Folding rules – Developed with expertise

It can be seen, heard and felt that it is the original.

Developed with experience

Karl-Hilmer Johansson Kollén constructed the now world-famous folding rule back in 1883. He was known for being downright pedantic when it came to quality - something which still characterizes our operation today.

Nowadays our production of folding rules is controlled by a quality system certified in accordance with ISO 9001.

When you are a pro. You know.

Experience, know-how and development together with users have made our folding rules the most popular models on the market. You know when you are holding a folding rule from Hultafors. A craftsman can always tell.

Usage and environment

The Hultafors folding rule is used for measurement of length. At usage the rule is folded to the required length. The scale is in centimeters and millimeters or inch. The nominal lengths are 1 and 2 meters.

The folding rule is manufactured for usage in normal indoor and outdoor environment. The temperature of reference is 20°C. The folding rule shall not be prolongely exposed either to moisture or humidity nor fluids that can affect the materials of the folding rule negatively.

Accurate measurement – EU Class III

All our wood, fiberglass and aluminum folding rules are calibrated to the very highest levels of accuracy and are compliant with EU requirements for "Class III, articulated measuring rods".

This means that a 2 m folding rule has a maximum deviation of ±1.4 mm and a 1 m folding rule a deviation of ±1 mm. The measurement over an articulated joint has a deviation of no more than ±0.5 mm.

Manufactured to stringent requirements

During production, each folding rule is photographed twice using a high-speed camera. On the first pass, we sort out rules containing knots and cross-grain wood.

After grading, the rule is photographed for a second time, during which the execution and position of the scale is checked. Folding rule manufacture is governed by a quality system certified in accordance with ISO 9001.

Choose the right material

Producing folding rules is very much like celebrating Christmas - you begin by selecting the best tree. Downy birch is best, a species that grows within a belt from Värmland in Sweden to Karelia in Russia.

The growing climate gives this particular wood the ideal qualities for making folding rules. However, we also produce rules in fiberglass-reinforced polyamide and anodized aluminum, allowing you to choose the material that is the best fit for your job.

The joints are made of Swedish steel, and are oiled at three points to ensure its high-class properties. The steel is heat-treated and epoxy lacquered for total rust protection.

A good joint must be able meet 15,000 folds with maintained function. Hultafors has developed a cold rolled strip steel that can handle all of our technical requirements and provides good protection against rust.

Water based lacquer is used in order to reduce environmental damage. Dirt on moisture resistance tests are conducted regularly in accordance with a system specially formulated for furniture.

Qualified personnel

In order to maintain the smooth functioning of quality and precision controls, Hultafors production staff undergoes an ongoing education and enforcement programs.

It is not only the measurement results that are continuously analyzed, but Hultafors also checks that the procedures are implemented and enforced by our production staff.

Hardware development

Hultafors technical department develops and manufactures all production machines for our ruler production in Hultafors. Within our company we are proud to work in and expand our operations in Sweden and Romania.

In order to compete successfully around the world, we must constantly develop production to become the world's most efficient. This is done by constantly expanding and improving the efficiency of our production lines. Today, about 85% of all our folding rules goes for export all over the world.

Tools we talked about

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