Ideal Industries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Privately owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1916 in Chicago, Illinois |
| Founder | J. Walter Becker |
| Headquarters | Sycamore, Illinois |
Key people | |
| Products | Connectors, hand tools, testers, meters |
Number of employees | 1,225[1] |
| Website | www.idealindustries.com |
Ideal Industries is an American company that produces connectors, hand tools, testers, and meters for the electrical and telecommunications industries.[2]
The company manufactures many of its products in the United States.[3] It also owns Pratt-Read, one of the largest American-made producers of screwdrivers respectively at the time of their acquisition.[4]
It is a competitor to Klein Tools and Greenlee Tools and its tools are sold at Lowe's and Ace Hardware stores as well as many independent distributors.[5]
Ideal was founded in 1916 by J. Walter Becker as the Ideal Commutator Dresser Company in Chicago, Illinois, manufacturing commutator dresser stones.[6] In 1924, Becker relocated the company to its current location in Sycamore, Illinois.[7] By 1949, it had become the United States' leading producer of wire nuts.[8]
In 2010, Ideal acquired three American hand tool manufacturers: Western Forge in January,[9][10] Pratt-Read in March,[11][12] and SK Hand Tools in August.[13][14][15]
Ideal acquired Cree Lighting (not including Cree LED) in 2019,[16] and sold the business to Advanced Lighting Technologies (ADLT) in 2023.[17][18]
