ITW history

After Byron Smith died, in 1914, his son Harold guided the firm, which specialized at first in the production of metal-cutting tools.

In 1915 Harold C. Smith became president of Illinois Tool Works, and Walter and Solomon Smith continued to serve on the board of directors.

In 1923 ITW engineered a new product that brought it into a different industry niche.

After Smith's death, his son, Harold Byron Smith, became president of ITW. The oldest of four boys, Harold B. Smith had joined the company in 1931.

1936 Harold Byron Smith becomes president of ITW and later introduces the firm's trademark decentralized structure.

1955 Fastex, a unit focused on plastic products, is formed.

ITW's Licon division was formed in 1959 to produce electric switches and electromechanical products.

1962 ITW forms Hi-Cone, specializing in plastic drink packaging.

In 1970 Harold B. Smith stepped down from the chairmanship of ITW. By this time ITW was an internationally recognized name.

Most notable was ITW's entry into the adhesives industry with the 1975 purchase of Devcon Corporation.

More importantly, revenues surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time in 1989 and earnings continued to increase steadily, reaching $182.4 million that year.

In 1993 ITW added the Miller Group Ltd., a maker of arc welding equipment which had $250 million in revenues.

The possibility that Farrell would be even more aggressive than Nichols was raised in late 1995 when ITW made its first hostile takeover bid in the company’s history, a $134 million offer for fastener maker Elco Industries Inc., a venture that failed after ITW was outbid for Elco by Textron.

However, in November 1999 the company completed the biggest acquisition in its history, a $3.4 billion deal for Premark International, Inc. of Deerfield, Illinois.

Broken apart into more than two dozen smaller autonomous businesses, they also helped increase the number of ITW units to nearly 600 by the end of 2000.

2003 Revenues surpass $10 billion, while profits surge past $1 billion.

In 2004 the profit figure of $1.34 billion and the revenue total of $11.73 billion both represented sharp jumps from the preceding year.

During 2005 the company purchased 22 companies for a net total of more than $625 million.

Speer became chairman as well in August 2006 upon Farrell's retirement.

In 2013, ITW launched the ITW David Speer Academy, a STEM-focused charter high school honoring the legacy of David Speer, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who was a tireless champion for education as a means to economic opportunity.