Brammer
Brammer : The Early Years 1881 - 1990
Harry Brammer was born on 8 February 1881 near Leeds, in the North of England, one of seven children of his shoemaker father Albert.
Inventor Harry registered the trademark ‘Brammer Toe Strap’, modestly described as ‘The Aristocrat of Toe Straps’ in his advertising literature. Another good idea, a detachable ‘V’ link belt, became the most successful of his inventions. It solved constant problems with the driving of machinery used in shoe and clog making works and was more versatile than any of its competitors. Harry knew its potential was great and on 16 January 1920, with £3,000 of authorised capital, H. Brammer and Company Limited was established.
By 1927 Harry had four people on his payroll but this grew through the 40’s and by 1950 Brammer provided work for more than 150 people. Exports were playing an increasing part in the company’s success, with Brammer belting being sold as far afield as Fiji, the Faroe Islands and Mecca as well as to the established industrial countries. The following year, 1954, the company offered its shares to the public.
In 1960 the Brammer group of companies had now grown to employ 650 people, to encompass six wholly-owned subsidiaries worldwide and to trade in more than 60 overseas markets.
On 11 April 1969 Brammer acquired Bearing Service Limited, one of the largest distributors of replacement industrial bearings in the UK, a move which was to change significantly the company’s future direction. Bearing Service already had long term distributorship agreements through 17 depots in the North of England with many of the principal bearing suppliers. They were able to provide a 24-hour service to industry of almost every make, type and size of bearing mainly for replacement purposes.
By the end of 1969, just before Brammer’s 50th anniversary, the number of people had risen to 838 in the UK.
Now it was all change. In 1972 the company’s registered office moved to Altrincham and in 1979, to comply with new legislation, the company changed its name to Brammer plc. The expansion, which had begun in the 1970s, continued throughout the 1980s with the company making significant acquisitions.
By the 1990’s the Brammer Group were able to announce record turnover. It was also in 1990 that the genie was first used by BSL to demonstrate their unique position within the marketplace as the ‘Rolls Royce of industrial distribution’.
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