Rawlplug

The Rawlplug group, typically referred to as simply Rawlplug, comprises nineteen companies, located across fifteen different countries. These companies are responsible for the design, development, production, sales and service of a range of fixings and fasteners as well as tools. The goods produced by Rawlplug are mostly used in the construction industry and by building professionals.

The company history begins with the Rawlings Brothers, a small plumbing and electrical engineering company founded in 1887 in London. The company was awarded a contract for the British Museum in 1910, which required them to fix electrical fittings to the museum walls in as unobtrusive manner as possible. The contract led directly to the invention and patenting of the world’s first wall plug, which went on to become a standard solution for attaching things to walls.John Joseph Rawlings, who is credited with invention of the wall plug, sold his product under the name rawlplug, using the first part of his last name to make it unique. He also re-named his business as Rawlplug in 1919.

During the interwar period, the Rawlplug company tried and patented a number of new fixing solutions and tools. Several types of wall plugs were among them including the Rawlbolt, the first solution for heavier loads and the world’s first mechanical anchor. In the tooling area, Rawlplug offered customers tools such as a mechanical hammer drill and electric soldering iron. After the war, the company came up with the first metal drywall anchor in 1947 and in the 1960’s they began to offer plastic wall plugs, which became the industry standard at that point.

The company continued to sell their products worldwide and in 1998 as the first British producer, they obtained an ETA certification. Since the death of John Joseph Rawlings, the business changed hands a few times until in 2005 it was bought by Koelner SA, a Wroclaw-based manufacturer of fixings and fasteners. The new owners decided to re-brand their entire business into Rawlplug and are pursuing a strategy of bringing the Rawlplug brand back to the furthest corners of the world.

As part of the new strategy, most recently, the Rawlplug Singapore branch was established. The company employs over 2000 employees worldwide.

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