Tomkins was founded in 1925 as F.H. Tomkins Buckle Company, a small manufacturer of buckles and fasteners. It was first listed on the
London Stock Exchange in 1956. In 1983, ex-
Lord Hanson employee Greg Hutchings acquired a 22.9% stake in the company, and subsequently was appointed Chief executive. Hutchings expanded Tomkins in a classical
conglomerate form through
leveraged buyouts, and during the 1980s and early 1990s the company embarked on a succession of acquisitions which rapidly grew its revenue, product range and global reach. Major acquisitions included
Smith & Wesson in 1987,
RHM in 1992, the US-based
Gates Corporation in 1996, which signalled a move into the industrial and automotive markets, and the Stant and Schrader businesses that further bolstered this division. During this era, Tomkins was regarded as the archetypal multi-industrial conglomerate, with a portfolio of assets that had little or nothing in common with one another – and indeed the media delighted in referring to Tomkins as the "buns-to-guns" company because of its ownership of
RHM (baking) and
Smith & Wesson (firearms). Hutchings was forced to resign from the company in 2000, over a series of allegations of executive excess. In November 2012, Tomkins sold their portion of the Building Products group that included:
Hart and Cooley, Selkirk and Ruskin to the CPPIB. ==References==