J.H. Williams Tool Group

Last updated
Williams
J.H. Williams Tool Group logo.svg
Product type Subsidiary
Owner Snap-on
CountryUSA
Introduced1882
Website www.snaponindustrialbrands.com

Snap-on Industrial Brands, historically J.H. Williams Tool Group, is a division of American hand tool manufacturer Snap-on that makes and distributes tools to industrial markets. In addition to the Williams brand from which it originated, the group includes Bahco and CDI Torque Products. [1]

Contents

History

In 1882, James Harvey Williams and Matthew Diamond founded Williams & Diamond in Flushing, Queens, a drop forging business. [2] The business was relocated to Brooklyn in 1884 and took the name J.H. Williams & Co in 1887. The company was one of the first to offer mass-produced drop-forged hand tools. [3] A second factory was opened in Buffalo, New York in 1914, now the site of General Motors' Tonawanda Engine plant. [4]

The company was acquired by Snap-on in 1993.[ citation needed ] In 2011 it was officially renamed Snap-on Industrial Brands. [5]

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References

  1. Deutsch, Stuart (2012-03-05). "Watch Out for "Snap-on Industrial" Williams and Bahco Tools". ToolGuyd. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  2. "Death of James H. Williams". The Iron Age. New York, New York: Chilton Company. 74: 57. 1904-12-08. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  3. "Consolidation of Drop Forging Plants". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco, California: J.S. Hines. 17: 136. September 1920. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  4. The Buffalo History Works (2006). "Farrel-Birmingham and the Rapid Reversal Engine" . Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  5. "Snap-on Industrial Brands, Formerly J.H. Williams Tool Group, Debuts Expanded Offering at ISA Show in Chicago" (Press release). Kenosha, Wisconsin: Snap-on Industrial Brands. PR Newswire. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2014-03-12.