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29-628: Known as Dimitri to his friends, Comino founded Dexion , the storage system manufacturing business in 1947. Dexion is still marketed today as part of the Norway-based multinational Constructor Group and the Australia-based GUD Holdings. Following the 1968 public flotation of Dexion, Comino arranged income to establish the Comino Foundation. He wanted to support the development in the UK of

58-626: A Professor at the Centre for Education Management at Bulmershe College of Higher Education near Reading . Comino was determined, however, to deploy his GRASP approach which came to the attention of Dr Eric Bates CBE who was Head of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Education Unit. This Unit part funded pioneering work on applying the GRASP approach in schools in Dudley and elsewhere. On his retirement from

87-653: A business turnover of £500,000 that year. In 1950, production of Dexion strip reached 125,000 ft/week, and a new Dexion factory was opened in Enfield . Despite patent constraints and competition from rival manufacturers producing similar products, Dexion Ltd grew rapidly. By 1956, the company's turnover exceeded £2m, it employed 500 UK workers in three UK factories, and had a further 200 employees in Australia, Belgium and Canada, plus licencees in France, Chile , Spain, Argentina and

116-718: A centre to support homeless young people in Liverpool. Apart from the Comino Centres, the Foundation also funded the use of GRASP in training staff to develop advanced techniques to improve the development of children with motor disorders at the PACE Centre. Work with some of the Comino Centres continues with the most recent being established at the RSA Academy in Tipton. In parallel, Comino

145-454: A generic patent so Dexion patents were restricted to particular slot and hole configurations, and, seeking to emulate Dexion's success, other UK and European companies began offering different sizes, hole patterns and metal strip thicknesses. Steel remains the most commonly used slotted angle material, although aluminium alternatives are also available. The product is generally manufactured from sheet metal using machine presses to form

174-582: A place on the company's board until 1978. Under its new management, Dexion flourished for 20 years with sales reaching £200m by 1995. Interlake sold the Dexion businesses in December 1997 to the English investment company Apax Partners . In 1999, after clearing European anti-monopoly concerns, Apax and Norwegian industrial investment company Aker RGI merged their warehouse technologies and material handling units to form

203-541: A prosperous and responsible society by promoting approaches to learning which would lead to new understandings of the process of achievement. He was also committed to changing British attitudes to industry, particularly manufacturing. Throughout his career, Comino had looked to develop generic approaches to practical problem-solving. He devised a simple 'Problem-solving Procedure' (PSP) in 1956; he then defined ingredients for problem solving and achievement - PACRA (Purpose-Alternatives-Criteria-Resources-Action); and then promoted

232-558: A reusable shelving system. In 1939 he commissioned Birmingham -based Accles & Pollock to manufacture an initial batch of angled sections made of steel with slots cut down one side and a long groove cut down the other. The Second World War delayed further development of the product until 1947 when Comino was finally able to finance and open a small factory in Chingford , north-east London. After initially disappointing sales, production increased to 50,000 feet per week in 1949, generating

261-635: A separate company in 2003 and is now known as Dexion Asia Pacific. The group continues to trade successfully in the APAC region, covering Australasian and Asian markets with a purpose-built manufacturing facility and corporate office in Malaysia. Manufacture of Dexion products in Europe was taken over by the Norway-based Constructor Group , since 2018 part of Gonvarri Material Handling. Dexion Ltd (from

290-498: A turnover of €100m from operations in 30 European countries) was acquired by Gonvarri Steel Services which, in March 2018, changed its name to Gonvarri Material Handling while continuing to market the Dexion, Kasten and Constructor product brands. UK manufacture ceased in May 2003, when Dexion's UK businesses were placed into administration, a step that also triggered the automatic winding-up of

319-723: The Institute for Manufacturing within the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University. The vision of the Comino Foundation is of "a Britain in which people are equipped and motivated to live fulfilling and purposeful lives and therefore contribute to sustaining a prosperous and responsible society." The Foundation encourages and supports innovative ventures designed to enable people to function effectively and to thrive. It looks for better ways of developing people’s capabilities, their capacity and desire to make things happen - their zest and appetite to learn, to create and to change things for

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348-494: The Comino Foundation providing core funding of £250,000 - which persuaded the Confederation of British Industry to raise £1 million and government departments to provide £3 million. Using his wide range of contacts Kenneth Adams persuaded leaders of industry, with support from the Comino Foundation, to establish the Foundation for Manufacturing and Industry in 1993 and became its first Chairman. This organisation subsequently became

377-606: The DTI, Bates was persuaded by Comino to become the Education Fellow for the Foundation. In this role he deployed GRASP through several Comino Centres over the period 1977 to 2002 with a number of papers being written. The relationships with these Centres stimulated other initiatives - for example, the STEM Leadership qualification with the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University and Intense Mentoring at Homeground,

406-715: The Dexion Group Ltd (Apax) and Constructor AS (Aker); in 2000, the Dexion Group was acquired by Aker and merged with Constructor, while the Australia/Asia Pacific operations were sold. In 2007 Dexion generated a turnover of €70m and, as part of the Aker Material Handling group of companies, was sold to the Swedish finance investor Altor Equity Partners . In January 2018, Constructor Group A/S (which in 2010 had

435-696: The Dexion Group Pension and Assurance Scheme, jeopardising the occupational pensions of over 1750 members of its pension fund. This prompted widespread protests, with Dexion one of several examples cited by unions and MPs (including Michael Penning , MP for the Hemel Hempstead constituency where one of Dexion's main UK factories was located) campaigning against what they saw as the excesses of private equity investors. Dexion-branded warehouse solutions continue to be marketed by Dexion Asia Pacific, trading successfully in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. In

464-552: The European region, Dexion products are manufactured and distributed by Gonvarri Material Handling. Slotted angle Slotted angle (also sometimes referred to as slotted angle iron ) is a system of reusable metal strips used to construct shelving , frames, work benches, equipment stands and other structures. The name derives, first, from the use of elongated slots punched into the metal at uniform intervals to enable assembly of structures fixed with nuts and bolts, and second, from

493-416: The GRASP process (Getting Results And Solving Problems - also known as Getting Results and Seizing Potential). An early activity was a series of discussion dinners organised by Edward de Bono between 1976 and 1980. Comino also engaged in debate with Keith Jackson who was researching problem-solving at the then Henley Administrative Staff College and the Foundation part-funded Jackson for several years as

522-570: The Greek for 'right') was established in 1937 in London by Australia-born engineer and printer Demetrius Comino , originally to deliver printing-related products. In solving problems within his printing business, Comino patented several products to improve efficiency in the printing process. However, his dissatisfaction with the poor versatility of traditional wooden shelving used to store paper and other materials led him to experiment with steel strips to devise

551-568: The United States. Following the 1953 Ionian earthquake in Greece, Dexion donated 20,000 feet of its product for new housing (a prototype house was designed within three weeks). "Operation Ulysses" attracted worldwide attention, including an article in Time magazine and British Pathe newsreels. The main scoreboard and television platform at the 1956 Winter Olympics ' ski stadium at Cortina d'Ampezzo

580-501: The angle and to punch holes through the metal. The strips are normally produced in a variety of standard lengths, and steel versions are often painted or galvanized to protect them from rust. To construct items from slotted angle, items can be cut to size (some versions are marked to show the optimum points at which to cut the metal) using special slotted angle cutters or shears , and then fixed with nuts and bolts. Tension plates and other metal strips are also available to add strength to

609-506: The better, for themselves and others. The Foundation has defined as its priorities for the next few years: Activities designed to support the achievement of these priorities are carried out through a network of grantees. This work is coordinated by the Comino Foundation's Development Fellow. Current activities are described on the Foundation’s web-site." Dexion Dexion is a company name and brand particularly associated with

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638-474: The development of the "Dexion" slotted angle steel strip construction system, widely used since the 1950s for domestic and commercial shelving , storage racking, exhibition stands and accommodation purposes. The original UK-based Dexion Ltd manufacturing company spawned several subsidiaries before eventually ceasing trading in 2003. Its bankruptcy saw the start of a long-running pension dispute with former workers. Dexion (Australia) Pty Ltd, spun off as

667-462: The longitudinal folding of the metal strips to form a right angle. Prototype slotted angle strips were developed by London -based engineer Demetrius Comino in the late 1930s, as he sought alternatives to conventional wooden shelving in his printing works. Comino owned an engineering business, Dexion Ltd, which began production in 1947 and the steel slotted angle strips eventually became known as Dexion. The prior existence of Meccano prevented

696-476: Was also involved with discussions about 'anti-industrial' attitudes, and the Comino Foundation funded a fellowship which enabled Kenneth Adams CVO CBE (then director of studies at St George's House, Windsor Castle ) to study and identify the causes of such views, producing a report "Attitudes to Industry in Britain" in 1979. This work stimulated a series of 50 consultations at St George's House, an early outcome of which

725-497: Was constructed from Dexion, and Ghana 's independence celebrations in 1957 involved grandstands for 10,000 people, six miles of crush barriers and 500 bunting poles – all made of Dexion. The company's turnover grew from £2.5m in 1958 to £5.7m in 1962. In 1963, Dexion again supported earthquake disaster relief work, following the 1963 Skopje earthquake , providing building frame materials to enable 49 Royal Engineers to build 1560 dwellings, enough for two complete villages, one of which

754-582: Was established in 1971, financially supported by the proceeds of dividend income following Dexion's 1968 public flotation. The recession of the early 1970s proved more challenging, and following two poor trading years, Dexion came to the attention of Chicago-based steel company Interlake Inc , and while an initial approach was rebuffed, the £9.4m sale eventually took place in October 1974, valuing Dexion at £4 million less than its 1968 flotation price. Comino, by this point Dexion's chairman, retired, though he retained

783-532: Was floated on the London Stock Exchange , in one of the three largest issues that year, buoyed by results showing a 40% increase in world sales to £14m and a new record profit of £1.133m. A year later, turnover reached £21m, with profits rising to £1.5m. By this stage, over one million feet per week of Dexion slotted angle were being produced, and sales were increasingly focused on uses in warehousing and distribution. The Comino Foundation educational charity

812-407: Was nicknamed Dexiongrad. In addition to the slotted angle product, Dexion developed other systems. Antony Barrington Brown (well known as a photographer and explorer) joined Dexion in the mid-1950s and devised Speedframe: square-section metal tubes which could be quickly fitted together to assemble tables and benches; the system made over £100 million over the next decade. In 1968, the company

841-553: Was the formation of the Industry and Parliament Trust in 1977. It also led, in the early 1980s, to a Comino Fellowship being funded through the Royal Society of Arts , 'to change the cultural attitude to industry from one of lack of interest or dislike to one of concern and esteem'. This eventually led to a joint government/industry initiative to promote 1986 as "Industry Year", with the RSA and

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