verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message park tool company type private industry manufacturing founded 1963 1963 headquarters oakdale minnesota key people eric hawkins howard hawkins and art engstrom products bicycle tools website www.parktool.com a park tool three way hex wrench park tool company is a leading american designer manufacturer and marketer of bicycle tools and equipment for both professional and home bicycle mechanics . it manufactures over 300 products that range from wheel truing stands to hex wrenches . contents 1 history 2 patents 3 color 4 references 5 external links history edit in 1963 howard hawkins and art engstrom were the owners of a bicycle shop in the twin cities area . they noticed that there were no tools available to repair the increasingly complex bicycles of the 1960s so they began creating their own tools . the first was a stand that held the bike off the ground allowing convenient access to any part of the bike . other area bike shops and schwinn bicycle company liked the stands and requested a production model . soon after the company expanded to include wheel truing stands then expanded further into consumer wrenches and gauges . by the early 1980s hawkins and engstrom were a perennial top ten schwinn dealer with three stores but sold their bicycle shops to focus their efforts on the tool business . today both art engstrom and howard hawkins are retired . park tool is owned and operated by eric hawkins howard hawkins son and now offers more than 300 bicycle repair tools in its line . 1 patents edit a park tool bicycle work stand the founders of park tool along with james e. johnson developed a clamping device on their original bike repair stand for which they received a united states patent in 1976 . 2 the company has applied for and has been granted many patents since then including a pizza cutter shaped like a penny farthing . 3 and several patents for bicycle specific repair tools . color edit a park tool crank extractor and cone wrench with an off brand adjustable wrench park tools typically incorporate blue into their design . handles are frequently colored blue although some tools are colored differently so as to avoid mechanics confusing different tools of otherwise similar appearance . the color blue is a registered trademark and trade dress of the company . 4 references edit park tool company . our history . retrieved 2007 09 06 . us 3514091 us 5428898 bicycle retailer . park tool blue granted u.s. trademark . retrieved 2016 06 13 . external links edit official website 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 park tool & oldid 725092979 categories bicycle tool manufacturerstool manufacturing companies of the united statescompanies established in 1963manufacturing companies based in minnesotahidden categories articles needing additional references from april 2011all articles needing additional referencespages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent 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