In 1943, in the midst of World War II, three engineers in Rockford, Ill., pooled $16,000, bought a 40-year-old header, rented space in the corner of a factory, and launched a new company called Camcar Products. Their first contract: design and mass produce cold headed rudder control cable terminals for B-24 Liberators, the storied heavy bomber that played a critical role in the Allied victory.

Camcar Products (derived from the first syllables of company founder names, Bob Campbell and Ray Carlson) was an immediate success, growing steadily by placing the highest values on design and manufacturing engineering, and by taking on complex projects others deemed impossible. In 1998, Ring Screw Works, a 70-year-old producer of threaded products for automotive engines and powertrains, was acquired, and quickly became a powerful complement to the Camcar tradition of design innovation.

Today, as Acument® North America, a business unit of Acument® Global Technologies, Camcar® and Ring Screw brand fastening systems are produced and shipped from 16 production facilities and three distribution centers in the U. S., Canada and Mexico. Global markets include automotive, industrial, electronics, aerospace, construction, railroad, and medical equipment OEMs and suppliers.

Over the years Camcar and Ring Screw have delivered on their pledge to provide customers with design and assembly solutions for threaded products, cold headed and fine blanked components, and sheet metal extrusions. Each decade has seen the emergence of new brands and technology that anticipated customer requirements and responded to market shifts for such non-traditional materials as composites, high-strength thin-gauge steels, and die-cast magnesium. Major additions to the company’s family of products have included:

• 1959 – The Raycarl® Process: A breakthrough procedure for extruding and heading parts, it was hailed as the most significant development in cold forming in more than a half century. Patented and licensed in 1963, Raycarl headers employed a two-die, three-blow forming process combining fast, high quality production with minimal waste and reduced energy use. The Raycarl tradition remains constant as Acument North America continues to produce cold headed fasteners and components in varying shapes, diameters, extrusions, and through holes to meet customer needs.
• 1971 – Torx® Drive System: With its patented recessed head and six vertical sidewalls, Torx Drive Systems grew to become a global standard for threaded assemblies, licensed to more than 160 manufacturers worldwide. A new generation Torx Plus®, introduced in 1993, features an elliptically based geometry to extend tool life. The latest addition, Torx Plus® Maxx, a high-strength drive with maximum torque delivery, came into the market in 2008.
• 1962 – Taptite® Thread Forming Screws: The first in a family of thread-rolling fasteners featuring the patented trilobular screw configuration, Taptite fasteners eliminate tapping operations while creating uniform, work-hardened mating threads in nut members. Plastite® was developed later in the 1970s in response to growing customer requirements for thermoplastic applications.
• 1974 – Strux® Clinch Nuts and Studs: A stronger and more reliable alternative to traditional clinch and weld studs, Strux fasteners provide significant savings compared to welding. Used with steel and aluminum sheets as thin as 1.5 mm, Strux displacement lobes, retaining rings and grooves resist push-out and rotation during service.
• 1993 – Mag-Form® Thread Forming Fasteners: These specialty fasteners compress rather than roll form threads, establishing a strong bond in low ductility magnesium while eliminating thread fractures and minimizing debris generation. Mag-Form weight-reducing solutions are used extensively in automotive assemblies ranging from instrument panels, to headlight retainers, to valve and cam covers.
• 2003 – Sukosim® Sheet Metal Extrusion Technology: Combining stamping, deep drawing and cold forming to produce complex components, the Sukosim process brought fundamental change to extrusion technology. While more than doubling base metal thickness, the system also eliminates the need for weld nuts, stamp-in nuts, and self-piercing nuts.

Since becoming a part of Acument Global Technologies in 2006, Camcar and Ring Screw have added new products such as Z-Form™ Zero Clearance Bolt and Sleeve Assembly, MaggCert™ Thread Forming Insert for Magnesium, and TORX® Plus Maxx High Strength Drive System. By focusing on new product development that brings cost-effective design and assembly solutions to its markets, the company has stayed true to the founders’ stated mission: “Our only license for being in business is to make a meaningful contribution to our customers.”

For more information about Acument North America’s Camcar and Ring Screw products and services call (800) 544-8979. Go to acument.com/northamerica/index.asp for further information and downloading of product catalogues and spec sheets.