THS Tools Group

The History

THS Tools Group was formed in 1975 when Ken Yarker of ETD Tools Limited had the simple idea of harnessing the purchasnig power of the stocking idependently owned tool distributor who constantly had to compete against the 'Multiples' and their purchasing power. Ken and Gordon Salisbury of Fred Males & Co Limited then approached twelve distributors to discuss the concept with them. The meeting took place at the Three Horse Shoes Hotel, Rugby, hence the name - THS. The concept was discussed in detail and resulted with THS Tools Limited being born, at that time with only four founding Members.

In March 2001, THS Headquarters relocated from Rugby to its current premises based in Templeborough, Rotherham. Since the relocation THS has continued to grow to become the UK's largest buying group for independent distributors and the Group now has over 100 Member companies, equalling over 140 distribution outlets, and 180 plus 'Brand Leading' Suppliers.

THS has demonstrated year on year growth despite some challenging economic conditions and continues to flourish with the continual addition of world-leading suppliers and brands to its extensive portfolio of products.

With THS, quality and assurance are guaranteed and their commitment to provide the best quality systems and processes to manage the relationships between Members and Suppliers is proven with the LRQA ISO 9001 certification.