Helix (also known as Helix Oxford or Maped Helix) is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based manufacturer of

stationery Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...

. It exports to over 65 countries, with offices in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and US, and has its UK headquarters in

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. The current economic focus ...

in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

History

Establishment

Helix was established in 1887 under the name 'The Universal Woodworking Company Ltd.; it manufactured wooden

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

s and metal laboratory apparatus. In 1894, it patented the drawing compass and, with it, launched the Helix brand, following on from the initial success of the compass and rule. In 1912, the company's first mathematical set was created; and, in 1935, the brand "Helix Oxford" was launched. In 1955 the company was renamed the Helix Universal Company, and moved its headquarters to

Lye, West Midlands Lye or The Lye is an area in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands county, England, east of Stourbridge and borders with Pedmore and Wollescote. It was formerly a village within the parish of Oldswinford, historically situated ...

. In the 1960s, the name was changed to Helix International Ltd.

Administration

In 2004, the company's factory in Lye ceased production. In January 2012, the company entered administration. On 8 February 2012 the company stated, "The joint administrators from Grant Thornton UK LLP are currently speaking to a number of interested parties and have received offers for the sale of the business as a going concern." One week later, the company was bought by the French

Maped Maped (an acronym for Manufacture d'Articles de Précision Et de Dessin) is an independent, French, and family-owned brand, and world leader in school supplies and accessories. Founded in 1947 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France, Maped is now prese ...

group.

Maped Helix

When Helix joined the Maped Helix Group the company changed its name to Helix Trading Ltd and moved its UK headquarters from

to nearby

, where it has its showroom. In 2014 it reported sales of £8.5 million.Helix moves its Black Country HQ
from ''Insider Media'', October 2012, retrieved 15 November 2018

Oxford Set of Mathematical Instruments

The Oxford Set of Mathematical Instruments is a set of

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

used by generations of school children in the United Kingdom and around the world in mathematics and

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

lessons. The set is marketed in over 100 countries by Helix. It consists of a metal tin embossed on the front with a drawing of

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

and the words 'THE HELIX OXFORD SET OF MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENTS COMPLETE & ACCURATE' in white against a blue background. Inside the tin there are two

set square A set square or triangle (American English) is an object used in engineering and technical drawing, with the aim of providing a straightedge at a right angle or other particular planar angle to a baseline. The simplest form of set square is a ...

s, a 180°

protractor A protractor is a measuring instrument, typically made of transparent plastic or glass, for measuring angles. Some protractors are simple half-discs or full circles. More advanced protractors, such as the bevel protractor, have one or two sw ...

, a 15 cm

, a metal

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

, a 9 cm

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

, a pencil sharpener, and an

eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have ...

. (In the 1970s a stencil for drawing chemical apparatus was included.) There is also a fact sheet and glossary of mathematical terms with a school timetable printed on the back. The export version also includes

dividers A caliper ( British spelling also calliper, or in plurale tantum sense a pair of calipers) is a device used to measure the dimensions of an object. Many types of calipers permit reading out a measurement on a ruled scale, a dial, or a digital d ...

References

External links

*
Mathematical Instruments at mapedhelix.co.uk
{{Authority control Companies based in Dudley Manufacturing companies established in 1887 1887 establishments in England Stationers of the United Kingdom Office supply companies of the United Kingdom