Twiflex business foundations
 Twiflex Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Altra Industrial Motion. Twiflex Limited, founded in 1946, specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of Advanced Braking Technology for industrial applications.
Twiflex Limited employs approximately 75 full time staff, including 25 qualified engineers.
With extensive in-house design, engineering, manufacturing and assembly facilities backed by over 55 years of experience, Twiflex has a well-deserved reputation for quality and precision.
History of Twiflex
 Twiflex formed in 1946
Twiflex was formed in 1946, as an engineering research company, trading under
the name 'Compression Ignition Ltd'.
Founded by Mr. Charles W. Chapman and
Mr. A. V. Nicolle, the company initially acted as Consultant to the Ford Motor
Co. in the development of their Diesel engines.
Charles W. Chapman
Charles W. Chapman was born in Lancaster, England, in 1897. After gaining an
M.Eng at the University of Liverpool he went on to receive practical engineering
experience with Vickers Ltd., Barrow-in-Furness.
In 1932, after various technical appointments that included a period as Chief
Engineer of Petters (Ipswich) Ltd., Chapman, together with the late Frank
Perkins, founded F. Perkins Ltd. of Peterborough (now called Perkins Engines
Ltd., a subsidiary of Massey Ferguson).
As Technical Director of the Company, Chapman initiated, and was responsible
for, the designs of their range of lightweight Diesel Engines until, in 1943, he
was co-opted into the Admiralty with the rank of Commander (E) R.N.V.R., in
charge of the machinery installations in Motor Torpedo and Gun Boats.
In 1947
he patented an automatic, torsional vibration limiting, flexible clutch
coupling.
Twiflex support the British navy
This was adopted by the British and certain allied Navies for coupling
high-power marine diesel engines to gearboxes in the main transmission of fleets
of Minesweepers. These, and other designs and sizes, were produced and marketed
by Compression Ignition Ltd under the Twiflex name.
A rapidly expanding
world-wide demand for Twiflex products necessitated Chapman devoting the whole
of his time to their design and development with the early range covering the
manufacture of clutches and flexible couplings.
disc brake technology arrives
Records show that some of the first disc brakes were installed over 70 years
ago on mine winders built for the Phelps Dodge Corporation in Arizona.
It was not, however, until the late 1950s when the automotive industry
discovered the advantages of using disc brakes that the technology became widely
recognised.
This in turn led to the introduction of ABS and the use of
advanced materials for friction liners.
MR Caliper first introduced
Twiflex first introduced disc brake technology for industrial applications in
1951.
The popular and widely used 'MR' caliper was launched in 1954, and is
still manufactured today. The product range was consolidated in 1966 with the
addition of industrial and marine disc brakes based on original patents from
Dunlop Limited.
Twiflex becomes global leader
Continual development has resulted in the company being able to offer the
world's widest range of industrial disc brakes.
Twiflex are now recognized
as the global leaders in Advanced Braking Technology.
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A Global Network
Through a global network of nearly 30 established, experienced distributors and agents, Twiflex products are available all around the world:
- Europe
- North America
- Central America
- South America
- South Africa
- Australia
- Asia
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- 1951 - First to introduce disc braking technology to general industrial applications.
- 1954 - First to introduce the original "MR" caliper brake to Steel Industry in Europe.
- 1966 - First to adopt Dunlop caliper brakes for applications in industry.
- 1968 - First to launch brakes for Mining Industry with the release of the "VJ" and "VS" series.
- 1974 - Invented "automatic pad wear compensator" for brake thrusters.
- 1978 - Launched the "VMS" brake, the World's most powerful spring applied safety brake for Mine Hoist applications.
- 1984 - Launched the World's first spring applied, motor released brake, the "AMR" (fore-runner to the "EMX").
- 1986 - First to use pivot tubes on caliper brakes making mounting more convenient.
- 1988 - First to adopt parallel link mechanism on pads for caliper brakes preventing uneven wear.
- 1996 - First to introduce quick release fasteners for brake pads.
- 1998 - First to introduce interchangeable Series Brakes for US Steel Mill Cranes.
- 1998 - First to introduce "spring applied electro-magnet released" thrusters for standard calipers.
- 1999 - First to introduce and patent "controlled release" hydraulics as a means to automatically adjust brake torque in real time.
- 2000 - First to introduce "step by step" brake control for Shiplift applications
- Twiflex operates a policy of continuous development.
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