58 • HISTORY&HERITAGE
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DHF: 120 years and
still going strong
» » IN 2017, DHF ANNOUNCED THE
launch of its new branding and website
and there couldn’t have been a better
year to reflect on its vision and values.
Celebrating 120 years at the top, the
Tamworth-based trade association can
trace its heritage right back to 1897.
Since then, DHF has, in one form or
another, been serving the needs of its
now more than 400 members, diligently
and committedly and is considered the
‘go-to’ organisation for technical advice
and training. Its ultimate objective is to
raise industry standards.
‘the plan ahead for
DHF is exciting’
“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.
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Bob Perry (DHF CEO) as Chair of ABHM
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.