April 2020

38 AFTERMARKET APRIL 2020 SNAP-ON CENTENARY www.aftermarketonline.net We take a look back at the memorable moments that marked Snap-on’s first 100 years... CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1920s: Founded Snap-on developed five unique handles and ten sockets that snapped on interchangeably, coined ‘Five do the work of Fifty,’ launched a company that would shape an industry and would revolutionise repair and make work easier for professional mechanics. 1930s: Dream orders and needs list During the Great Depression, struggling mechanics couldn’t afford the tools. Snap-on invented the needs list and the Revolving Account payment plan system used today to help mechanics to get the tools they need. 1940s: Essential to the war effort Snap-on played a key role in the war effort and produced tools that kept air and ground equipment operating. 1950s: Booming product portfolio Snap-on continued to innovate in the booming auto industry. Snap-on delivered confidence to aviation mechanics with ‘tight-access’ or ‘thin- wall’ special application tools. Automotive test equipment such as voltmeters, ammeters, distributor and alternator testers and the Anal-O-Scope, the first automotive oscilloscope, caster-camber gauges, as well as wheel balancers were also added to Snap-on’s portfolio. 1960s: Creation of the Flank Drive Snap-on revolutionise and innovate the socket by creating the Flank Drive Wrenching System providing more turning power. Meanwhile, the van model was initiated in the U.K. in 1965 and was serviced by a new branch and distribution center set up in Kettering, Northamptonshire. 1970s: A cut above the rest Snap-on launched a patented manufacturing breakthrough called ‘cold forming’ making sockets stronger and more impact resistant.