Bahco
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| Product type | Hand tools |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1886 |
| Website | English website |
Bahco is a Swedish brand within the hand tool industry, which is now part of SNA Europe, part of Snap-on. Its roots go back to the industrial revolution in Sweden in the late eighteen hundreds, starting with innovations such as the pipe wrench and the modern adjustable wrench. Since then, the product range has expanded with a total assortment of products that today includes over 7000 hand tools.
The story of Bahco began in 1886 when the Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson (1853–1943) established his company Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad in Enköping, Sweden. Johan Petter, also known as JP, was an inventor and industrialist. He invented the modern plumber wrench (1888) and adjustable wrench (patents in 1891 and 1892).
In 1890 the company’s sales and marketing rights for its products were acquired by the businessman Berndt August Hjorth (1862–1937), founder of BA Hjorth & Co.
In 1916 Johan Petter Johansson sold all his stocks in Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad to Berndt August Hjorth and the company was converted to an affiliate under the new corporation AB BA Hjorth & Co. However, it was not until 1954 that the company changed its name to AB Bahco (an acronym of the original name BA Hjorth & Co).
Over the following years Bahco underwent many changes and acquisitions, established its presence abroad and was introduced on the Swedish stockmarket.
During the 1960s and 1970s AB Bahco consisted of four major companies: Bahco Ventilation, Mecamen, Bahco Tools and Bahco Sudamericana. Bahco Ventilation was responsible for products and facilities for air purification, energy and recycling, Mecamen had all the pneumatics, hydraulics and control systems and Bahco Tools controlled the production of hand tools, air tools and hydraulic tools. Bahco Sudamericana was the largest of Bahco’s foreign subsidiaries producing hand tools in a factory located in Santa Fe, Argentina.
1991 Bahco Tools was acquired by the industrial corporation Sandvik AB and was renamed Sandvik Bahco. The original factory Bahco Tools in Enköping, Sweden, then became a separate production center within Sandvik’s business area Saws & Tools. During this time, major investments were made to increase productivity and to reduce lead times in the production. In addition, a new distribution concept was introduced to improve delivery and availability.
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Wikipedia