The Wahl Clipper Corporation, based in Sterling, Illinois

Sterling, Illinois

Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...

, manufactures grooming products for humans and other animals.

The company was founded on the strength of Leo J. Wahl's patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 for an electromagnetic hair clipper in 1919. In 1965 Wahl introduced the first vacuum clipper, which allowed a person's hair to be cut without use of a cape. In 1967 Wahl produced the first cordless hair clipper using its own rechargeable battery technology. Four years later it started an electronics division with the world's first cordless and rechargeable solder

Solder

Solder is a fusible metal alloy used to join together metal workpieces and having a melting point below that of the workpiece.Soft solder is what is most often thought of when solder or soldering are mentioned and it typically has a melting range of . It is commonly used in electronics and...

ing iron. In 1975 the company released a line of back and foot massagers utilizing the vibrating motor technology used in their hair trimmers. In 1984 Wahl invented the first cordless consumer beard and mustache trimmer. In 2001 it patented the first vacuuming consumer beard trimmer, the Trim N Vac. Wahl manufactures its clippers and trimmers in its own factories in Sterling, Illinois; Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

.

Wahl is also a brand of men's trimmers including trimmers for beards, mustaches, goatees, body, and ear / nose & brow.

Products are sold in over 150 countries world wide under the brands Wahl, Moser, Lister and more recently Groom Ease. In 2006 Wahl licensed the For Dummies brand from John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...

publishing company and launched the Home Haircutting for Dummies product line.