Who Owns Snap-On Tools And Where Are They Made?

In the modern tool arena, there's no shortage of options for consumers in need of a sturdy device worthy of tackling a DIY project on the home front. Of the many consumer-grade tool options out there, one American manufacturer has been a fixture in that market as long as any, and that's Wisconsin-based Snap-on Tools.

The company's history charts back to 1920 when, amid a rise in popularity and production of automobiles in the United States, engineer Joe Johnson and his co-worker William Siedmann recognized the growing need not only for mechanics but access to the tools to make any necessary auto repairs. Their first round of tools were hand-made, with the pair fulfilling C.O.D. orders for the devices by mail. A few years later, they filed their first patent for the No. 6 Socket Wrench, which boasted a unique snap-on feature that likely lent the burgeoning tool company its name.

Jump ahead 100 years, and Snap-on has transformed from a small-time mail-order garage project into a major industry player whose products are now sold and serviced in more than 130 countries across the globe. Despite its growing global presence, Snap-On is still very much an American company — one whose roots are firmly planted in Wisconsin by way of its Kenosha headquarters. These days, Snap-on is also a publicly traded company on the NYSE. Unlike some brands, like its Harbor Freight market clone ICON, Snap-on has achieved its station without assistance from a corporate entity.

Not only has Snap-on managed to stay more or less independent in the century since it was founded, but the company has broadened its own global reach by acquiring other tool manufacturing outfits. That includes both Bahco Group AB and Herramientas Eurotools SA who, after a 2005 merger, gave Snap-on a significant presence on the European Continent.

The company has, of course, been on the international scene since 1931. While Snap-on claims a significant sales presence in multiple other international markets, its manufacturing presence is just as notable, particularly in markets where it sells its wares. As of this writing, Snap-on lists 21 manufacturing plants located outside of the Continental United States, including facilities in Argentina (Santo Tome), Belarus (Minsk), Brazil (Santa Bárbara d'Oeste), China (Kunshan & Xiaoshan), England (Bramley & Banbury), France (Bauge-en-Anjou), Hungary (Sopron), Italy (Correggio & Florence), Portugal (Vila do Conde), Spain (Irun, Placencia & Vitoria), and Sweden (Edsbyn, Kungsör & Lidköping).

With so many international locations, it might seem surprising that the company continues to front as significant a presence in the United States, operating no fewer than 14 manufacturing facilities in America in which it makes some truly impressive high-end devices, as well as some whose prices might legitimately leave you with sticker shock. At present, Snap-on lists Stateside production operations in 11 U.S. states, including Alabama (Elkmont), Arkansas (Conway), California (City of Industry, San Jose, & Tustin), Illinois (Carol Stream), Iowa (Algona), Kentucky (Louisville), Michigan (Rochester Hills), New Hampshire (West Lebanon), North Carolina (Murphy), Tennessee (Elizabethton), and, of course, Wisconsin (Milwaukee).