Pioneering the idea of interchangeable sockets and wrench handles, Joseph Johnson together with 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, a concept that revolutionized the tool industry. Snap-on has continued its innovative leadership across an ever-expanding line of products to this day.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 the benefits, which became the cornerstone of the company’s marketing success. As a result of this successful sales strategy, Palmer enlisted Newton Tarble to share the increasing workload. These four founders – Joseph Johnson, William Seidemann, Stanton Palmer, and Newton Tarble – were responsible for putting Snap-on on the map.

Snap-on entered the international arena in 1931. Also in the 1930s, Snap-on began offering credit to customers and was the first in the industry to do so. In the 1950s, Snap-on expanded on the concept of bringing product to the customer by using fully stocked walk-in vans and, as a result, pioneered today’s familiar franchisee van channel.
For decades, we were viewed, and we viewed ourselves, primarily as a tool company selling through these vans to vehicle repair technicians — something we have always done very well, and continue to do very well today.

Now we define our value proposition more broadly, reaching beyond the garage. Snap-on today supports serious professionals in critical industries — inside and outside vehicle repair — by delivering a broad array of productivity solutions that make work easier, including tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information and systems solutions.
Today, Snap-on is a $3.4 billion, S&P 500 company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin, offering products and services that are available around the world.