Apex Tool Group is an American supplier of

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...

s and

power tool A power tool is a tool that is actuator, actuated by an additional engine, power source and mechanism (engineering), mechanism other than the solely manual labour, manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric ...

s. It was formed as a joint venture of

Cooper Industries Cooper Industries was an American worldwide electrical products manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1833, the company had seven operating divisions including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds Company, Cro ...

and Danaher by the merger of Cooper Tools and Danaher's Tools and Components segment. In October 2012, Danaher and Cooper sold Apex to

Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...

for about $1.6 billion. Apex is headquartered in

Sparks, Maryland Sparks is an unincorporated community that is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is situated approximately north of Baltimore and is considered to be a suburb of the City of Baltimore. The Gunpowder River runs through Sp ...

, and has over 20 factories globally including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, and South America.

Hand tool brands

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univ ...

–

Hex key A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench, Unbrako or Inbus) is a simple driver for Bolt (fastener), bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (Socket wrench, sockets). Hex keys are formed from a sin ...

s *

Armstrong Tools Armstrong Tools was an American industrial hand tool manufacturer. In its final years, it existed as a brand of Apex Tool Group, LLC and manufactured the majority of its tools in the United States, focusing mostly on aerospace, government, and mil ...

– Industrial hand tools * Atkins – Hacksaws * Belzer – Mechanic's hand tools * Campbell – Manufactures

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

and

clamps Clamp may refer to: Tools and devices *Brick clamp, an early method of baking bricks *Clamp (tool), a device or tool used to hold objects in a fixed relative position (many types listed) **C-clamp **C-clamp (stagecraft) **Riser clamp, a device u ...

. Winner of the "Member's Choice" award for Best New Program at the

Do It Best Do it Best Corp., formerly known as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI), is a member-owned hardware, lumber, and building materials cooperative based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Do it Best Corp. is the second-largest co-op in the industry with over $6 ...

Fall Market in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

for its chain accessories. * Caulkmaster –

Pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek 'wind, breath') is the use of gas or pressurized air in mechanical systems. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located a ...

dispensing guns. * Collins – Machetes, shovels, and axes *

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

– Produces general hand tools and tool sets. Winner of

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...

' 2006 Breakthrough Award for its Rapid-Slide variant. Acquired by Cooper in 1968. * Delta – tool boxes * Erem – Precision

pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...

. * GearWrench – Ratcheting wrenches and hand tools * H.K. Porter – Bolt and

cable cutter Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...

s. * Iseli – Precision matched parts * Jacob's Chuck – drill chucks * JOBOX – truck boxes and site storage * K-D Tools – mechanic's hand and specialty tools * K&F – files and rasps * Kahnetics – Dispensing systems. *

Lufkin Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas, United States and is the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and is west of the Texas- Louisiana state line. Its population is 34,143 as of 2020. Lufkin was founded in 188 ...

– Manufactures measuring tools such as

calipers Calipers or callipers are an instrument used to measure the linear dimensions of an object or hole; namely, the length, width, thickness, diameter or depth of an object or hole. The word "caliper" comes from a corrupt form of caliber. Many ty ...

, gauges,

micrometers The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

, and

measuring tape A tape measure or measuring tape is a long, flexible ruler used to measure length or distance. It usually consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibreglass, or metal (usually - hard steel alloy) strip with linear measurement markings. Types Ta ...

s. Lufkin was Cooper's first hand tool acquisition in 1967. * Mayle – Mechanic's hand tools * Nicholson – Produces

files File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. **Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gentl ...

rasp A rasp is a coarse form of file used for shaping wood, metal, or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct, individually cu ...

s, and

saws A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when mankind learned how to ...

. Acquired by Cooper in 1972. * Plumb – Striking tools, such as

hammers A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

s, and

chisels A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal. Using a chi ...

. Acquired by Cooper in 1980. * SATA – Mechanic's hand tools. * Spline Gauges – gauges * Weller –

Soldering Soldering (; ) is a process of joining two metal surfaces together using a filler metal called solder. The soldering process involves heating the surfaces to be joined and melting the solder, which is then allowed to cool and solidify, creatin ...

tools. Acquired by Cooper in 1970. * Wire-wrap –

Electrical connection Components of an electrical circuit are electrically connected if an electric current can run between them through an electrical conductor. An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to create an electrical connection betwee ...

equipment. * Wiss –

Scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

and

snips Snips, also known as shears, are metalworking hand tools used to cut sheet metal and other tough webs. Workers use various types of snips, with the cutting edges being straight or curved to various degrees. The style of edge employed will depend ...

. Acquired by Cooper in 1976. * Xcelite –

Electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

tools such as general and specialized

screwdrivers A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. Description A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver ...

and

. Acquired by Cooper in 1973. For Hand Tool portfolio, since 2018, Company has decided to focus 3 major brands such as Crescent, Gearwrench and SATA globally.

Power tool brands

The Apex Tool Group Power Tool Division is headquartered in

Lexington, South Carolina Lexington is the most populous town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of the state capital, Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia. The population was 23,568 at the 2020 Census, and it is the ...

. It is made up of the following brands: * APEX Assembly & Fabrication Tools – production impact sockets, bits, and universal joints * Buckeye – material embossing * Cleco – assembly tools * Cooper Automation – automated fastening systems * DGD – automated systems * Dotco – material removal tools * Geta * Master Power – industrial air tools * Metronix – Servos, drivers, and speed controls * Rotor – assembly equipment * Utica – torque measurement and control tools

References

External links

* {{Power tool manufacturers Tool manufacturing companies of the United States Tool manufacturing companies of China Power tool manufacturers Automotive tool manufacturers American companies established in 2010 Manufacturing companies established in 2010 Bain Capital companies 2012 mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing companies based in Maryland Companies based in Baltimore County, Maryland 2010 establishments in Maryland