Professional Electrician

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TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

Ahead of Klein Tool’s launch in the UK, PE’s Daniel Tovey heads across the pond to find out why the brand is so popular with American electricians.

I

n October 1871 the Great Chicago

telephone linemen. Now, over 150 years

Fire levelled over three square miles

later the company remains a family run

of the thriving Illinois city, and left

business but now it manufactures over

more than 100,000 homeless.

3,500 tools for electricians in over 75

Rebuilding began immediately and

countries around the globe. As of this

the next 100 years saw the

month, for the first time ever, a full range of

construction of one of the world’s

Klein will be available in the UK In

most iconic and architecturally diverse

preparation for the launch, I headed over to

urban skylines, featuring the great

the states to find out what UK sparks can

silhouettes of the Willis Tower (formerly

expect from the US brand. recent independent survey, electricians

Sears Tower), Trump Tower and the John Safe hands

across six US cities were asked, “What

When you first hear about the extent of

professional tool brands do you perceive as

away from such historic examples of great

Klein’s popularity among US sparks it’s hard

the highest quality?” 95% identified Klein.

American construction, you find the

to understand why the brand has been

The brand carries so much weight within

corporate headquarters of Klein Tools; a

practically invisible in the UK. Klein

the trade that it has gone the way of

company whose foundations are older than

dominates the electrician’s hand tool

Hoover, with the brand name becoming

any of the city’s famous skyscrapers.

market in the US, outselling all competitors

synonymous for the type of tool, and

in the plier, screwdriver, cable cutter, wire

tradesmen will often simply refer to their

stripper and nut driver tools categories. In a

tools as ‘Kleins’. Some of the more devout

Hancock Center. It is quite fitting that just an hour’s drive

The company was founded in 1857 by Mathias Klein who made pliers for local  READERLINK 035

PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN January 2015 69

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enthusiasts even get their bodies tattooed

THE TOOLS

with the Klein logo! To understand just how Klein has built

Pliers, cutters and wire strippers The insulated hand tool range has injection-moulded grips and feature Klein’s three-part insulation, which includes a white underlayer that serves as a warning sign if the insulation is compromised. This series offers the core tools an electrician needs to get the job done safely, including side cutters, diagonal cutters, long-nose pliers, cable cutters, pump pliers and wire strippers. The tools are VDE certified and dielectric tests are performed on 100% of insulated products ensuring that each tool has been tested to 10,000V prior to shipping. Screwdrivers The company’s screwdriving solutions include an insulated range, demolition drivers and switch drivers. Manufactured from Klein’s own proprietary steel and featuring precision machined tips for best fit, less cam-out, and longer life, the insulated screwdrivers are tested to the same high standards as the rest of the insulated range. The demolition range has been designed to take a beating and deliver a beating with drivers featuring a plated metal strike cap that protects the handle from hammer blows. Bags The company have a varied range of professional tool bags. These are manufactured to withstand the rigours of a busy job site with rugged, durable straps and moulded bases that are waterproof and help maintain the bags’ shape.

70 January 2015 PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN

such a positive relationship with US electricians, I thought I better ask the sparks themselves. The frontline Bryan Sorensen is a third generation

always carried around two spare pairs of

electrician. He’s been in the trade for 23

Klein pliers and strippers in my truck, in case

years and now works as Training Director for

somebody’s tools weren’t good enough or if

the Lake County Joint Apprenticeship and

they broke.”

Training Committee. Bryan thinks that quality

Dependability goes further than a tool’s

and dependability is the reason why the

ability to help complete work productively

brand has maintained such a loyal following

and efficiently. I met electrician Ron Hill from

from generation to generation of tradesmen.

Ohio at the NECA Exhibition in Chicago. He

Bryan’s father was an electrician for 42

simply told me, “If I’m using my Kleins I know

years, so he has always been surrounded

that if things go bad I’m confident I’m still

by an understanding of the importance of

going to get home that evening back to my

investing in long-lasting, dependable tools.

wife.” Accidents happen on site and when

While he doesn’t have any Klein tattoos (that

you are working around live electricity an

I can see), he does have fond memories of

electrician needs to trust that the tools he

his father using the ‘Kleins’ he inherited from

carries are suitably insulated and quality

his father when he was a boy.

checked to keep him safe.

“When you are from a family that’s been in construction, they understand the

Sparky satisfaction

differences between tools; they set a

Manufacturing dependable and safe tools is

precedent for you. ” explains Bryan.

obviously important to Klein, but the

Bryan feels that this precedent is

company reinforces customer satisfaction

continued on site and in apprenticeship

further through the way in which it interacts

programmes, where sparks new to the trade

with its professional customers; giving them

learn what their seniors expect from them.

an active role in future product

“A journeyman can tell an apprentice

development. Gary Jost has been an

‘give me your Kleins real quick’. If they hand

electrician for 34 years and is also a Field

over something else the response is usually

Specialist for Klein Tools. Gary’s job is to go

something along the lines of ‘where did you

out and meet fellow professionals and

get those toys?’”

ensure the company is meeting the current

All tradesmen, no mater what sector they are in, want to get a job done

needs of the trade. “I go out to job sites and let tradesmen

quickly, efficiently and accurately. To

try out our prototypes, hold focus groups

Bryan, this is something that Klein’s tools

and get feedback,” explains Gary. “We are

have always ensured.

concerned with what tradesmen are asking

“Looking at it from a production point of view, I don’t want an apprentice or a

for and show a great deal of interest in what the tradesman needs and what they want.”

journeyman fighting to get a job done,” says

This desire for input from the men and

Bryan. “It just creates delays, and when you

women on the tools can also be seen in the

have delays you lose money. That’s why I’ve

company’s social media channels and

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TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

MADE IN THE USA ‘Tradesmen’s Club’, an online community that includes tool demonstrations, news on upcoming products and facilities that encourage more feedback how they improve their existing product range and develop new tools for the future. It will be interesting to see how big a splash the brand makes in the UK market. After all, there are several established hand-tool brands already in the UK that tradesmen are used to and trust. While I can’t imagine many UK electricians donning Klein tattoos straight away, if the brand can capture the hearts and minds of the sparks on this side of the pond anywhere near like they have in the States, then Klein will be a force to be reckoned with. For more information circle readerlink:158

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This reputation for dependability and professional quality can be accredited to the amount of control the Klein insists on having over the entire manufacturing process. This control is achieved through the vertical integration of manufacturing and testing facilities, from the company’s own fully-automated forge in Elk Grove Village, Illinois to the brand new, 60,000 square-foot heat treating facility opened in 2014 at the company’s ever expanding manufacturing base in Mansfield, Texas. The company take their ‘Made in the USA’ heritage very seriously and while there are still several lines manufactured near the corporate headquarters in Illinois, Klein has plants in six states across the country including Texas, Iowa, Arkansas,

Michigan and New York. Over the last 10 years, the vast majority of investment has gone towards expanding their manufacturing capabilities in the USA. Over $100 million has been invested to allow the company to manufacture in the USA some of the products they currently import, and to make new products that would otherwise be imported without this investment. The construction of several new facilities as well as continuing to invest in existing manufacturing facilities has been a key part of this investment