Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Vanished tool makers: Park Metalware Company (Xcelite), Orchard Park, New York






This is the extent of my selection of tools made under this brand.

The brand goes back to 1921 when the Park Metalware Company was founded in Orchard Park, New York, close to Buffalo.  It eventually produced tools under both the "Xcel" and "XceLite" brands. The company name was formally changed to Xcelite, Inc. in 1952.  


Radio & Television Retailing, February 1952

The company was acquired by Cooper Industries in 1973, joining Apex tools, Crescent pliers and wrenches, Diamond tools, Lufkin measuring tapes, Nicholson files and saws, Plumb hammers, Utica tools, Weller soldering equipment, Wiss and H.K. Porter cutting products. Cooper is now part of the Apex Tool Group, which continues to market the Xcelite brand.

Popular Mechanics, June 1933
Popular Mechanics, July 1944
Popular Mechanics, November 1944

Radio News, November 1944

Popular Mechanics, April 1945
Popular Mechanics, October 1945
Popular Mechanics, March 1946

Popular Mechanics, April 1946
Popular Mechanics, May 1971

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Man, I love their tools. I have quite a selection of their stuff, and it is always pretty good quality.

Chuck said...

These were the first tools I bought for my first job in 1972 after completing two years of RCA school for electronics technology in New York City. I've continued to add to my tools, some specifically for electronics and electro mechanics until I retired in 2006. They are the best.