DeWalt Celebrates A Century

DeWalt tools, founded by a tradesman who developer a radial saw, is marking its 100^th anniversary this year with an expanded training program, product launches and a series of promotional efforts.

The company says it has championed the trades since its founding, and the company began offering  annual DeWalt Trades Scholarships for trades education in 2019.

Last year, the company pledged $30 million over five years for its Grow the Trades initiatives to support active and aspiring tradespeople. In addition, company contributed nearly $7 million last year to programs that support tradespeople, including trade schools, vocational-technical schools and other training organizations, while also collaborating with industry and nonprofits to include women, to promote diversity, and to bring more veterans into the trades.

“DeWalt has been committed to professional tradespeople for the past 100 years, and Raymond DeWalt’s founding principles of innovation, safety and productivity remain the core ethos of our company today,” said Chris Nelson, CEO and top executive for tools and outdoors at Stanley Black & Decker, which acquired DeWalt in 1960.

New system featured

The company will launch new products this year including Powershift, an electrified equipment system for the workflow of concrete on job sites.

Executives will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 14, officially marking 100 years in business.

Anniversary branding and a paint scheme will be used on NASCAR-driver Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota Camry.

The company will also launch a social media campaign to highlight the contributions of current professionals and promoting careers in the trades.

Founded by a tradesman

The company was founded by Raymond DeWalt in Pennsylvania in the early 1920s. The company says DeWalt became a power tool pioneer when he worked to streamline and expedite wood-cutting operations without sacrificing quality or safety. This led to the invention of the Wonder-Worker, an adjustable electric radial arm saw that provided the ability to efficiently execute multiple operations on one affordable piece of equipment.

The Wonder-Worker set the stage for DeWalt to begin distributing products both nationally and internationally, with the company counting household names like Steinway & Sons and Westinghouse Electric Co. among its clients.

Later in life, DeWalt focused on helping close the skilled trades gap and became a shop teacher at Mechanicsburg High School in Pennsylvania.

DeWalt died in 1961.