The History of PCL Products

A glimpse into PCL's Hose Reels History

A staple of the highly-regarded PCL product range throughout the years has always been our Hose Reels. 

PCL has been manufacturing and supplying Compressed Air Hose Reels to workshops, tyre shops, forecourts, industrial applications around the world since the 1960s.

On the launch of our new Steel Hose Reels, we take a look at the history of PCL Hose Reels.

1960s-2000s

60 Years of the 60 Series: The history of the 60 Series and 100 Series Couplings

On the 60^th anniversary of the launch of PCL’s 60 Series Couplings and Adaptors, we take a look at the history of both the 60 and 100 Series.

When did PCL start to manufacture the 60 Series and 100 Series Couplings and Adaptors?

PCL first started to manufacture the 60 Series Coupling

The evolution of PCL’s Dial Handheld Tyre Inflators

PCL has been designing and manufacturing handheld tyre inflators since the first Vertex Linear Tyre Inflator (MK2) in 1945. PCL continued to develop their range of tyre inflation equipment and today the range features linear and dial analogue gauges, as well as digital.

On the 60 year anniversary of PCL’s first handheld dial tyre inflator, we explore the evolution of our dial anaologue gauges.

The evolution of PCL's Forecourt Equipment

PCL has been designing and manufacturing equipment for use on Forecourts since the 1940s. Here’s a glimpse into the evolution of the range…

1940s

The journey begins with the Vertex air line gauge, better known as the MK2. Designed around the end of the Second World War in 1945, the MK2 was highly popular in garages and service stations for many years. PCL continued to develop Forecourt products for use with the MK2 gauge, such as the Air and Water post in the late 1940s. You can read

The history of PCL's Presetair Meter

All PCL products are manufactured from the highest quality material with reliability and durability in mind, this hasn’t changed over 85 years.

The Presetair was first manufactured in the 1950s, while the unit is now obsolete and has been replaced with PCL’s advanced range of fixed tyre inflators, the Presetair is still in use around the world today.

How the Presetair worked...

The easy to operate Presetair was manufactured between 1954 and 2005 and was arguably the world’s

After 60+ years of designing and manufacturing Couplings and Adaptors, PCL acquired the Broomwade coupling business in 2001...

Over three quarters of a century since PCL manufactured and patented the first ever “Made in Sheffield” coupling, the Standard Air Line Coupling, now known as the Airflow Coupling has become an...

The evolution of the MK4 Linear Tyre Inflator

The MK4 family of linear tyre inflators comes with a long and illustrious history.

The journey begins with the Vertex air line gauge, better known as the MK2, which gained plaudits for its trusty and reliable performance. The MK2 eventually passed the baton to the MK3 range in 1992, which itself furthered the MK reputation as one of high versatility and excellent durability.

The MK3 made way for the MK4 in 2016, which brought with it a series of innovations including an enlarged viewing window, keeping it amongst the most popular of our products.

MK2 Inflator (1945 - 1993)

Designed around the end of the Second World War in 1945, the MK2