K-D Mfg

K-D Manufacturing began in 1918 as a partnership between Harry W. Kulp and Martin C. Dellinger, two inventors who were working on a new type of valve lifter. By 1919 their prototype was functional and the company began production from a home workshop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

K-D Manufacturing remained independent through the 1970s, but by the late 1980s had become part of EASCO, a company which had previously acquired Moore Drop Forging along with its major Craftsman tool contract.

Then in 1990 K-D became part of Danaher when EASCO was acquired by the Danaher Group, a conglomerate of tool companies which also included Matco and Armstrong.

In 2010 most of the Danaher tool brands (except for Matco) were combined with the tool operations of Cooper Industries as a joint venture, forming the Apex Tool Group. The Apex Tool Group was later sold to a private equity holding company, where it continues in operation today.