Kee Safety, the leading supplier of roof top and ground based guardrail, is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its popular Kee Klamp fitting, the product at the heart of hundreds of thousands of safe tubular structures across the globe.
“We are delighted to reach this impressive milestone,” comments David Hill, Kee Safety’s Group Marketing Director. “From humble origins in the agricultural sector, the use of Kee Klamp fittings has evolved considerably over time. Today, the Kee Klamp fitting is a reliable mainstay in a wide variety of guardrailing, handrailing and other safe structure applications thanks to its versatility, durability and ease of use“.
The Kee Klamp fitting was originally designed in 1934 by Gascoignes Ltd, the milking machine specialists. It was created to meet a requirement for safer, more hygienic milk production, helping to create tubular-based stalls for dairy herds, quickly, easily and without the need for any welding on site. Instead, Kee Klamp fittings are installed using a standard hex key, with each product incorporating an integral set screw to lock the respective fitting safely and securely onto the tube.
From this initial success, Kee Klamp fittings soon gained wider appeal. During World War II, they were used for applications including barrage balloon wind shields and aircraft and gun turret maintenance. Post War, the Kee Klamp fitting became a common sight in racking structures, platforms, handrailing and other safety structures.
Overseas expansion and the development of an international distribution network followed. The 1970’s also brought fresh directions as the fittings began to be used in home furniture and shelving, thanks to a new, attractive galvanised finish. In 1977 an independent company Kee Klamps Ltd was created and the pace of innovation and product development quickened again.
Today, Kee Klamp fittings remain a major product range within the portfolio of the Kee Safety Group, a UK based global safety company with offices in Canada, China, France, Germany, Poland, UAE and USA. The off-the-shelf product range is one of the largest on the market, providing fittings for every possible application. Alongside Kee Klamp fittings, the business also includes the aluminium corrosion-resistant Kee Lite® range and Kee Access® fittings typically used to create safety handrailing that complies with the requirements of the UK Equality Act and other tubular structure applications.
“The Kee Klamp fitting has been on quite a journey since its invention in 1934,” adds David Hill. “The reasons for its early success are still its major strengths today. Versatility, reliability, speed and ease of assembly are as important in building safe structures as they ever have been, if not more so. The Kee Klamp fitting may be 80 years old, but on this basis it remains a product with a long and very bright future ahead.”
For more information on Kee Klamp fittings and the Kee Safety Group, please visit, https://www.keesafety.co.uk.