pennsylvania united states 1886 1886 founder george b. dearment headquarters meadville pennsylvania united states key people william s. dearment president & ceo howard manning chief engineer products hand tools number of employees 400 website www.channellock.com channellock is an american company that produces hand tools . it is best known for its pliers the company manufactures more than 140 types of pliers 1 particularly its eponymous style of tongue and groove slip joint pliers . 2 its pliers have distinctive blue grips ; the company has been using the same trademarked shade of blue since 1956 . 3 it also produces cutting pliers linemen s pliers long nose pliers adjustable wrenches screwdrivers nutdrivers and special purpose pliers as well as multi function tools for the fire service and other first responders . according to the company as of 2009 update all of its pliers were manufactured at one of its two facilities in meadville pennsylvania . 4 contents 1 history 2 today 3 gallery 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was founded in 1886 when george b. dearment a blacksmith from evansburg pennsylvania began hand forging farrier s tools and selling them from town to town out of the back of a wagon . the business eventually became known as the champion bolt and clipper company . in 1904 the company moved to a 12 000 square foot 1 100 m2 facility in meadville pennsylvania and added nippers pinchers and open end wrenches to its product line . george b. dearment s two sons almon w. and j. howard dearment became partners in the company in 1911 and expanded the product line again to include hammers . in 1923 the company moved again to a 33 000 square foot 3 100 m2 facility at its current location in meadville . four years later the name of the company was changed to the champion dearment tool company . 1 in 1933 chief engineer howard manning developed the tongue and groove slip joint pliers for which the company is known . in 1934 a patent for this design 5 was granted and in 1949 a trademark for the name channellock was granted with a first use date of may 1 1932 . 6 from this point to the 1960s the company began to focus more on the fast growing pliers side of its business developing improvements to the original design . 7 8 9 the word channellock eventually became so synonymous with their product that the company changed its name to channellock inc. in 1963 to capitalize on the popularity of its product . today edit channellock is managed by the fifth generation of the dearment family with william s. dearment serving as president and ceo . the company is based out of two facilities equalling a total of 230 000 square feet 21 000 m2 in meadville . as of 2010 update the company claimed to be the largest employer in crawford county pennsylvania with over 500 employees . 1 the company has more than 4 000 u.s. wholesale and retail customers and ships to customers in 45 countries . 1 gallery edit a pair of channellock tongue and groove pliers from which the company takes its name . griplock pliers a variation of the tongue and groove design . oil filter pvc pipe pliers . a wide mouth adjustable wrench . a 6 in 1 screwdriver . references edit a b c d channellock inc. company history . archived from the original on 2010 05 26 . retrieved 2016 09 28 . champion dearment tool company . alloy artifacts . 2009 09 09 . retrieved 2010 01 19 . ward logan may 2009 . top 50 important tools . popular mechanics . retrieved 2010 02 09 . channellock inc. 2009 07 15 . channellock dedicates new products to quality made in america mission . retrieved 2010 01 19 . us 1950362 boliven . channellock trademark details . retrieved 2010 01 19 . us 2592927 us 2640381 us 3192805 external links edit official website alloy artifacts champion dearment tool company v t e hand tool manufacturers current dasco pro inc. apex tool group allen armstrong tools crescent diamond gearwrench k d tools lufkin nicholson plumb sata tools wiss xcelite bondhus buck bros. channellock cornwell tools digitool solutions disston saw works ega master eklind emerson ridgid empire level estwing felo few fiskars gerber gardner bender gedore gray tools dynamic tools hazet hans tools heyco ideal industries pratt read sk hand tools western forge klein tools knipex kukko leatherman lie nielsen toolworks lisle corporation lowell corporation matco tools martin tool & forge newell brands irwin lenox otc park tool pb swiss saltus sandvik senco snap on bahco cdi torque products williams stahlwille stanley black & decker blackhawk bostitch dewalt facom mac tools proto sidchrome stanley hand tools textron greenlee klauke paladin tools techtronic industries milwaukee thorsen manufacturing tom f teira toptul vaughan victorinox wenger wera tools wescott westward tools wiha tools witte tools wright tool historic coes wrench company easco hand tools forest city screwdriver and drill company goodell pratt hinsdale holtzapffel indestro mathieson mckaig hatch new britain machine company norris north brothers manufacturing company h. d. smith & co. utica tools bonney forge herbrand vlchek house brands ace hardware ace tools autozone duralast blain s farm and fleet duracraft canadian tire mastercraft the home depot husky lee valley veritas lowe s kobalt menards masterforce montgomery ward powrkraft sears craftsman retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title channellock & oldid 741639790 categories tool manufacturing companies of the united statesmanufacturing companies based in pennsylvaniaprivately held companies based in pennsylvaniagoods manufactured in the united statescompanies established in 1886hidden categories articles containing potentially dated statements from 2009all articles containing potentially dated statementsarticles containing potentially dated statements from 2010 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more 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