Dormole, the parent company of Toolbank, has made its third acquisition in less than three years with the takeover of the fixings supplier ForgeFix
"ForgeFix have been a supplier to Toolbank for a number of years and we are delighted that we will now be able to work even more closely with their team," said Dormole business development director Tim Strong. "This association will enable us to extend the range of products and services we offer."

ForgeFix sales and marketing director Mike Smith said: "We are absolutely delighted that we have been able to find such a like-minded investor who, as a privately owned, family run business, shares many of our ideals and ambitions. We will now have the best of both worlds; the continued independence of running an autonomous business, backed by the strength of the Dormole group. This means we can further improve customer service, whilst continuing the rapid growth of our company. For us it will be very much business as usual."

ForgeFix was set up in 1999 by brothers Steve and Mike Smith - who were previously connected with the security company Era Products - together with their wives Angela and Amanda. The company's accounts don't disclose turnover or profit, but the stock level has risen from just over £1m in 2006 to £1.7m in 2010, suggesting fairly rapid growth. A Toolbank spokesman stressed that ForgeFix will be run very much as an arms-length subsidiary. "We have no intention of interfering with a successful formula," he said.

The acquisition follows Toolbank's takeover of Olympia Tools, together with its Roughneck and Gorilla Bar brands, in November 2009. Then in January 2011 it took a majority share in the power tool distributor Biz Power Tools, giving Toolbank customers access to power tool brands like Bosch, Makita and Paslode.