Easco
| Privately owned | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Fate | Acquired by Danaher Corporation |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Hunt Valley, Maryland |
| Products | Hand tools |
Easco Hand Tools was an American manufacturer of hand tools. Easco Corporation started as Eastern Stainless Steel Corporation, which diversified into several industries in the 1960s, and spun out the steel mill and related businesses into Eastmet Corporation in 1972. The core business was founded in 1901 and, the 1980s tool company was based in Hunt Valley, Maryland. It is best known for being the main supplier of mechanic's tools for the Craftsman brand. Its tools were also sold under the Allen and KD Tools brands after its acquisition by Danaher Corporation. The brand name was gradually phased out during the 1990s.
The parent company began as Eastern Stainless Steel Corporation, a manufacturer of stainless and specialty steel. In 1967, the company acquired Moore Drop Forging, a Springfield, Massachusetts-based tool manufacturer and the primary supplier of Craftsman mechanic's tools to Sears Roebuck. Easco continued the Craftsman contract with Sears. By 1969, the parent company was known as Easco Corporation.
In 1985, Easco Corporation was acquired via a hostile takeover by Equity Group Holdings, controlled by the investment brothers Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales and taken private. The hand tools division of the company was taken public, and the other divisions were sold to an investment group including Citicorp Venture Capital. In 1990, the hand tool company was acquired by the brothers' Danaher Corporation. This acquisition made the tools division the largest part of Danaher. In 1991, Sears selected Danaher to be the exclusive supplier of Craftsman mechanic's tools.
In 2010, Danaher merged its tools division with Cooper Tools to form Apex Tool Group. The same year, Apex closed the Gastonia, North Carolina plant where Easco manufactured sockets since 1978.
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