Wera Tools is the popular name for tool manufacturer Wera Werkzeuge GmbH with headquarters in Cronenberg (

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, Germany) and production in

Bystřice nad Pernštejnem Bystřice may refer to places in the Czech Republic: Inhabited places *Bystřice (Benešov District), a town in the Central Bohemian Region *Bystřice (Frýdek-Místek District), a municipality and village in the Moravian-Silesian Region *Bystřice ...

and

Třebíč Třebíč (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 35,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictines, Benedictine monastery, where the castle is loca ...

in the Czech Republic.

History

In 1936, the businessman Hermann Werner founded Hermann ''Werner GmbH & Co. KG'' as a

trading company Trading companies are businesses working with different kinds of products which are sold for consumer, business, or government purposes. Trading companies buy a specialized range of products, maintain a stock or a shop, and deliver products to cus ...

for tools."Werawerk. Schraubendreher als High-tech". ''

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Handelsblatt'' was es ...

''. 9 March 1993. The company was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After 1945, reconstruction began under the management of Heinz Amtenbrink, the Werner family's son-in-law; and the manufacture of

screwdriver 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 ...

s was added as a business segment. Since 1951, the company has been using the name Wera (from Werner and Amtenbrink) as its trademark. Production of bits began in 1963. In 1968, the company developed the ''Wera Kraftform'' screwdriver handle together with

Fraunhofer Institute The Fraunhofer Society () is a German publicly-owned research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max Planck Society, which works primarily on basic sc ...

, which is still part of the Wera logo.Koch, Klaus (8 July 2011). "Jubiläum: Wera dreht seit 75 Jahren an der Schraube". ''

Westdeutsche Zeitung The ''Westdeutsche Zeitung'' (''WZ'') () is one of the largest regional newspapers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its headquarters is in Wuppertal with additional offices in Düsseldorf and Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld ...

''. In the 1990s, the company introduced diamond-coated bits. Furthermore, Wera acquired ''Drehmax W. Holland'' and founded a sales subsidiary in the UK in 1993. Production was relocated to Bystřice in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

(

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

) in 1995. After the company's tools were frequently copied, the company repeatedly ordered the closure of trade fair stalls with counterfeit products. Due to the owner's retirement, the company was sold to ''Bitburger Holding'' in 2016. Wera Tools built a logistics centre on 20,000 square metres of land in Wuppertal in 2016. At that time, Wera employed over 750 people worldwide, including over 400 in the Czech Republic. In 2018, the company established a branch office in

. Since 2019, Wera has been taking part in events such as the Montgolfiade,

Kiel Week The Kiel Week () or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is considered to be one of the largest sailing events globally, and also the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, ...

and the Balloon Cup in the

Kitzbühel Alps The Kitzbühel Alps ( or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone ( greywacke zone). Location Two-thirds of ...

with a hot air balloon in the shape of a screwdriver; the company has also cooperated with German music festivals such as

Summer Breeze Open Air Summer Breeze Open Air is an annual German heavy metal music festival. It was first held in 1997. The festival had been held in Abtsgmünd until 2006 when it was moved to its new location of Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria. The festival draws around 40,00 ...

and

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

Corporate structure

Wera Tools is a global tool manufacturer.Opfermann, Norbert (11 December 2015). "Cronenberger erfinden Werkzeug neu". ''

''. Its global headquarters and European sales team is based in

Wuppertal, Germany Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and 17th-largest in Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of El ...

. Wera has wholly owned regional subsidiaries, for example in the United Kingdom (based in Chesterfield,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England) and North America (based in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada), where it is known as Wera Tools Inc. Outside these areas, the company operates through a network of sales agents and wholesalers. Wera is a privately held company and employs more than 1,500 people. The company was fully acquired by ''Bitburger Holding'' in 2016. Wera Tools designs and manufactures more than 3,000 tools for both manual 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 ...

applications at its German headquarters and its factories in Bystřice and Třebíč in the Czech Republic. Through its subsidiary Wera Tool Rebels GmbH, the company operates a Tool Rebels online shop for customers.

Products and brands

Wera is a manufacturer and developer of screwdriving tools. The company also improves tools to make them more efficient and to combine several tool types. For example, the company develops open-end spanners or ratchets with improved functionality. Overall, Wera develops and sells products such as

s and screwdriver bits, ratchets and sockets, nut-spinners and L-keys as well as sets and compact tools. Wera is known for its line of screwdrivers featuring the distinctive ''Kraftform'' shape handle. This design is based around the contours of the hand during screwdriver use, and uses a specifically designed combination of ergonomic soft zones and smooth, hard zones. The distinctive 'crowns' from this handle are used as part of the Wera logo. Main German competitors are the manufacturer Wiha Tools, Gedore, Knipex and Hazet. Other key Wera developments and well-known brands include: *Joker Ratchet spanners with a nut holding feature * Impaktor screwdriver bit system for cordless impact drivers, utilising TriTorsion and Diamond technology for longer life * BiTorsion screwdriver bits * Rapidaptor bit holders * The Hex-Plus screw profile, prevents rounding out when compared with the traditional hex profile * Zyklop multi-function ratchet and sockets * The Koloss, a ratchet that can also be used as a hammer * The Chiseldriver, a screwdriver that can be used as a chisel and hit with a hammer whilst remaining fully usable as a precision screwdriver * Kraftform Kompakt tools, kits consisting of bit holders or bit-holding handles and a selection of screwdriver bits or blades, supplied in a hard case or soft belt pouch * Wera Stainless, a range of tools manufactured from

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

that is tough enough to be used in industrial and commercial applications. This range solves several aesthetic and material problems associated with using conventional (carbon) steel tools with stainless steel fixings and fasteners.

Awards

Product Design: * 1997, 2009, 2012 and 2013: (Discipline Product):

iF Product Design Award The iF Product Design Award was introduced in 1954 and is annually conferred by the iF International Forum Design. The award, which spans multiple disciplines, has more than 5,500 entries from around 59 nations every year. History The iF Indus ...

* 2015 (Discipline Packaging):

* 2015 (Discipline Packaging – gold):

* 2014:

Red Dot Design Award The Red Dot Design Award is an international, annual design competition for product and industrial design, brand and communication design as well as design concepts, in which the Red Dot quality label is awarded to winners. The Red Dot Design A ...

best of the best * 2015:

Communication Design: * 2014:

* 2015:

German Design Award The Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany () is the official design award for Germany presented by the German Ministry for Economics and Technology. The award was given for the first time under the name 'Federal Award for Good Design' in ...

Brand management: * 2015–2017: German Brand Award Award for innovation: * 2007: ''Top Innovator'' "Partner des Fachhandels" – industrial trade partner: * 2016: 1st place in the hand tools category * 2021: 1st place in the hand tools category

References

External links

* (German)
Official UK website

Official North American website

Tool Rebels website
{{Tool manufacturers German brands Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia Manufacturing companies established in 1936 Tool manufacturing companies of Germany Automotive tool manufacturers Fastening tool manufacturers Multi-tool manufacturers Tool brands Torque tool manufacturers German companies established in 1936 Wuppertal