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| Company type | Subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1885 in Martinsville, Ohio |
| Founder | Charles Irwin |
| Headquarters | Huntersville, NC |
Key people | Charles Irwin, William Petersen |
| Products | Hand tools |
| Website | www.irwin.com |
Irwin Industrial Tools is an American manufacturer and distributor of hand tools and power tool accessories. It is owned by Stanley Black & Decker. It is best known for producing Vise-Grip locking pliers. Additionally, it produces clamps, drill bits, taps and dies, screw extractors, bolt extractors, saw blades, pipe wrenches, screwdrivers, snips, and other construction tools.[2]
Irwin was founded in 1885 in Martinsville, Ohio as the Irwin Auger Bit Company by Charles Irwin, a pharmacist. Irwin had bought the rights to a solid-center auger bit from a local blacksmith.[3]
In 1924, another blacksmith, Danish immigrant William Petersen of DeWitt, Nebraska, invented the first locking pliers[4] and named them Vise-Grips.[5] In 1934, Petersen formed the Petersen Manufacturing Company to produce them.[6] In 1957, Petersen added an easy-release trigger to the design, creating the modern locking pliers design.[7]
In 1985, American Tool Companies bought out Petersen Manufacturing.[clarification needed] In 1993, American acquired The Irwin Tool Company, and in 2002, Newell Rubbermaid acquired American. In 2003, American officially changed its name to Irwin Industrial Tool Company.[8]
In 2008, Irwin announced the closing of its DeWitt, Nebraska plant, ending 80 years of American production for Vise-Grips, citing a necessity to move production to China "to keep the Vise-Grip name competitive."[9]
In 2010, Irwin closed the customer service office in Wilmington, OH and moved the customer service department to Huntersville, NC.
In October 2016 Stanley Black & Decker Inc agreed to buy Newell Brands Inc.’s tools business for $1.95 billion. The acquisition was completed in March 2017.[1][10]
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