Pratt-Read History

Founded in 1798, Pratt-Read Corporation is the second oldest manufacturing enterprise in Connecticut.

Our story began with the production of beads, buttons, and billiard balls using elephant tusks imported from Africa. Over time our product line grew to include mustache combs, flour tryers, and the ivory coverings for piano keys. With our New England manufacturing prowess, we expanded by not only producing the piano key covering but the wooden keyboard as well. This was soon followed by the production of the piano‚s internal mechanism ˜ the piano action. All of this was possible using the „old Yankee‰ ingenuity of harnessing waterpower to turn the necessary equipment.

During the 1800's, Pratt-Read continued to produce piano keyboards and piano actions for the music trade. As the 19th century drew to a close the piano became the focal point of many homes across our growing country requiring hundreds of our workers to hone their manufacturing skills.

A vast array of equipment was needed to produce the equipment necessary to manufacture the over 8,000 parts in a piano action. Some of this equipment had other capabilities as well; company records show the first production screwdrivers were made by Pratt-Read in 1834. While screwdriver manufacturing did not continue beyond 1840, component parts continued to be supplied to the domestic market. Specifically, wooden handles were shipped to smaller producers and blades were sold on a limited basis.

In the early 1900‚s, screwdriver blade manufacturing accelerated with the evolution of hundreds of smaller screwdriver manufacturers. As the century advanced there was great consolidation in the market, particularly during the Depression Era when overall screwdriver output suffered a substantial decline. The war years brought production of blades back in great volume. During this period the production of piano keys and actions was suspended by the war department and the company absorbed the task of manufacturing aircraft gliders to move troops and materials into Europe.

After WWII, Pratt-Read returned to making piano keys and actions. At the same time, we began to explore the possibility of once again having a more active role in the manufacture of screwdrivers. To that end we began increasing our supply of screwdriver blades to screwdriver producers in the U.S. To support that effort we invested in new heat treat processes, presses, and the latest technology to create a quality product that would stand up to the rigors of years of use.

Over the next several decades we slowly increased our participation in the tool market, supplying an ever-increasing number of screwdriver blades to industry icons such as Bernie Fuller in New York, Vermont American, and other greats. By 1992 the supply of blades into the industry reached over 47 million units annually.

As our volumes increased, we continued to invest in upgrading the quality and delivery of our product range. Millions of dollars were spent on new Heat Treat ovens, presses, Profilators for making complex tips, and, of course, the equipment necessary to ensure the shipment of strong yet ductile blades.

With a greater presence in the marketplace, in late 1992 we began buying handles from the A&L Handle Company in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We purchased enough handles that year to make 5,000 screwdrivers, with the U.S. market absorbing 200 million screwdrivers each year.

Shortly after WWII, Al Wetty and his brother opened a company to supply handles to the tool industry. They enjoyed great success culminating with the sale of their company to Stanley Tool (after certain members of the company left to help Western Forge begin their own manufacture of handles). Al‚s son Les stayed behind in Pennsylvania and opened the A&L Handle Company in 1976. A&L quickly enjoyed success supplying many of the same industry names that we supplied.

The handles that Al Wetty began making many years ago are still produced ˜from the same material: cellulose acetate. Acetate is produced using wood fiber as its core providing an end product impervious to most workplace solvents and virtually indestructible. These benefits are in addition to the fact that the handles are really a „green‰ product being produced from a renewable resource.

By 1999, our business had grown from a first-year volume of 5,000 to more than 10 million screwdrivers annually. With similar business plans and shared customers it was logical for the two firms to combine; we bought the A&L Handle Company, thereby controlling all of the key elements necessary in the screwdriver production cycle.

More recently, in 2005 Pratt-Read acquired American Industrial Manufacturers (AIM) in Wisconsin. AIM is one of the last domestic producers of a complete range of bits for both the retail and industrial markets producing millions of bits each year.

Since 1999, the strength of the Pratt-Read/A&L, plus the addition of AIM, has resulted in further market penetration with our selling screwdrivers into the industrial, retail, and automotive markets. These include supplying government specified programs, individual hardware retailers and larger co-ops, as well as big box retailers, and the range of big name industrial purveyors of all manner of hand tools.

Today we not only sell more than 20 million screwdrivers annually but also continue to support the overall industry by selling blades, tool handles, bits, and completed screwdrivers. In today‚s domestic market of 200 million screwdrivers, our screwdrivers and component supply are in 25% of the market.

Our corporate philosophy is to provide the full range of product that is appropriate to each market niche: the right product for the right application. As part of this belief all products are 100% Made in the USA ˆ which not only supports our country but allows for the proper oversight in the manufacturing cycles to support a continued thrust to make only the finest, lab tested products that exceed ANSI requirements. All while providing for immediate shipments from company inventories. Pratt-Read continues to grow by building on our history of supplying quality products on time. This, combined with an ever-expanding line of innovative screwdriver products at globally competitive costing, makes us a logical partner in building strong sell through.