World Grain - April 2019 - 77

4B marks 130 years in business
LEEDS, ENGLAND - The 4B Braime Group recently
marked its 130th anniversary and received the Yorkshire
Society plaque in recognition of its pursuit of "engineering
excellence since 1888."
The Leeds, England-based company offers a range of bucket elevator and conveyor components for the bulk material
handling industry.
"4B Braime is a customer-focused engineering business,
which from its foundation has always aimed to provide customers with products and solutions which are 'better by design,'" said Nicholas Braime, chairman and group managing director.
Its roots go back to the 19th century and Thomas Braime,
who made oilcans in a small workshop. After losing his thumb
in an accident, Braime looked for ways to apply oil to machinery without spillage.
He set up production of his oilcan with detachable spout
and handling in 1888 with his younger brother.
The Braime oilcan was soon exported worldwide to the
expanding railway industry and became the method of oiling locomotive wheels.
Around 1900, the brothers pioneered the introduction of
a new technology of Deep Drawn Steel Presswork, manufacturing parts for the consumer, military and automotive
industries. The company also began manufacturing pressed
seamless steel elevator buckets, issuing its first catalogue
in 1908 offering over 350 sizes.
During World War I, the company played an important
role in armament provision, training women as skilled munitions workers. Post-war, the business continued to grow,
supplying to car manufacturers Austin and Morris. In 1950,
it obtained a full quote on the London Stock Exchange
and expanded into a range of engineering components, including brake chambers, material handling and other specialist products for the medical, petrochemical and utilities industries.
In the latter part of the 20th century, the group launched
its 4B division, which specializes in components for material handling industries. It launched its electronics range in
the United States in 1984.
4B has expanded steadily ever since, acquiring its French
subsidiary in 1991, opening its Asia Pacific presence in
Thailand in 2003, 4B Deutschland in 2005, South Africa in
2008, Australia in 2010 and Brazil in 2017.
Last year saw the launch of its most recent subsidiary in
Changzhou, China. Today, the 4B Braime Group operates
Omas Steel Division receives Supplier Excellence award
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - The Omas Steel Division received the "Supplier Excellence" award out of 31 finalists at
the Electrolux Awards on Oct. 16 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The 31 finalists were selected from 3,300 suppliers from
around the world. The event was attended by Luigi Nalon,
chief executive officer of Omas, and Matteo Bevilacqua, the
sales director of Omas Steel Division.
The event took place in two different locations: the
Electrolux headquarters, where some briefs were held with
CEO Jonas Samuelson and his team on the future business
www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / April 2019

Book 1.indb 77

The Yorkshire Plaque of Engineering Excellence, awarded to 4B Braime
Group, with Nicholas Braime, left, and Sir Rodney Walker of the Yorkshire
Society. Photo courtesy of 4B.

in over 80 countries and the 4B brand stands for worldwide reliability and quality engineering.
With the world's largest range of elevator and conveyor
components, 4B's material handling division has led the
field in elevator bucket design and manufacture by supplying the highest quality products.
Some of its most well-known product innovations are the
Starco elevator bucket (the world's first low profile elevator
bucket using centrifugal discharge on a parabolic elevator
head, which revolutionized the way bucket elevators work
until today) and the Bolt 'n' Go chain system (a revolutionary assembly method for drop forged chains using bolt-on
flights instead of welding).
In the 1980s, the company launched a range of specialized electronic components and sensors to reduce the risk
of explosions in hazardous environments. The Watchdog
Elite bucket elevator monitoring system can monitor a
complete bucket elevator or conveyor system.
Designed and made in Leeds, these products have become an industry-leading brand. The 4B group continues to
develop new products in line with changing technology and
its electronic systems such Hazardmon, are designed to be
operated remotely via the cloud.

strategies of Electrolux, and the Vasa Museum, which hosted
the Gala awards ceremony with the announcement of the winners of the different categories: Supplier Excellence, Supplier
Innovation, and Global Service Provider.
Omas Steel Division triumphed with the award "Supplier
Excellence," standing out as the most professional and reliable
business partner among many others who reached the final.
Omas said it is proud of the award and thanked the whole
staff at Electrolux. The award will be a further boost to achieve
new goals in the Electrolux/OMAS partnership.
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World Grain - April 2019

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