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Railex celebrates 100 years of file manufacturing excellence, with a 100 year guarantee*
Where did it all start?
In Rochdale, early 1900’s. A young and enterprising Frank Wilson seized an opportunity at the age of 12 by spending what little money he’d struggled to save to buy a horse. Rochdale is a hilly place so Frank would wait at the bottom of the hill with his horse, then spotting a vehicle stuck on the gradient would offer, for a fee, to tow the traveller up the hill.
Frank later gained employment as a general dog’s body at a paper warehouse, a firm that imported and distributed loose leaf filing products. Quickly learning the business from checking goods-in to sending out invoices and collecting money, Frank realised that he could do this for himself rather than work for someone else.
In 1908 at the age of 18, Frank Wilson formed a company called W H Hilton & Co. He didn’t want to use his own name so he chose the Mayor of Rochdale’s surname for the company and added the initials W H. Why W H? Because Frank thought they looked impressive and the characters were easy to engrave on copper plate.
The industrial revolution and associated increase in paperwork, had such an impact on manufacturing methods, that the office was left virtually untouched. The spike and paperweight was only surpassed by drawer and box files. Vertical filing was only regarded as more of a novelty than a serious alternative. So when Frank and his wife started making lever-arch files, they were an instant success. They soon became the ‘bread and butter’ line of Frank’s new company.
This success led Frank to buy a second home, not overseas, but in Southport—at the time considered to be a Riviera of the North West. Southport eventually became the permanent home of Frank Wilson, his family and his company.
Files, binders, folders and the popular lever arch files led to the company’s attempts to introduce more efficient and compact methods of filing. The first lateral filing system was prompted by Frank’s son Bryan, after seeing them in Germany. In 1947, Frank Wilson Filing, as it had eventually come to be known started making hook-on lateral filing systems that proved to be hugely successful and today remain the most effective method of mass filing. The print and graphic arts industry also welcome this novel lateral method of filing, easily coping with large sizes and bulky materials such as film, art work and printing plates
While the Frank Wilson name had become synonymous with filing, the family decided to introduce a new name that reflected a modern post-war image. Railex was the name that was to embellish the company’s products.
Over the years, company has gone from strength to strength, always been self funding and still owns its plant and machinery with the financial comfort of freehold property assets.
What of the future?
Today the firm still known as Railex continues the tradition set by Frank Wilson in 1908, always run by a ‘Wilson’ and is currently run by Howard, the grandson of Frank. The company are leaders and innovators in their field, with quality at the forefront of the company ethos. Railex still offer both traditional and bespoke products, from special files to multiple mobile/static shelving systems, with electronic records management being one of the latest product offerings, designed to meet the ever increasing demands of valuable archiving.
In line with their 100 year celebrations, Railex are offering a 100 year guarantee on their new innovative file —The Railex Client File,
Shelf Files |
Suspension Files |
Social Services Filing |
Education Filing |
Railex Hook-On Files |
Circular Filing Systems |
Medical Filing |
Box Files |
Large Format Filing |
Indexing and Dividers |
Bespoke File Design |
Record Management Help |
Electronic Filing
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