Stanley Tools History

The Stanley Works, originally a bolt and door hardware manufacturing company located in New Britain, Connecticut; was founded in 1843 by Frederick T. Stanley. A few years later, in 1857, Frederick’s cousin, Henry Stanley, founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company. In 1920, The Rule and Level Company merged with The Stanley Works and would go on to become it’s famous Hand Tools Division.

Over the years, The Stanley Works has produced some of the most innovative and useful tools ever made. Among these tools are the Bailey® Plane, the Surform® shaper, the PowerLock® tape rule and most recently the FatMax™ line of products. Today, more than ever, Stanley continues to be an industry leader in tool innovation. In 2001, Stanley introduced more than 100 new products, bringing to 400 the number of new products introduced in the past four years. As a direct result of Stanley’s commitment to excellence, Stanley was awarded the Prestigious Golden Hammer Award, presented for New Product Innovation in both 2000 and 2001.