Hi Astonian, Sorry to say I don't know of the fella that set up Screw Fix, at first I thought it may have been my old mate Wally Pearce who was one of those clever clogs. As a young bloke he was the Asst. Manager at The St John's Mill. He was seconded to go to Hong Kong and help set up a factory for GKN and it was to be for 2 years. I had left GKN and at that time I was going to Australia as a 10 pound Pom.
The plan was that my 2 years would be up and I could return to the UK without having to repay my fare to the Aussie Govt (Free holiday eh!).
At the end of the 2 years Wally wrote and said his time was up and how about we meet in Tokyo and come home together. He was a good boy and had saved his money etc., I was the Black Sheep and had spent my money as soon as it came to hand on wine, Beer, women and other such like!
So Wally went home got married and was out of work when GKN folded. He spent his severance pay on buying up a lot of stock from GKN and set himself up in business. As he had a daughter, didn't become a Millionaire (as far as I know) and still lives in the UK it ain't him.
I don't know of anyone trading out of a little shed but a hell of a lot of the stock walked out of the factory. When I asked the Warehouse Manager if I could get a few screws for a job I was doing at home he said help yourself but take a gross box not take a few out of the box as people would complain that they were short changed.
The Head of Security was a sort of chubby Hitler looking bloke and the story was that he designed his own uniform which was a bit over the top and not only was he disliked but he was a bit of a laughing stock.
The main office doors were near the Heath St. exit and you came out the revolving door then had to go down 5/6 marble stairs to the roadway and main gate. One evening one of the office staff had a bit of an accident and his briefcase fell out of his hands and about 6 gross of screws spilt down the steps to everyone's amusement.
The poor bugger was trying to recover them with the aid of others coming out and amid heaps of laughter. This was within a matter of feet from "Adolf" who "Saw Nothing".
The plan was that my 2 years would be up and I could return to the UK without having to repay my fare to the Aussie Govt (Free holiday eh!).
At the end of the 2 years Wally wrote and said his time was up and how about we meet in Tokyo and come home together. He was a good boy and had saved his money etc., I was the Black Sheep and had spent my money as soon as it came to hand on wine, Beer, women and other such like!
So Wally went home got married and was out of work when GKN folded. He spent his severance pay on buying up a lot of stock from GKN and set himself up in business. As he had a daughter, didn't become a Millionaire (as far as I know) and still lives in the UK it ain't him.
I don't know of anyone trading out of a little shed but a hell of a lot of the stock walked out of the factory. When I asked the Warehouse Manager if I could get a few screws for a job I was doing at home he said help yourself but take a gross box not take a few out of the box as people would complain that they were short changed.
The Head of Security was a sort of chubby Hitler looking bloke and the story was that he designed his own uniform which was a bit over the top and not only was he disliked but he was a bit of a laughing stock.
The main office doors were near the Heath St. exit and you came out the revolving door then had to go down 5/6 marble stairs to the roadway and main gate. One evening one of the office staff had a bit of an accident and his briefcase fell out of his hands and about 6 gross of screws spilt down the steps to everyone's amusement.
The poor bugger was trying to recover them with the aid of others coming out and amid heaps of laughter. This was within a matter of feet from "Adolf" who "Saw Nothing".