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A Key Klamp is a
structural pipe fitting A structural pipe fitting, also known as a slip on pipe fitting, clamp or pipe clamp is used to build structures such as handrails, guardrails, and other types of pipe or tubular structure. They can also be used to build furniture and theatrical ri ...
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 Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, 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 The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a not-for-profit technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries. CIM's members are convened from industry, academia and go ...


Components

The system comprises unthreaded cast iron or aluminium structural tubing and slip-on structural pipe fittings. The
galvanized Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are coated by submerging them in a bath o ...
malleable fittings provide resistance to corrosion and are secured to the tubes using
set screw In American English, a set screw is a screw that is used to secure an object, by pressure and/or friction, within or against another object, such as fixing a pulley or gear to a shaft. A set screw is normally used without a nut (which disting ...
s by use of a
hex key A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench, Unbrako or Inbus) is a simple driver for Bolt (fastener), bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (Socket wrench, sockets). Hex keys are formed from a sin ...
. Some cutting or
bending In applied mechanics, bending (also known as flexure) characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external Structural load, load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural eleme ...
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. A contractor at the
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
described the system in 2007 as being "very simple to install".


Usage

Example uses of various derived systems are in
guard rail Guard rails, guardrails, railings or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Commo ...
s and market stalls. More unusual uses have been seen in home shelving,
kite buggy A kite buggy is a light, purpose-built vehicle powered by a Power kite, traction kite (power kite). It is single-seated and has one steerable front wheel and two fixed rear wheels. The driver sits in the seat located in the middle of the vehicle ...
ing and the Rover chair. Parkour and Ninja Warrior training facilities have also benefited from the reliable and quick to set up Structural Pipe Fittings. 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 . (The fittings market was worth 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 . During this period, the price reduction of a complete system including the tube components was . A business acquisition by KIG of 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 The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business and Trade. The incumb ...
under the
Fair Trading Act 1973 The Fair Trading Act 1973 (c. 41) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate f ...
. The report concluded that the merger should not be referred to the
Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
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 The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
contract manufacturers.


References

{{reflist Structural engineering Engineering companies of the United Kingdom