100 Years of P&N

In 2021, P&N is celebrating 100 years in the Australian market.

To commemorate this milestone, we sat down with Jim Sutton to discuss the history of the P&N and Sutton Tools relationship.  

Originally founded as Patience & Nicholson in 1921, P&N began in the south-east suburbs of Melbourne. Reflecting on how far P&N have come as a brand, Jim Sutton broke down the industry’s competitor landscape when he began working in the family business. 

Back in the 1960s, when Sutton Tools first started making twist drills, there were only four companies in Australia. Mentioning the incestuous nature of the Australian market Jim said, “There was four of us, and over the years, with acquisitions and takeovers, we ended up with a slice of each.” At the time P&N was the market leader with roughly 90% of the market, followed by Frost Engineering and new entrant, The English Steel Corporation, and then eventually Sutton Tools.  

P&N quickly established a reputation for manufacturing the finest available cutting tools, providing a high-quality alternative to imported brands. P&N expanded upon their success, exporting their Australian made products internationally and opening factories and offices in New Zealand, Singapore and further afield in Canada.  

Shortly after this growth, UK manufacturers began to dominate the Australian market. Jim mentioned how his brother “Bill and I learned the trade in England, and unfortunately, as the years went on, England lost the whole lot to Asian and German manufacturers.”  

After a series of different owners from the ‘80s to the ‘90s, 2001 saw P&N purchased by another iconic Australian company – Sutton Tools. We asked Jim what happened to the other key players in the Australian market? He said that “The English Steel Corporation was bought by Frost, and Frost was bought by P&N. Sutton Tools also acquired P&N in New Zealand, which was a separate company. From five manufacturers, back to one”. 

Since the acquisition, the P&N plant has undergone renovations, restoring it to a world-class manufacturing facility to supply drill blanks to the entire Sutton group, as well as manufacturing a specific range of drills for both domestic and export markets. 

Going from strength to strength, we are looking forward to what the next 100 years has in store.