There is a little misunderstanding as to when Britool was originally set up some say 1908 but other put the date of incorporation at 1915. Whichever is true Britool is close to being 100 years old. At this early beginning Britool was a subsidiary of Jenks Brothers Ltd operating in 1920 from a factory on Owen Road, Wolverhampton. At this time they where British Tool and Engineering Co. Ltd with the brands Britool and Britospan. It was at this time that Britool brought the BI-Hexagon socket to the world. Helping them gain the well deserved reputation for being a manufacture of high quality engineers hand tools specialising in sockets and wrenches. A couple of years before the outbreak of World War 2, 1937, Britool was taken over by Shaw & Sons Ltd. Britool production then moved to the Bushbury works. In the 1950s Britool first introduced there classic torque wrench which at the time was a huge innovation and went on to become the industry standard. Shaw & Sons Ltd continued to own the Britool brand until 1969 when it was taken over by James Neil tools creating the largest tool manufacturing organisations in the world. At this time Britool where marketed as ?The World Finest Hand Tools?, later they also used the slogan ?Britool for tightening your nuts?. During the 1980s Britool moved from the Bushbury works to there present home on Walsall Road , Cannock . Then in 1991 Britool was taken over by the high quality French tool producer Facom and became part of the Facom group. The merger with the Facom group meant the sharing of technical and manufacturing expertise within the Facom group. This technical partnership has meant that Britool continues exceed both British and European standards.



Britools current range includes toolkits, tool boxes, roller cabinets, work benches, sockets, socket sets, ratchets, torque wrenches, spanners, screwdrivers, pliers, hexagon and torx keys, striking tools, impact socketry and accessories and insert bits.

The Britool tool box and roller cabinet range are premium quality, high specification tool boxes designed with the professional in mind. They are manufactured under the strictest quality control conditions and are the culmination of extensive research, testing and development. A selection of those tests used by Britool is treadmill testing, drawer cycle testing and a rack test. Treadmill testing is used to test the durability of the tool boxes under rolling conditions. To pass the test roller cabinets must be able to withstand a distance of 10 miles while fully loaded with tools and equipment. Drawer cycle testing is used to test the durability of the drawers. The draws are filled with tools to capacity and repeatedly opened and close by a machine. The Britool tool box and roller cabinet range must achieve 50000 operations before failure. The rack test measures the strength of the tool box or roller cabinet by placing the tool box at an angle and applying a load until failure. The entire Britool range is capable of withstanding pressure in excess of 1727kg.

Britool socket sets, sockets and ratchets are produced to the latest ISO standards. Britool are credited with the invention of the bi-hex socket pattern. All sockets are manufactured from the highest quality steel and precision machined. Britool sockets have an advanced stress relief drive profile (SRD profile). This profile was designed using state of the art computer aided design (CAD) technology and finite stress analysis. The SRD profile increases the contact between socket and fastener which minimises stress and reduces both fastener and socket wear.

Britool ratchets are available in four types the lever arch reversible ratchet, fine tooth ratchet, clutch ratchet and the lock-on quick release mechanism ratchet. Most of the Britool ratchet range feature 72 tooth mechanisms or better, which allow a minimum working arc of 5 degrees. The Britool clutch ratchet utilises a toothless design that allows a minimum working arc of 1 degree.

Britool sockets sets are available in 1/4?, 3/8?, 1/2?, 3/4? and 1? square drive. Britool socket sets are available as sets contained in red metal boxes with foam inserts or on socket rails with socket clips.

The Britool classic torque wrench range began life in 1950 and a further improved version is still available today. Today the Britool AVT, EVT and HVT torque wrench range offer a unique 3 phase mechanism. This unique 3 phase mechanism allows the detection of progressive torque build up to be detected by the user by 3 methods. These methods are sight, touch and sound. The user is able to use sight to view the mechanism progressively move towards the point of torque break as load is applied. The user can feel the point of toque through the wrench. Finally the range features audible signal in the form of a click when the desired torque setting is reached.

The Britool wrench and spanner range comprises of combination spanners, open jaw spanner wrenches, ring spanners, crows feet, short and long spanners, midget spanners, ratchet spanners, crescent spanners, flare nut spanners, C hook wrenches and large sized heavy duty slogging wrenches and spanners up to 100mm plus in size for heavy industrial applications. Britool spanners like there sockets feature the Britool SRD profile. Britool forges from a single piece of steel, using the most appropriate technology. The best forging solutions used give the most uniform and linear grain flow within the metal this gives the highest levels of strength and durability. So as to achieve this high level of grain flow uniformity Britool uses several methods dependant on the shape. These methods used by Britool are traditional drop forging, upset forging and cold forging.

Britool high performance screwdrivers exceed ISO standards. The Britool screwdriver range is available in a variety of lengths and tip designs, flared, slotted, pozidriv, torx, stubby, cross head and Phil lips. The Britool screwdriver range also includes insulated and stubby screwdrivers.