Over 140 Years of Inventions

C & E FEIN GmbH (Gmünd-Bargau, Germany), the manufacturer of professional power tools, has a proud history going back over 140 years. The company's story is characterized throughout by pioneering inventions. This richly inventive spirit has provided the momentum for success and lays the foundations for the ideas of the future: the company holds more than 800 active industrial property rights, including around 500 patents and patent applications.

The company was founded in 1867, in Karlsruhe, Germany, by brothers Wilhelm Emil and Carl Fein as a 'workshop for the manufacture of physical and electrical apparatus.? Three years later, the business moved to Stuttgart. The use of electrical energy in numerous inventions was a hallmark from the beginning. Diverse electrical innovations like the electric fire alarm, the first portable telephone and the first automatic coffee machine reveal the inventive genius of the company founders.

Their aim was to manufacture equipment and develop ideas with practical value and importance in many different areas of life ? in day-to-day living, in industry and technology, and in physics. Even in those early days, the business was focused on developing tools with real practical benefits for the user.

In 1895 the world's first electric hand drills left the development workshop, a tool that would revolutionize manual working. It can still be seen today at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. This was followed
in 1906 by a hand held grinder. The company was not slow to recognize the potential of the new hand-operated power tool. In 1908 it became a 'specialized factory for power tools.?

In 1914 the first hammer drill was launched on the market with an electro-pneumatic hammer action. The first ever jigsaw was also developed and patented. In 1967 an oscillating power tool, a new oscillating plaster cast saw, was invented. The plaster cast saw formed the basis of a range of sophisticated oscillating power tools.

Recent decades have produced numerous other inventions and innovations. The first oscillating delta sander was developed and patented in 1986. This universal grinder suddenly allowed users to grind work pieces that previously could only be machined by hand. The grinding disc, in the shape of a spherical triangle, and the oscillating motion achieved optimum grinding results even in previously inaccessible areas.

Versatility, robust construction and, above all, safety have always been at the forefront of development, and these characteristics are specifically deployed to make work safer, faster and more convenient for users in manual trades and industry. In 1987 the first safety angle grinder with brake and QuickIN tool clamping system were built. This keyless tool-changing system was then adapted for core drills and later transferred to other products.

For dry wall screw guns a special clutch for precise, silent cut-off when the set screw depth is reached was developed. Angle grinders with TipStart technology offer the convenience of switch-free operation and safety for the user. In January 2007 the company launched the latest generation of the MultiMaster with the QuickIN tool clamping system that significantly reduces the time required to change tools ? a particular benefit in applications and renovation jobs where frequent tool changes are required. This universal system for interior construction and renovation is the result of over 110 years of experience in power tools and over 40 years' experience in oscillation technology.

Today, the company continues to develop new ideas on a daily basis ? ideas that will make the applications of tomorrow easier to handle. This longstanding power tool manufacturer has 840 employees, 570 of who work in
Germany. The company now markets its power tools through 16 international subsidiaries and representations in 61 countries.

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www.fein.com