“ DHF is very much regarded as the‘ centre of excellence’, with a network of professional consultants in all sectors,” explains CEO, Bob Perry, who has led the organisation since 2009.“ This makes us a single source for technical expertise, information, knowledge, advice, and practical help.”

How it all began …

In 1897, an employers’ association called the Brass Masters’ Association, was formed in Birmingham to negotiate pay and conditions with the industry trade union, the National Society of Amalgamated Brassworkers( later to become the National Society of Metal Mechanics). By 1943, the association had come to be known as the National Brassfoundry Association having gone through various name changes. By the early 1970s, the association, still based in Birmingham, had established two sections, one dealing with plumbers’ brassfoundry( which kept the NBA name) and a second, dealing with building hardware which was known as the Association of Building Hardware Manufacturers( ABHM).

Industrial relations still featured heavily in the work of NBA and ABHM, but technical standards were also becoming important. The retirement of the long-serving secretary, Edgar Hiley, resulted in the appointment of Eric Skelding as secretary and director.

Bernard Henderson, of P. C. Henderson Ltd, was a member of the ABHM Management Committee and suggested that NBA / ABHM

could provide a secretarial service to the Door and Shutter Association( DSA), which was looking for a new secretary. With the agreement of ABHM and NBA, Eric added the secretariat of DSA to his existing roles. The Door and Shutter Association had been founded in 1940 as the Steel Rolling Shutter Association, mainly in order to lobby government for steel supplies during the war.

Michael Skelding joined the joint secretariat in 1987, by which time, the NBA had disbanded, leaving the ABHM to continue alone. DSA had renamed itself the Door and Shutter Manufacturers’ Association( DSMA). The secretariat had also ceased to be directly employed,

becoming instead, an independent partnership. The partnership obtained offices in Tamworth, with the old offices in Birmingham being sub-let to a firm of solicitors. By the early 1990s, Eric Skelding had retired having handed over the secretarial roles to Michael. The main focus of both ABHM and DSMA was by now technical standards, increasingly European rather than British.

By 2004, ABHM was considering the possibility of a merger with another federation. Michael Skelding suggested that a link with DSMA could be fruitful and it was agreed that ABHM and DSMA would amalgamate to form Door & Hardware Federation – now known as DHF.

Door & Hardware Federation inherited the CEO of DSMA, Derek Smith, formerly of Bolton Gate. From that time on Door & Hardware Federation grew, absorbing

the Association of Garage Door Specialists; DSMA already included many of the leading garage door manufacturers and this introduced the installers into the mix. By now, the federation was looking after four industry sectors: Locks & Building Hardware, Industrial Doors & Shutters, Domestic Garage Doors and Steel Doorsets.

In 2008, the decision was taken to have a directly employed secretariat. From 1st November, Michael Skelding and Kay Scattergood became employees of DHF. A year later, in 2009, Timber Doorsets came into the‘ frame’ and Bob Perry was installed as Executive Chairman. Following a suggestion by the Health & Safety Executive, in 2011, Door & Hardware Federation created the Automated Gate Group and in 2013, a whole new training programme was born. Bob eventually took over the role of CEO officially in 2015.

One hundred and twenty years later, DHF is going from strength to strength. In this poignant year, there have been significant changes that have seen membership increase to more than 400, a training programme with more than 1700 candidates trained in automated gates, industrial doors, or garage doors, 10 members of employed staff, 6 consultants, 6 groups, a fresh, new image and Eric Skelding celebrating his 100th birthday.

As with all good trade associations, things must keep moving forward. DHF find themselves with the need to move premises again. Bob Perry clarifies,“ we are now in a position where we have clearly run out of space in the current offices and are seeking new offices that will see DHF grow internally as well as provide a professional environment for all staff and visitors.” He continues,“ the plan ahead for DHF is exciting and we’ re already planning to kick start 2018 with the introduction of a new one-day training course for industrial door installers, adding to our already comprehensive training programme.”

For further information about DHF visit the website www. dhfonline. org. uk