Kee Klamp
{{Short description|Type of pipe fitting}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox product
| title = Key Klamp
| image = 160px
| caption = Basic fitting
| type =
| inventor = George H. Gascoigne
and colleagues
| inception =
| launch year = 1934
| company = Gascoignes (Reading) Ltd.
| manufacturer =
| available = Available
| current supplier =
| last production =
| notes =
}}
A Key Klamp is a structural pipe fitting commonly used in the construction of handrails and barriers. Fabricated installations comprise the fittings and separate tubing components, which can be sized on site.
The system was devised in 1934 and is made by a subsidiary of KIG Holdings. The fittings are mostly supplied to third parties for sale to fabricators, with a small proportion of sales being made internally to specialist divisions of the company.
History
The system was developed in 1934 by George H. Gascoigne and his colleagues in Reading, England for making cows' milking stalls. It was advertised to industrial chemists in 1944, and used for storage systems in factories in the 1960s. By 1980 it was available in Canada, as noted by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Components
The system comprises unthreaded cast iron or aluminium{{cite news|title=An alternative to welded platform handrail systems|url=http://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/print/volume-67/issue-10/equipment-engineering/an-alternative-to-welded-platform-handrail-systems.html|accessdate=12 July 2012|newspaper=Offshore magazine}}{{cite web|title=Aluminium tube fittings|url=http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Kazed-Industrial-Solutions/Aluminium-tube-fittings-n689009|work=ferret|accessdate=12 July 2012|date=25 May 2005}} structural tubing and slip-on structural pipe fittings. The galvanized malleable{{cite news|title=Base Mount Structural Pipe Fittings accommodate toe boards|url=http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Base-Mount-Structural-Pipe-Fittings-accommodate-toe-boards-462436|accessdate=12 July 2012|newspaper=ThomasNet News|publisher=Thomas Register|date=20 April 2005}} fittings provide resistance to corrosion and are secured to the tubes using set screws by use of a hex key.{{cite news|title=Railroad Chooses Rooftop Fall Prevention System|url=http://ehstoday.com/ppe/fall-protection/ehs_imp_68512/|accessdate=12 July 2012|newspaper=EHS Today|date=9 July 2007}}
Some cutting or bending of the tubes may be required while installing the system, according to site-specific circumstances. Skilled labourers such as welders are not required, but the material costs are higher for the Key Klamp system.{{cite web|title=Completed acquisition by KIG Ltd of FastMat Ltd and Access Technologies Ltd |url=http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/mergers/mergers_fta/mergers_fta_advice/kig |work=ME/1056/03 |publisher=Office of Fair Trading |accessdate=12 July 2012 |date=21 May 2003 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529070102/http://oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/mergers/mergers_fta/mergers_fta_advice/kig |archivedate=29 May 2012 }} A contractor at the Long Island Rail Road described the system in 2007 as being "very simple to install".
Usage
{{Rquote|right|Also cow stalls, bank operated yard yokes, calf penning, bull corner yokes and bull pen railing.|Leaflet for Key Klamp cattle control system, {{nowrap|mid-1950s}}{{cite web|title=Leaflet for Kee Klamp cattle control system. TR GRL/P2/A44 mid 1950s|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=007-gascoigne&cid=57#57|work=Museum of English Rural Life: Gascoignes (Reading) Ltd|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=12 July 2012}}}}
Example uses of various derived systems are in guard rails and market stalls.{{cite news|last=Njoku|first=Jude|title=Another shopping mall underway in Surulere|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/another-shopping-mall-underway-in-surulere/|accessdate=12 July 2012|newspaper=Vanguard|publisher=Vanguard Media|date=22 March 2011}} More unusual uses have been seen in home shelving,{{cite web|author=Adam|title=Key Klamp Shelf (not on the cheap)|url=https://adambyers.com/2006/07/key-klamp-shelf-not-on-the-cheap/|work=adambyers.com|accessdate=15 August 2014|date=6 July 2006}}{{cite web|last=Pollock|first=Chris|title=Floating Bathroom Shelf Made with Key Klamp and Lack Components|url=http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/02/floating-bathroom-shelf-made-with-key.html|work=IKEAHackers|publisher=IKEAHackers.net|accessdate=12 July 2012|date=10 February 2011}} kite buggying{{cite web|last=danur|title=Construction amateur du char à cerf-volant|url=http://danurb.free.fr/charsbdu/html/in.html|work=Slow Brain|publisher=free.fr|accessdate=12 July 2012|date=2003}} and the Rover chair. Parkour and Ninja Warrior training facilities have also benefited from the reliable and quick to set up Structural Pipe Fittings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/projects/diy-versatile-parkour-gym-equipment|title=DIY Versatile Parkour Gym Equipment|website=www.simplifiedbuilding.com|language=en|access-date=2020-01-21}}
In 2003, the company and a former competitor stated that such fittings were not being used in some countries in Europe, in favour of welding. This was due to lower labour costs. For uncomplicated installations, welding may be a cheaper solution than Key Klamp, depending upon usage.
Market dominance
In 2003, the system dominated the UK and EU markets, with a share of {{nowrap|70{{ndash}}80 per cent}}. (The fittings market was worth {{nowrap|£5{{ndash}}8 million}} in the UK in 2003.) The premium branding the product is said to hold is due to KIG offering incremental services. Some customers inherently prefer using such fittings, while others prefer welding. The choice of system is often made during initial design of an installation.
The system is marketed for specific uses under various names, including a low-cost brand called Tubeclamp. Specialist divisions of the company exist which fabricate finished structures, although such internal sales of the fittings constitute only a fraction of total fittings sales.
Between 1998 and 2003, volumes of Key Klamp sales increased. The value of total annual sales remained static throughout this period, associated with an overall price reduction of {{nowrap|20{{ndash}}30 per cent}}. During this period, the price reduction of a complete system including the tube components was {{nowrap|5{{ndash}}10 per cent}}.
A business acquisition by KIG of {{nowrap|no frills}} competitor FastMat (a subsidiary of Access Technologies) in 2003 led to a report being filed with the UK's Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under the Fair Trading Act 1973. The report concluded that the merger should not be referred to the Competition Commission due to the relatively inexpensive cost of entry to the market by others. Most suppliers of competing products to the UK import their fittings from low-cost Far East contract manufacturers.