SK Hand Tool, an American manufacturer of tools for professional mechanics, announced its first shipments of sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, wrenches and specialty tools to distributors and mobile tool dealers since the SK brand was acquired by Ideal Industries Inc. in August 2010. The tools – many manufactured using original dies from now-shuttered SK Hand Tool plants in Chicago and Ohio – are being produced in a newly-built state-of-the-art headquarters in Sycamore, Ill., and in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“SK is an iconic American brand that we are proud to continue manufacturing in the United States,” says Doug Spitler, vice president and general manager of SK Hand Tool. “We’re excited to show mechanics the SK brand is alive and well, and in fact, better than ever.”
Along with building a new 130,000-square-foot facility in Sycamore, Ideal has invested in technically advanced metalworking and CNC machinery to enhance tool quality, and has refurbished essential equipment salvaged from SK plants. Modern management practices, such as small-batch and one-piece-flow manufacturing, are being applied.
