Bahco
Established 1886Founded in 1886 by Swedish inventor and industrialist Johan Petter Johansson (1853–1943) as Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad, Bahco is a premium hand tool manufacturer. In 1916 Johansson sold all his stocks to Berndt August Hjorth and became an affiliate under the company BA Hjorth & Co. It was not until 1954 that the company changed its name to Bahco (an acronym of BA Hjorth & Co).
Johansson obtained over 100 patents in total, of which two are quite well-known. The first patent was the pipe wrench, a tool that replaced fixed spanners and, just like a human hand, was capable of gripping different size nuts and bolts. The next was for the very first adjustable spanner in 1891. This formed the basis for the adjustable wrench as we know it today. In some countries an adjustable wrench is still referred to as ‘Bahco’.
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