Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp.
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. passes its 80th year with flying colors
By:
Connie Bastyr
Online Rating:
   (2.5/10) In 1918 Henry Ford asked a young tool-and-die maker to create a lightweight yet heavy-duty 1/4-in.-capacity drill. Besides inspiring the invention of an invaluable tool — and speeding work on automotive production lines — Ford’s request would lead to a legacy of innovative tools that have been well-respected among tradespeople for eight decades. It was Ford’s challenge that led tool-and-die maker A.H. Petersen to merge high power and low mass in creating the “Hole-Shooter.” In 1922 A.F. Siebert joined Petersen to form the A.H. Petersen Co. But within a year, the unfortunate combination of a plant fire and an economic recession put the brakes on the young Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based business. Determined to develop the potential of his partner’s invention, Siebert repurchased the company at auction in 1924 and named it Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. To stay in business, Siebert’s company took jobs repairing and restoring power tools of all types and brands. In the process, employees discovered what made those tools desirable in the market and found ways to improve existing designs. This led to ideas for making the Hole-Shooter more durable and efficient — and therefore more popular in the automotive and metalworking industries. By the late 1920s the company was not only manufacturing tools but also producing its own fractional-horsepower motors for them. The improvements to the Hole-Shooter earned it a U.S. government equipment-specification rating. Milwaukee Electric then applied Navy technical standards to the designs of all of its portable electric tools, allowing it to manufacture tools for the U.S. armed forces. The Hole-Shooter was widely employed in the production of airplanes during World War II, contributing significantly to the war effort — and boosting the tool business. During the postwar years Milwaukee Electric fortified its product line, developing tools suited for professionals in the flourishing home-construction industry. In 1949 it introduced the right-angle drill, and in 1951 it produced the Sawzall reciprocating saw, the first self-contained portable electric hacksaw. These and other Milwaukee Electric innovations are one reason many tradespeople were — and still are — loyal to the brand. With growth in its product lines and in the company’s size, Milwaukee Electric moved in 1965 to a new manufacturing and office facility in Brookfield, Wisconsin. During the 1970s it expanded to sites in Mississippi and Arkansas, targeting the residential construction industry with tools such as the Hole-Hawg and the Magnum Hole-Shooter. Many of those original tools are still working today. Over the years, Milwaukee Electric has continued to thrive. Its purchase by the global corporation Atlas Copco AB in 1995 extended the company’s international influence. Now acquired by Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., it is part of an even larger tool family. In the 81 years since its inception, Milwaukee Electric has grown to employ 21 manufacturing, distribution and factory branch facilities and more than 2,000 workers who produce more than 500 tool models and 3,500 accessories. Its signature red tools are considered on many job sites to be the Cadillac (or owing to Henry Ford’s influence, we should say the Lincoln) of professional-grade power tools. Photos courtesy milwaukee electric tool corp.
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