Proto Tools Made in America

Proto American Made Tools

PROTO® OFFERS MORE THAN JUST TOOLS. WHAT WE REALLY OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS IS: PEACE OF MIND. Three miles down in the earth at the bottom of a coal mine. An oil rig in the Indian ocean. A battlefield in a war torn country. These are places where keeping the work going is mission critical because lives may be at stake. Our customers work tough industrial jobs in extreme environments and the impact of injury or work stoppage can be catastrophic and costly. That?s why they demand the most durable and safest tools in the world.

When they buy from PROTO® they aren?t just buying tools. What they are really buying is confidence that our tools will help keep them working longer and safer. To ensure this, the PROTO® brand must always be unique in the marketplace, relevant to our customer?s work style, and authentic to our company?s values and heritage. Lastly, these objectives must be implemented in a consistent manner in order to build recognition and trust in the PROTO® brand.

WE ARE INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH.
We are not weekend warriors. We don?t have the luxury of only working when the weather is sunny and the beer is cold. We work in the deepest mines. We work in the hottest deserts. We work in the arctic tundra. We work in the dark. We work in the mud. We work on oil rigs, on factory floors, and in train yards. We work in the toughest places in the world where nobody else wants to. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we help keep industries working.

WE ARE SAFETY OBSESSED.
Safety is not an afterthought. It?s embedded in our DNA and is embodied in our tools and our tool training. It has to be, because heavy industries are inherently dangerous environments where lives are at stake. We are exhaustive in our efforts to make the world?s safest tools and educate workers to work safely. We consider somebody using our tools to be family and we want them to go home to their families at the end of their day.

WE ARE MADE IN AMERICA.
We make tools in America; Not because it?s cheaper and not because it?s convenient. We don?t even do it out of a sense of pride (although we are proud of the U.S.A.). We make tools in America, because put simply...it?s how we can ensure making the best quality tool we can. And in the rare instance when we can?t make a tool in America, we do so because... again, making the highest quality tools comes first.

WE VALUE OUR HERITAGE.
We are highly experienced and brands don?t get to be our age without having done a few things right. The combination wrench is our birthright and helped build ?34 Fords, The Golden Gate Bridge and Apollo 11. Over 100 years strong and still growing; No one makes tools better, more durable or safer. We value our heritage and honor it in everything we do.

Proto History

Proto was founded in 1907 in Los Angeles, CA by Alphonso Plomb, Jacob Weninger, and Charles Williams as PLOMB To​ols. They began making punches and chisels from Model T axles. In 1917, John Pendelton became a partner, and his son Morris Pendelton became the General Manager in 1922.

In the 1930's, Morris introduced the first line of combination wrenches to the market. They were based on the original design by Mr. Plomb.

Throughout the 1940's, PLOMB Tools acquired several other companies including Cragin Tool of Chicago, IL in 1940, P&C Tool of Oregon in 1941, Penens Tool of Cleveland, OH in 1942, and J.P. Danielson of Jamestown, NY in 1947.

A lawsuit was filed by the Plumb company when PLOMB Tool added ball peen nail drivers to the line, and the brand name had to be changed. A lady working in the factory won the naming contest when she suggested PROTO. The name was derived by combining the first few letters of the two words that described its products: "Professional" and "Tool."

Morris Pendleton sold Proto to Ingersoll Rand in the early 1960's, and in 1984, The Stanley Works purchased Proto to form Stanley-Proto Industrial Tools.

Today, Proto offers a complete line of more than 5,000 tools and sets that are manufactured to the highest standards in the USA. Proto tools exceed ASME specifications, feature TorquePlus? drive configuration on sockets and wrenches, and carry a limited lifetime warranty. As a result, Proto is the most recognized brand and the most often used hand tool in the industry.

Stanley Black & Decker provides Proto Industrial Tools with a history of industry leadership. For over 160 years, the Stanley® brand has been synonymous with quality, reliable products.

Within Stanley Black & Decker, Proto Industrial Tools are a part of the Industrial Automotive Repair division, which also sells mechanics tools under the Stanley, Blackhawk by Proto and Facom brand names.​​