Now part of the Meddings Thermalec Ltd. Group, Meddings began production of their well-known, high-quality drills during WW2. Started as a family firm. the first factory was in Wembley, with a move soon made to Slough where the Company stayed until 1973/5 when, needing larger premises suitable for further expansion away from the increasingly crowed and expensive South East of England, a site at Lee Mill in Devon was found, the area having being used originally as a training base for fire fighters. Despite strong completion from cheap Far East imports the Company continues trading with a diversification of interests that include Thermalec Products, Meddings Engineering, Meddings Radiographics and Merlin Industrial Products.
Meddings drills were first branded "Pacera" with a range that expanded quickly to include both standard and special models with something offered for almost every niche in the market - though heavier, radial-arm types were not manufactured. At some point after the 1950s the "Pacera" name was dropped and just "Meddings" used - though the drill Model Types and numbering system remaining largely unchanged.
Lighter drills were given the prefix "L" and medium duty types "M" - the latter being one of the most popular and long-lived Series, especially in the guise of the bench-mount MB4 and floor-standing MGF4 (and larger M5 Types) which, although they had a conventionally arranged spindle driven by a V-belt, also incorporated a fully enclosed oil-bath lubricated backgear assembly that provided an enormously wide speed range.
Heavier models, intended for production work, carried the prefix H and were built in several styles from bench types with solid steel columns to floor models with especially robust cast-iron "box-pedestal" supports. As standard this range was fitted with 2-speed motors and rack-and-pinion rise and fall to the table.
It is known that a clone of the "backgeared" Meddings MB4 was made in Italy - this being labelled as the "Pacera" with no mention of "Meddings" so presumably manufactures in the late 1940s or early 1950s.