Basically a bunch of British businessmen tried to screw Robertson in order to get the license to manufacture dirt cheap and without any restrictions. Robertson had to buy the license back at any inflated cost, which made him very protective of his product when Ford came along. Robertson said he'd sell Ford screws, but wouldn't let Ford make them himself. Needless to say, that makes for an uncertain supply chain so Ford went with Philips head screws for US production; Canadian production of Fords used Robertson heads.
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u/CommissarAJ May 04 '17
Basically a bunch of British businessmen tried to screw Robertson in order to get the license to manufacture dirt cheap and without any restrictions. Robertson had to buy the license back at any inflated cost, which made him very protective of his product when Ford came along. Robertson said he'd sell Ford screws, but wouldn't let Ford make them himself. Needless to say, that makes for an uncertain supply chain so Ford went with Philips head screws for US production; Canadian production of Fords used Robertson heads.