ITW Ransburg history

When he was 25 years old, Smith struck out on his own, founding the Northern Trust Company in 1879, which was to become one of the city's premier banking institutions.

In 1912, four Smith brothers advertised for experienced manufacturing workers to help them set up a new business producing metal-cutting tools to serve expanding midwestern industry.

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

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.

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

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.

When John D. Nichols took over as CEO in 1982, he was determined to keep ITW growing by investing more cash into the development of new product lines and in acquisitions, while cutting costs elsewhere to maintain profitability.

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.

The largest of 15 acquisitions in 1990 was that of the $200 million revenue DeVilbiss spray painting equipment business of Eagle Industries Inc. which built on the prior year's purchase of Ransburg Corporation, also a maker of spray painting equipment.

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.

During his tenure, Nichols also increased the company's presence outside the United States such that by 1996 about 35 percent of revenues were derived overseas, primarily from European operations.

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.

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.