process which significantly enhanced product quality and factory working conditions. Up to that point, the Worksop factory consumed 40 tonnes of salt annually 1998: Trials started on a prototype protected atmosphere rotary hearth furnace. Test work showed that it was possible to selectively harden jobber drills, giving a fully hardened flute length and a soft shank. The new furnace was completely non-toxic. 1999: The introduction of the Dormer group's first e-commerce application. A pilot scheme for the UK market and Dormer International was introduced before the turn of the century, after which it was made available throughout Europe and all Dormer companies worldwide. 2001: October 31, Dormer was awarded the top UK tooling industry award for product innovation at the "Tooling" show at Birmingham's NEC in recognition of its recently launched multi-material Solid Carbide Drill. 2003: Production was consolidated from Holbrook to Worksop. The UK sales office and corporate functions were also relocated. 2008: Dormer becomes the first rotary cutting tool company in the UK to receive a prestigious award in recognition of its business standards – the European Foundation for Quality Management honour. On December 3, the first staff move into Dormer's new facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Waverley, Sheffield. 2009: Dormer's global brand is attracting industry experts from all over the world, including Dubai, Jordan, Pakistan and Australia, to its multi-million pound site at the AMP. 2010: Dormer became one of the first cutting tool companies in the world to use an advanced computer simulation tool specifically for developing new threading products. Also, Dormer announces that more than £20 million-worth of orders is being processed annually from its South Yorkshire base. 2012: Parent company Sandvik celebrates 150 years. Founded in 1862 by Goran Fredrik Gorannson who, in 1857, established the first connection with Sheffield by buying a fifth of Sir Henry Bessemer's patent. Inventor Bessemer had revolutionised the manufacture of steel, transforming the fortunes of Sheffield and South Yorkshire and making cheaper steel available to the rest of the world. 2013: Dormer Tools celebrates its centenary.