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The company is now run by a fourth generation of the DeArment family. William S. DeArment is now president of the company which has over four hundred people working to produce its range of high quality forged tools.
When George B. DeArment started out he worked alone in his small blacksmith shop. He was sure the tools available to him at that time were not as good as they could be, and gifted with an inventive mind, he began to create his own.
Today, virtually all Channellock® tools are created using dies designed in its Engineering department and sunk in its own die room. die design experts make sure each one is perfect before a working version is made up.
The company’s founder would certainly have been at home in the modern forge, the heat and sparks of red hot steel being shaped into tools haven’t changed. Though he would certainly have been impressed by the die forgers used to shape the steel in the dies. Channellock’s die forgers work on compressed air to not only lift them, but to control the drop of the ram as well, giving much greater control over the amount of force used. This is another example of the ever-present company ethos of quality control.
Channellock’s success is clearly due to its traditional values such as constantly improving the quality and design of its products, but also because it is prepared to use the latest methods when these are the ideal way to achieve the best results. An example of this is the company’s use of lasers in the hardening process.
Products are given site specific hardening, this is performed using radio frequency heat treating equipment and laser beam technology. The result is a finished tool that is very tough, but has an overall springy resilience, so it isn’t brittle. The use of the laser allows very site specific hardening around areas such as cutting edges and teeth, so these can have the hardness they need, without affecting the resilience of the main tool body.
Another advantage of the use of a laser is that unlike more traditional hardening methods it doesn’t need to be quenched, this means there is no environmentally unfriendly waste to be disposed of. It is also much better for the wellbeing of the company’s highly valued operators.
The machine shop buzzes with activity, 115 people are all at work in this part of the Channellock operation milling, deburring, countersinking, reaming, grinding and punching. One highly skilled job performed in the Pre-Finishing area is the hand filing of many Channellock standard pattern cutting pliers. It takes several years of training before an operator can perform this task, creating the cutting edge that uses a knife/anvil concept: a sharper edge cutting down on a flatter one. This unique style of cutting is more effective than the conventional knife/knife form as the cutting edge stays sharper and more accurate for longer. Channellock’s commitment to “cutting edge” manufacturing technology has also made its way to this phase of production, as more and more cutting pliers are having their cutting edges machined by technologically advanced, computer-controlled machining centers.
Invented by the company’s chief engineer, Howard Manning, who came up with the concept in 1933, tongue and groove pliers were a completely new innovation and users soon recognized the major advantages they offered over other types: jaw adjustments were more easily made, once the jaws were clamped onto a piece of work they can be squeezed as hard as the user needs with no fear of them slipping and cracking against knuckles. A trade name was registered for this new invention, Channellock®. The superior quality and extremely effective features of Channellock® pliers ensured the tools became an essential item for many workmen, so the name was adopted for the whole company in 1964.
In the company’s second facility the products receive the all-important polish, and they really are polished, rather than plated. It takes a proper hand polish to get the quality of finish the company demands and that its customers expect.
In this facility tongue and groove pliers and slip joint pliers are assembled using the company’s trademarked PermaLock® fasteners.
The PermaLock® fastener was another innovation, introduced in the eighties, it provides greater strength and safety as well as providing a longer life. PermaLock® fasteners also mean a smoother joint action than the staked bolt that was used before. There is no failure of Channellock tools due to fastener breakage now, a common problem with tools using non PermaLock® fasteners.
It is also in this facility that the Channellock logo is laser marked onto products that have met the company’s stringent quality standards. Channellock also creates private label products, so other logos can be placed on products at this stage. After World War Two, at the same time as the company decided to focus its production on pliers, 65% of its output was private label items for a national retail chain. This was extremely useful in helping the growth of the company and it range of pliers. However, the company decided that this over reliance on one customer was not a good long term strategy, so new sales representatives were added to its payroll, charged with developing the company’s own place in the market. Advertising and promotions also helped raise the brand’s profile. Nowadays Channellock produces the same amount of private label products as then, but its Channellock® branded products are the vast majority of its output.
Another finishing touch added in this facility is the famous CHANNELLOCK BLUE® grip handle covering, for many people it is the blue handle that defines a Channellock® tool, but of course it is more than just the ordinary handle covering, it offers both superior grip and comfort.
The final stage of the process is packing. Channellock products are clamshell packaged, either individually or in special combination kits. The products are then shipped to over 58 countries. Even in George B. DeArment’s day his company’s products enjoyed fame across the world. In 1902 one set of tools was ordered, for King Edward VII’s farrier.
Nowadays the company and its products are synonymous with quality and for many workmen in every corner of the world Channellock is one of those brands that sets the standard in its product sector.
The qualities George B. DeArment thought important in his company, dedication to excellence, valuing the customer and good management close to the factory floor are as important to the company he founded as they ever were. But over the years generations of his family have improved on his vision, with innovations like the tongue and groove plier, the mid fifties innovations of the undercut tongue and groove and the reinforced flange, the PermaLock® fastener, and the CHANNELLOCK BLUE® handle. These patented and trademarked features, along with many others added as Channellock continues to constantly refine and improve its products and stay ahead of the competition, ensure that the company is still one of which George B. DeArment would be proud.
With 200,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehousing, office space in Meadville and hundreds of staff all working to produce 120 different types and sizes of pliers and other hand tools, Channellock is certainly a much bigger company than the one created by its founder. But, because it is still run by members of his family, it has never lost its character or the collective commitment that ensures its success.
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Airstream Communications