Greenlee is an American industrial and electrical tool company headquartered in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. It was founded in 1862 by brothers Robert and Ralph Greenlee to manufacture their invention, a

drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to ...

surrounded by four

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

blades, used in making the pockets for a

mortise and tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) joint connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at right ...

joint, for the furniture industry in Rockford. This device is still used in cabinetmaking. The brothers later diversified into a variety of hand woodworking tools as well as machinery for making wooden barrels. The company was acquired by Textron in 1986. Greenlee purchased Fairmont Hydraulics in 1992 and German tool manufacturer

Klauke Greenlee is an American industrial and electrical tool company headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1862 by brothers Robert and Ralph Greenlee to manufacture their invention, a drill surrounded by four chisel blades, used in ma ...

in 1996. Greenlee expanded into data/telecommunications equipment with the acquisition of several companies in 1999 and 2000 which now fall under the Greenlee Communications brand. Greenlee expanded its DIY offering with the addition of Paladin Tools on December 17, 2007. In 2008, Greenlee acquired Utilux. In 2013, Sherman + Reilly, and HD Electric joined the Greenlee family of Utility brands. The Greenlee brothers were inspired into industrial work by their father who was a cooper. Their contributions to the railroad industry included an automatic tie and track laying and drilling machine that rolled right along behind on the track it had just laid. On April 18, 2018, Textron announced that it planned to sell its Greenlee brand to Emerson within 90 days. Greenlee is listed as a subsidiary and/or affiliate of Emerson Electric Co. as of September 30, 2019.

Products

greenlee.com *Cable Pulling & Fishing - cable pullers, wire fishing *Knockouts - Knockout sets, punches, dies, drivers *Power Tool Accessories - step bits, auger bits, drill & taps *Bending - electric conduit benders, hydraulic benders & pumps, mechanical benders *Wire and cable termination - Cable crimpers & cutters *Testing and measurement - Low & high voltage test and measurement tools *Storage and material handling - storage boxes, wire carts, stands *Utility hydraulic tools - pumps, breakers, impact wrenches *General purpose & Safety Tools - professional hand tool kits, manual bolt cutters, insulated hand tools

References

External links

*
Official Klauke website
Electrical tool manufacturers Tool manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Companies based in Rockford, Illinois Manufacturing companies established in 1862 1862 establishments in Illinois 1986 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions Textron {{manufacturing-company-stub