Tools
Tools Inc. is a privately held US metal stamping and tool & die manufacturer (founded 1952, Sussex, WI) that designs, builds, and runs deep draw and progressive dies to produce class A stamped metal assemblies for enterprise OEM customers in motorcycle, appliance, outdoor power equipment, and gaming industries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1952
- HeadquartersSussex, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Tools does
Tools Incorporated ("Tools Inc.") is a privately held US metal stamping and tool & die manufacturer, founded in 1952 and headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin. The company operates from a 112,000 square foot facility near Interstate I-94 and delivers a vertically integrated set of manufacturing services spanning five service lines — Design & Engineering, Tool & Die, Stamping & Laser, Fabrication & Assembly, and Quality Assurance — to four primary vertical end-markets: motorcycle, watercraft and recreational vehicles; high-end appliances; outdoor power equipment and agricultural equipment; and gaming/casino machines. Core technical capabilities include deep draw metal stamping and complex multi-station progressive die stamping using hydraulic and mechanical presses up to 1000 tons with bed sizes up to 60" x 144", four 5-axis laser cutting centers rated to 3500 watts, MIG/adhesive/mechanical assembly, and a unique "shimmy trimming" process for 360-degree trimming in a single press stroke.
The company's engineering workflow uses Dynaform for forming simulation, SolidWorks, Mechanical Desktop, and ProE for CAD, with inspection executed via FARO Edge scanning and PC-DMIS CMM, supported by Geomagic Qualify for CAD-to-part deviation analysis. Quality systems are certified to ISO 9001:2015 with PPAP, PFMEA, capability studies, and control plans. Differentiation rests on 60+ years of specialization in deep draw class A cosmetic surface parts (carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum) for environments requiring blemish-free finishes, durable coatings, or chrome plating.
Tools Inc. operates as a B2B enterprise field-sales manufacturer with no public pricing — contracts are quote-based and assemblies ship direct to customer assembly lines. The customer base is concentrated in four OEM verticals with no named anchor customers disclosed in the input, and the company is privately held with no institutional investment, parent company, or public listing indicated. Tools Inc.'s value proposition hinges on upfront engineering collaboration, in-house tool fabrication and tryout, and the ability to substitute 5-axis laser trimming for conventional trim dies when product volume or geometry does not justify additional die cost.
Tools firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tools
- Legal name
- Tools Incorporated
- Website
- https://toolsinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1952
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Tools Inc. is a privately held US metal stamping and tool & die manufacturer (founded 1952, Sussex, WI) that designs, builds, and runs deep draw and progressive dies to produce class A stamped metal assemblies for enterprise OEM customers in motorcycle, appliance, outdoor power equipment, and gaming industries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tools industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Metal Stamping Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Special Die and Tool, Die Set, Jig, and Fixture Manufacturing (333514), Forging and Stamping (3321)
- SIC
- Metal Forgings & Stampings (3460), Sheet Metal Work (3444)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)
Keywords
Where Tools is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sussex
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tools business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Manufacturing Services - Tool & Die: Tool design, building, repair, and troubleshooting for deep draw, progressive, compound, and secondary stamping dies. In-house fabrication of all dies using CNC machining centers.
- Metal Stamping Services: Deep draw metal stampings and complex multi-station progressive stampings. Production capabilities up to 1000 tons with bed sizes up to 60" x 144".
- Laser Cutting Services: Laser cutting services including 5-axis laser trimming when conventional trim dies are not justified by product quantity or geometry. Extends cost savings to customers.
- Fabrication & Assembly: Forming, welding, assembly, and finishing services resulting in assemblies shipped direct to customer assembly lines. Includes welding, adhesive bonding, mechanical assembly, finishing, and packaging.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Tools product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tools Inc. is a B2B metal stamping and tool & die manufacturer that designs and builds deep draw and progressive metal stamping dies, produces stamped metal components, and delivers fabricated and assembled parts to OEM customers. Services span upfront design and engineering, in-house tool and die build and tryout, high-tonnage stamping (up to 1,000 tons), five-axis laser trimming, and value-added fabrication, welding, finishing, and packaging for motorcycle, appliance, outdoor power equipment, and gaming OEMs.
Product overview
Tools Inc. is a complete tooling solutions company offering a comprehensive suite of manufacturing services for stamped metal parts. The company operates five integrated service lines: Design & Engineering (providing upfront collaboration, tool design, prototyping, and simulation using Dynaform, SolidWorks, and ProE), Tool & Die (building and maintaining deep draw, progressive, compound, and model trim dies), Stamping & Laser (deep draw and progressive stamping with presses up to 1000 tons plus five-axis laser trimming), Fabrication & Assembly (forming, welding, adhesive bonding, and finishing), and Quality Assurance (ISO 9001 certified inspection with CMM and FARO ARM). These services support four product verticals: Motorcycle/Watercraft/Recreation Vehicles, Appliance, Outdoor Power Equipment/Agricultural, and Gaming industries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Design & Engineering Services Upfront engineering collaboration and concurrent design services for OEM customers, including tool design, project management, prototyping, process development, deep draw simulation (Dynaform), reverse engineering, and 3D printing. Uses SolidWorks, Mechanical Desktop, ProE, and Dynaform software and is geared toward OEM engineering teams developing new stamped metal components.
- Tool & Die Services Design, build, repair, and troubleshooting of deep draw, progressive, compound, and secondary stamping dies, including model trim dies and die tryout capabilities. Performed in-house using CNC machining centers and is targeted at OEM customers who need to stand up or sustain tooling for production metal stamping.
- Stamping & Laser Services Production deep draw metal stamping and complex multi-station progressive stamping using hydraulic and mechanical presses up to 1,000 tons with bed sizes up to 60" x 144", supplemented by four five-axis laser trimming centers up to 3,500 watts. Targets OEM customers who need large-format or complex stamped components and offers laser cutting as an alternative when conventional trim dies are not justified by volume or geometry.
- Fabrication & Assembly Services Value-added fabrication and assembly, including forming, manual and robotic MIG welding, protrusion, stud and resistance welding, adhesive bonding, mechanical assembly, finishing, and packaging, with assemblies shipped direct to customer assembly lines. Serves OEM customers who want finished sub-assemblies rather than individual stampings.
- Quality Assurance Services ISO 9001:2015 certified quality assurance services, including PPAP, PFMEA, capability studies, control plans, in-process checks, FARO ARM measurement, Geomagic Qualify CAD inspection, and full-service CMM inspection using PC-DMIS software over a 60" x 28" x 24" range. Targets OEM customers and tier suppliers that require documented quality systems and tight-tolerance verification.
Quantifiable outcome
- Deep draw die designs validated through multiple forming simulation analyses prior to construction
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Tools
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Tools technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Tools partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Tools competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Winsert, Inc. Specialty manufacturer of precision metal components using stamping and machining for industrial and heavy-duty OEM applications. Similar size, vertical integration, and engineering-driven customer relationships.
- Sterling Manufacturing & Design: Mid-size US metal stamper offering engineering, tooling, stamping, and assembly services to industrial customers. Similar scope across the design-through-assembly value chain.
- Anchor Manufacturing Group: Mid-size US metal stamper providing deep draw, progressive die, and assembly services to OEM customers across multiple industrial verticals. Comparable in size, scope, and B2B contract-manufacturing motion to Tools Inc.
- Helander: Midwest-based metal stamping and fabrication company with progressive die and assembly capabilities serving industrial OEMs. Comparable geographic footprint and service-line breadth to Tools Inc.
- Utitec Inc. Precision metal stamper serving demanding industrial OEM applications with tight-tolerance components and engineered solutions. Overlaps with Tools Inc. in deep draw and progressive stamping expertise for non-automotive OEMs.
- Lakeshore Metal Products: Metal stamping and fabrication services including deep draw, progressive die, and assembly serving industrial OEM customers. Comparable B2B service portfolio and tooling capabilities to Tools Inc.
- Pacific Metal Stampings: Custom metal stamper offering deep draw, progressive die stamping, and value-added assembly for OEM customers. Comparable contract-manufacturing model and end-market mix to Tools Inc.
Broad incumbents
- Magna International (Cosma / Body Exteriors): Global automotive mega-supplier with extensive stamping, welding, and assembly operations. Order of magnitude larger than Tools Inc. but a reference point for the broader contract metal-forming space.
- Gestamp: Global Tier-1 metal stamping and forming supplier primarily serving automotive OEMs. Significantly larger and broader than Tools Inc. but competes in the same core metal forming technology.
- Shiloh Industries: Large diversified metal forming and stamping supplier serving automotive and industrial OEMs. Operates at greater scale and broader scope than Tools Inc. but in the same metal forming/stamping category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tools social profiles
Digital presenceTools compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Tools financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tools leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Tools funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tools M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tools
What does Tools do?
Tools Inc. is a B2B metal stamping and tool & die manufacturer that designs and builds deep draw and progressive metal stamping dies, produces stamped metal components, and delivers fabricated and assembled parts to OEM customers. Services span upfront design and engineering, in-house tool and die build and tryout, high-tonnage stamping (up to 1,000 tons), five-axis laser trimming, and value-added fabrication, welding, finishing, and packaging for motorcycle, appliance, outdoor power equipment, and gaming OEMs.
Is Tools a public or private company?
Tools is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Tools founded?
Tools was founded in 1952. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Tools based?
Tools is headquartered in Sussex, United States, in the North America region.
How does Tools make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Manufacturing Services - Tool & Die is the primary driver. The others are metal Stamping Services, laser Cutting Services and fabrication & Assembly.
Who are Tools's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Winsert, Inc., Sterling Manufacturing & Design, Anchor Manufacturing Group, Helander, Utitec Inc., Lakeshore Metal Products and Pacific Metal Stampings. Broad incumbents are Magna International (Cosma / Body Exteriors), Gestamp and Shiloh Industries.
Does Tools have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tools.
What industry is Tools in?
Tools's product category is Metal Stamping Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHADAC, Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping). Its NAICS code is 333514 and its SIC code is 3460.