ENGINEERING
Every quality product starts with a quality design. Our engineering department is responsible for designing and improving the many products we manufacture. New products are born here and existing products are made better here.
DIE ROOM
 Our fine quality hand tools begin their useful lives as a diameter rod of high carbon steel. Before our mighty forge hammers get to them, a skilled group of die sinkers fabricate the all-important dies that will be used to forge the finished pliers. Here, time-tested die sinking techniques mingle with state-of-the-art technology.
FORGE SHOP
In the forge shop, monstrous die forgers hammer out the impressions of our pliers from red-hot rods of steel. This thunderous procedure is one of the most critical in the entire manufacturing process.
HEAT TREAT
Steel is a funny material. Heat it too much and it becomes hard and brittle.
Heat it  too little and it
remains relatively “soft” and easily fatigued. Our unique heat treating processes ensure a very controlled, uniform tempering that's strong enough to withstand great force, but flexible enough to resist breakage under load conditions. In addition, we perform an additional, high-tech heat treating for increased hardness on areas of increased stress such as teeth and cutting edges.
METALLURGY
Our state-of-the-art metallurgical lab ensures that the steel we use to manufacture our pliers meets the strict standards that we demand. The lab also ensures that our products adhere to similarly strict standards throughout the manufacturing process.
MACHINE SHOP
Each of our fine products is subject to numerous machining operations such as high-speed milling, grinding broaching, punching, drilling and counter-boring. CNC (computerized numerical control) equipment makes fast and efficient work of most machining operations.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Our QA technicians keep an eye on our quality at all stages of manufacture. They continually test product samples for adherence to strict quality control standards in support of our commitment to continued ISO-9001:2000 certification.
TOOL ROOM
Our hometown of Meadville, Pennsylvania is often referred to as Tool
City USA. The  area is home to more tool and die shops — and more tool and die professionals — than any other city that we know of. CHANNELLOCK's toolmakers are the cream of the crop. They use their expertise to craft the myriad fixtures and gages used throughout our manufacturing and quality assurance processes.
POLISHING
The careful polishing of our pliers and other hand tools serves  to smooth rough edges left from the forging process and to give our products their characteristic quality appearance. When combined with our patented CHANNELLOCK BLUE Ò comfort grips, our products' appearance leaves no mistake to the customer that he or she is about to purchase CHANNELLOCK ® quality.
FINISHING
Some of our finest craftspeople work in this department. Our filers ensure that our cutting pliers have the sharpest and most consistent edges on the market. They test each and every product that passes through their hands. Associates also adjust the fasteners to ensure that the pivot mechanism works smoothly, without excessive “play” or stiffness.
MAINTENANCE
Where would any manufacturing operation be without a skilled group of individuals who can fix just about anything that breaks? Our maintenance associates not only repair equipment and facilities, they help us perform processes better and more efficiently too!
ASSEMBLY
This is where our tongue and groove product line receives its PermaLockÒ fastener - a truly unique fastener that completely eliminates the problem of traditional nut and bolt fastener failures.
CLEAN, DIP and GRIP
 Our blue heaven! Here, all CHANNELLOCK-manufactured products are given their most identifiable feature. CHANNELLOCK BLUE Ò comfort grips are so universally recognized that no competitor is permitted to use the same color (or anything too close to it) on their comparable products.
Our unique, integrated system for cleaning, protective coating, and dipping our pliers won Channellock, Inc. Pennsylvania 's Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence in 2002.
FINAL INSPECTION/PACKAGING
Our keen-eyed inspectors are the final judges of CHANNELLOCK ® quality. If they don't like what they see, the customer won't see the product. We're happy to report that they're a pretty satisfied bunch!
SHIPPING
 Our shipping associates are always on the move. That's what it takes to ensure on-time and complete delivery on orders! Feel free to say “hello,” but don't expect them to stay and chat!
We hope you enjoyed this brief look at how CHANNELLOCK makes the world's greatest pliers. We believe you won't look at a pair of our pliers quite the same again.
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