Snap-on is a leading US designer, manufacturer and marketer of tool

Tool

A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...

s and equipment to professional tool users. It was founded in 1920. Snap-on is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...

, and employs approximately 11,500 people worldwide. The company is currently worth US$ 2.4 billion and is one of the companies on the S&P 500

S&P 500

The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...

.

History

Joseph Johnson and William Seidemann formed the Snap-on Wrench Company in 1920. The company manufactured and marketed ten sockets that would "snap on" to five interchangeable handles.
To sell the products, Johnson and Seidemann worked with Stanton Palmer, who took the tools directly to customers at their places of business and demonstrated their use. Palmer enlisted Newton Tarble to share the increasing workload.

Snap-on entered global markets in 1931. Also in the 1930s, Snap-on began offering credit to customers. In the 1950s, Snap-on expanded on the concept of bringing product to the customer by using fully stocked walk-in van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...

s.

Electronic diagnostic tools

Snap-on also produces hand-held electronic diagnostic tools for the on-board computer systems used in most modern cars and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as automotive emissions control diagnostics equipment (DGA).

Snap-on diagnostic products are being sold in Europe under the name Sun.

Bahco

In 1999 it acquired Bahco

Bahco

Bahco is an international brand within the hand tool industry, with its products designed and manufactured by SNA Europe. Its roots go back to the industrial revolution of Sweden in the late eighteen hundreds, starting with innovations such as the pipe wrench and the modern adjustable wrench...

, a Swedish hand tool brand. Bahco hand tools are designed and manufactured by SNA Europe, the European manufacturing subsidiary of Snap-on Incorporated.

Racing sponsorships

Since the early 1980s, Snap-on has been sponsoring Penske racing teams in the NASCAR Sprint and Nationwide series as well Indy Racing League (IRL).

Snap-on is an associate sponsor of the Team Rensi Nationwide team featuring driver Eric McClure.

Nearly 20 years ago, Snap-on began an association with two time NHRA world champion Cruz Pedregon. In 2004, Snap-on began an association with Cruz’s brother Tony Pedregon, a two time champion himself.