Hans Renold Ltd

Renold transmission - the history.

Hans Renold was born in Aarau, Switzerland in July 1852 and died in May 1943. He came to England in 1873.

• 1864 The Chain Making Company James Slater (later to become Hans Renold Co.) introduced the roller into chain. Prior to this time transmission chain consisted of only pins and plates.

• 1873 At the age of 21 Hans Renold, son of a burgher family in Aarau, Switzerland, came to England and found work in Manchester with a firm of machinery exporters.

• His independent and inventive spirit soon found expression in the purchase, in 1879, of a small textile-chain making business in Salford. In 1880 he invented bush roller chain and an industry was born. Thus began the enterprise of which The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was to say in a memoir: "Few realise how extensive is the influence of Renold's inventiveness on both civil and industrial life throughout the world."

• Hans Renold's vision was not restricted to the prospects in UK industry and over the following years he began the international expansion of his company.

• 1879 The Hans Renold Co. was established following the purchase of the James Slater business. This makes Renold the oldest established transmission chain company in the world, which still existed in 2005.

• 1880 Introduced the patented feature of the solid bush. This was the origin of the bush roller chain, the design of which is still used today throughout the world.

• In 1881 he moved to Brook Street, Manchester, where a new factory, Progress Works, was subsequently built.

• 1885 A patent for the block chain was applied for by Hans Renold but he decided to openly give his idea to the cycle trade for all to freely manufacture.

• Brampton Brothers Co., who later became part of the Coventry Chain Company (and ultimately Renold Chains Ltd.), experimented with self-lubricating bicycle chain.

• 1888 Hans Renold Co. were riveting the bearing pins in the assembled chain.

• 1889 The company designed and manufactured a purpose built plate hole-punching machine.

• Designed and manufactured a machine for the Dry Tumbling (Jingling) of chain components.

• 1893 Hans Renold Co. were using hardened components.

• 1895 Designed and manufactured a machine for producing the Rotary Rivet on the ends of the chain bearing pins. The need for an Inverted tooth (silent chain) was apparent to Hans Renold and this resulted in his patent of 1895. Although his design of chain was superseded in later years by the silent chain with rocker joints, he made an impact in the introduction of such a chain. Designed and manufactured a machine for the Wet Tumbling (Jingling) of chain components

• 1896 Hans Renold Co. designed and manufactured a machine for the proof loading of their chain.

• Introduced the 48-hour week when the general practice in engineering was 52 or more.

• 1899 Hans Renold Co. introduced their patented feature of the end recess in the bearing pin. Brampton Brothers Ltd. patented the integral bush/inner plate chain upon which so many cycle chains have been based. Introduced a Works Canteen. Introduced the round-ended necked (i.e. shouldered) bearing pin in their 1899 patent.

• 1900 Hans Renold Co. designed and manufactured a Coning Machine.

• In the early 1900's Hans Renold Co. introduced an apprenticeship scheme.

• 1903 Hans Renold Ltd. formed.

• 1905 Renold introduced percussion testing on chain components.

• Hans Renold Ltd. designed and manufactured a Semi-Automatic Drifting Machine for use on assembled inner links.

• 1906 Renold began supplying mortise block chains (and associated equipment) which were a notable part of the business for about 60 years. During the construction of a new factory, rather than use belt drives from overhead line-shafts Renold designed, and installed, overhead chain drives. Began designing and manufacturing special - purpose machines for the assembly of chains. Began the manufacture of chain wheels. Developed a machine for centreless grinding of bearing pins. This was long before centreless grinders became the factor in machine shop practice that they are now. The Coventry Chain Company Ltd. (who later became part of the Renold group) patented the helical (spiral) roller formed by wire strip.

• 1907 The company developed a new tooth form for roller chain wheels.

• 1909 The firm introduced Torsion Testing on chain components. Began supplying transmission chain for Aircraft. Founded the Hans Renold Social Union.

• 1910 Hans Renold Ltd. designed and manufactured a Tumbler (Jingler) for the blueing of chain plates. The blue plates being a feature of the Hans Renold chain for many years.

• 1911 Issued catalogue. Renold Bush Roller Chains

• 1912 The company began the process of end softening of bearing pins and only now are many of Renold Competitors beginning to incorporate this feature. Supplied the chain for The Great Clock at the Palace of Westminster known more affectionately as Big Ben (which was, incidentally, built in 1856).

• 1913 Hans Renold gave the world his improved sprocket tooth profile which, with slight modification, was adopted by the United States as their Standard profile. Designed and manufactured a Fatigue Test Machine for the evaluation of chain fatigue strength.

• 1914 Designed and patented their flexible chain coupling. A product that is still used today, worldwide.

• 1915 (approx.) Hans Renold Ltd. were manufacturing high waisted chain plates and were also manufacturing chains with straight sided plates. Designed and manufactured Running-in machine for their chain. Introduced Stock Drives, something of which is taken for granted today.

• By 1915 the company had completed the construction of, and transfer to, Renold Works in Burnage, Manchester. The first of many branch sales offices were opened in London and Glasgow, in 1910 and 1912, respectively.

• 1916 Started supplying chain with Case Hardened pins. Patented the segmental bush design of inverted tooth (silent) chain. The Coventry Chain Company Ltd. developed and manufactured track chains for use on tank vehicles.

• 1917 Hans Renold Ltd. were still leading the world by having coned (i.e. tapered) bush bores.

• 1918 Manufactured extra strong chains for use on motorcycles

• 1919 Advert for Transmission chains (Hans Renold of Didsbury, Manchester)

• 1920 A selling subsidiary was established in Canada in 1920, and a less successful sales organisation in America, in 1921. The same period saw the formation of Renold Chains Ltd., to handle export sales other than those to Canada and the U.S.A. (mainly with French and Belgian markets in mind).

• 1920's Early in the decade, Hans Renold Ltd. supplied bush roller chains for the first marine Diesel engines. Also designed and manufactured a series of chain test machines:

• 1921 Noise Testing.

• 1922 Chain Pairing. Designed and manufactured a Bush Curling Machine.

• 1923 Chain Out Of Alignment Testing. Chain Wobble Testing. High Speed Testing. Impact Testing.

• 1925 The first acquisition of a major competitor came, when Brampton Brothers Limited, with its French manufacturing subsidiary at Calais, was purchased and the operation merged with the manufacturing facility previously established in Coventry.

• 1927 To improve bush inner/plate security Hans Renold Ltd. patented the 'keyed' bush. This feature is still used today.

• 1928 In 1928 the German sales subsidiary, Renold Industrie Ketten GmbH was formed.

• Hans Renold Ltd. were approved under the A.I.D. regulations to issue Inspection Certificates and were likewise an approved A.R.B inspection authority.

• 1930 Merger created Renold and Coventry Chain Co. Ltd. . After the merger with Coventry Chain Co. Ltd. and Brampton Brothers Ltd. in 1930, the new company, Renold and Coventry Chain Co. Ltd., had works in Manchester, Coventry and Birmingham, together with the former Brampton works at Calais. Chain production in the U.K. works was concentrated in Manchester and Coventry, and free wheel manufacture at Coventry was given up.

• 1932 Chain supplied had chamfered plates some being doubled chamfered (i.e. both sides). Patented the early design of bi-planar chain, (The patent being applied for in 1928).

• 1933 Supplied chain with a notched bush.

• 1937 The Birmingham works and the Brampton cycle fittings business, which was concentrated there after the merger, were disposed of in 1937.

• 1945 The Whitney Chain & Mfg. Co. (who later became part of the Renold group) obtained the patent for the tin-printer chain which is still used today throughout the world.

• WWII During the Second World War, temporary premises were leased at Newton Mill in Hyde, Cheshire, for arms-related production.

• 1946 A new factory in Cardiff was acquired in 1946; this took over the wheel manufacturing department previously at Burnage and also manufactured chain clutches and couplings. An Australian manufacturing subsidiary was set up in 1949.

• Perry Chain Co. Ltd. formed.

• 1947 Renold established its first green-field manufacturing operation overseas in Melbourne, Australia, and this was followed by the establishment of other owned sales and sometimes manufacturing operations in Austria, Denmark, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.

• 1950 Renold and Coventry Chain Co. Ltd chain plates had reamed holes.

• The 1950s saw the expansion of Australian sales and manufacturing operations.

• In 1954 the sales division and administrative services departments moved from Burnage to the new Renold House in Wythenshawe, Manchester. By this point the company had built up a world-wide sales organisation based on its selling subsidiaries and its agencies, which covered over seventy countries. In 1955 a factory in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, was acquired for the separate manufacture of conveyor chain and agricultural chain machinery.

• 1954 Company becomes Renold Chains Ltd. and introduced their improved design of bi-planar chain with their patent.

• 1956 Renold acquired Anchor Chain, Oldham, with the introduction of nuclear power at Calder Hall, Renold Chains Ltd. entered the Nuclear Age with the supply of control rod lifting chains.

• 1958 Wheel manufacture in Canada began in 1958. The major mergers with Perry and Co. (Holdings) Ltd. and John Holroyd and Co. Ltd., took place in 1959 and 1964 respectively.

• 1959 Renold Chains Ltd. were innovators in the chain industry of progressive die tooling (i.e. follow-on tooling) in the manufacture of chain plates. Chain plates for pitches between 1.0" and 1.5" were being produced by this method. Smaller pitch chain plates had begun being produced by this process many years earlier.

• 1960s In addition to the Holroyd merger, the 1960s saw expansion in Europe.

• 1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Timing chains

• 1963 In 1963 the company acquired the manufacturing companies Manufacture Lilloise de Chaines S.A., of Lille, France, and Arnold and Stolzenberg GmbH of Juliusmuhle, Germany, and established a new wheel manufacturing plant at Charleville-Mezieres in the French Ardennes. Renolds also gained an interest in local manufacture in Spain during this period. Sales companies were established in Spain, in 1962; Austria, in 1964; Denmark (Renold A/S, of Copenhagen) in 1965; Switzerland, in 1968 and Sweden (Renold Svenska AB) in 1969. Outside Europe, the decade saw the formation, in 1968, of Renold (Southern Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, a chain manufacturing company. This later combined with the former Crofts establishment at Benoni, to form Renold Crofts (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd.

• 1963 Renold acquired Arnold and Stolzenberg GmbH of Einbeck, one of the largest and oldest-established chain manufacturers in Germany.

• 1964 A significant strategic development of the Renold Group was the acquisition of John Holroyd and Co Ltd , in 1964, and this marked the start of the transition from purely chain manufacture to manufacture and supply of a complete range of power transmission products and precision machine tools. Further acquisitions brought more gearing, couplings, clutches, brakes, variable speed drives and various hydraulic products into the Group.

• 1996 Renold aquires the Holset couplings business in Halifax, and renames the company Renold Hi-Tec Couplings.

• 1967 Company now called Renold Ltd.

• In the late 1960's, Renold commences press extrusion of bushes and rollers for transmission chain. Renold develops a range of Non Lub chains with sintered bushes.

• 1970 Renold begins the cold extrusion of rollers for transmission chain using multi-station extruders.

• 1970 A new selling subsidiary was established in Kenya in 1970. In 1971 Renold opened a precision conveyor chain factory in Lille. In 1970 the company had gained a controlling interest in a firm in Auckland, New Zealand. This began manufacturing worm gear units in 1972, as Renold Christian Ltd. The 1970s also saw the acquisition of manufacturing bases in the U.S.A. The Ajax Flexible Coupling Co. Inc., of Westfield, New York State, was acquired in 1972, and Atlas Chain and Precision Products Co. Inc., of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1974.

• 1975 The company introduces GP Motor Cycle Chains.

• 1977 Renold designs and manufactures a machine for hard ball drifting of plates.

• 1980s The firm supplies the chain for the famous Gastown Steam Clock in Vancouver, Canada. Begins the cold extrusion of bushes for transmission chain using multi-station extruders. Renold chain fitted to the Thames Barrier lifting application.

• 1987 Renold becomes the first chain Company to obtain BS:5750 (later becoming ISO:9002).

• Renold introduces the staked bush.

• 1989 Introduces the coning feature in their bush cold extrusion process.

• 1996 Introduces the Smartlink data logging concept for chain.

• 1998 In December, Renold acquired Jones & Shipman plc in the UK, and with it a range of precision production and tool room grinding machine tools, "superabrasive" machine tools from Edgetek in the USA and electronic control systems from Goodwin in the UK.

• Renold manufactures the replacement replica chain for Big Ben.

• Renold begins the cold extrusion of large pitch bushes and rollers.

• Renold launches Syno low-maintenance chain.

• 2000 In March, the company acquired Jeffrey Chain a leading manufacturer of industrial chain in the USA. Jeffrey Chain has strong US brands and established relationships with major US distributors, of power transmission equipment, and original equipment manufacturers.

• 2001 Chain factories obtained ISO:14001.

• Renold patents the chain wear monitoring device.

• 2003 Renold Synergy range relaunched with new and improved features.

• 2004 Range of polymer bush transmission chains launched as part of Renold Syno maintenance free chain.

• 2005 Smartlink fitted to the Thames Barrier lifting application.

• 2006 Renold employs around 2000 people in more than 23 countries around the world.

• Until the 1950s the company concentrated on the production of driving chains, conveying chains and other chains and chain accessories, including wheels, chain clutches and tools. Early production centred on the cycle industry. Hans Renold's bush roller chain, patented in 1880, made possible the success of the safety bicycle and was later extensively used by other cycle manufacturers. Further inventions followed, opening up many other fields of use for the company’s products. Renold driving chains were used, for example, in diesel engines in ships, in agricultural machinery and in motorcycles. The company’s works produced munitions during both World Wars. 1957 marked the start of a move towards diversification of products, when the company was licensed to manufacture Sprag clutches in Britain by the Formsprag Co. of Michigan, U.S.A.

• The company had a reputation for advanced ideas in management practices and labour relations. Sir Charles Garonne Renold is credited with the development of a system of ‘constitutional management’, which laid stress on joint consultation with workers. Facilities at the early works included a works canteen, opened in 1896 and the Hans Renold Social Union, founded in 1909 to provide recreational and welfare services. A technical school existed, from 1917 to the 1920s. Profit sharing was introduced in 1922 and shop stewards were recognised from 1917.

Sources of Information

• [1] Manchester Archives. 1618-circa 1982: mainly 19th and 20th century (approximately 85 shelves)
• 1963 Motor Show
• [2] History of Renolds web page
• The Engineer of 21st July 1911 p85 & p319
• Mechanical World Year Book 1919. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert p150