Ideal Industries

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Ideal Industries
Company typePrivately owned
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1916 in Chicago, Illinois
FounderJ. Walter Becker
HeadquartersSycamore, Illinois
Key people
ProductsConnectors, hand tools, testers, meters
Number of employees
1,225[1]
Websitewww.idealindustries.com

Ideal Industries is an American company that produces connectors, hand tools, testers, and meters for the electrical and telecommunications industries.[2]

The company manufactures many of its products in the United States.[3] It also owns Western Forge and Pratt-Read, the largest– and second-largest American-made producers of screwdrivers respectively at the time of their acquisitions.[4]

It is a competitor to Klein Tools, and its tools are sold at Lowe's and Ace Hardware stores as well as many independent distributors.[5]

History[edit]

Ideal was founded in 1916 by J. Walter Becker as the Ideal Commutator Dresser Company in Chicago, Illinois, manufacturing commutator dresser stones.[6] In 1924, Becker relocated the company to its current location in Sycamore, Illinois.[7] By 1949, it had become the United States' leading producer of wire nuts.[8]

In 2010, Ideal acquired three American hand tool manufacturers: Western Forge in January,[9][10] Pratt-Read in March,[11][12] and SK Hand Tools in August.[13][14][15]

Gallery[edit]

IDEAL Subsidiaries[edit]

Former Subsidiaries

References[edit]

  1. ^ Company profile dnb.com
  2. ^ Ideal Industries. "About Us". Archived from the original on 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  3. ^ McCrea, Bridget (2012-10-24). "Tapping into the power of Made in the USA". The Electrical Distributor Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  4. ^ Varnon, Rob (2010-06-25). "Workers hope for aid in closing". The Advocate. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  5. ^ Murphy, H. Lee (1996-07-08). "Pliers Poker". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  6. ^ Ideal Industries. "Company History". Archived from the original on 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  7. ^ Ideal Industries. "Recruiting brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  8. ^ "Wire Nuts for Radio City". Kiplinger's Personal Finance. December 1949. p. 36.
  9. ^ Heilman, Wayne (2010-01-04). "Western Forge to be sold to Ideal Industries". The Gazette. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  10. ^ Heilman, Wayne (2010-01-05). "New owners to pump millions into Western Forge". The Gazette. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  11. ^ "IDEAL Acquires Tool Manufacturer Pratt-Read" (Press release). Ideal Industries. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  12. ^ "Ideal Industries Acquires Pratt-Read to Add Hand-Tool Lines and Made-in-U.S. Capacity". Electrical Marketing. 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  13. ^ Yue, Lorene (2010-08-23). "SK Hand Tool assets sold to Ideal Industries". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  14. ^ "IDEAL Acquires Premier Tool Manufacturer SK Hand Tools" (Press release). Ideal Industries. 2010-08-23. Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  15. ^ Deutsch, Stuart (2010-08-23). "It's Official – Ideal Industries Purchases SK Hand Tools!". ToolGuyd. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  16. ^ "IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. Announces Divestiture of CMD Limited".
  17. ^ "IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. Announces Divestiture of Casella".
  18. ^ "SK Professional Tools Purchased by Great Star Tools".
  19. ^ "Western Forge closing its doors in Colorado Springs". 20 February 2020.
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