1917 -The Company received a patent for the pistol grip and trigger switch on its drill. It also built the first Black & Decker plant, with 12,000 square feet of floor space in a frame building in Towson U.S.A., then a rural suburb of Baltimore U.S.A.
1922 - The Company formed its first foreign subsidiary, Black & Decker Manufacturing Company, Ltd., in Canada and built its first wholly owned assembly operation and sales, service and warehouse facility outside the U.S.A. The Company also added the electric screwdriver to its growing product line.
1925 - International expansion continued. Black & Decker, Ltd. was organized in London, England, as a wholly owned sales, service and warehouse subsidiary serving the United Kingdom.
1928 - Black & Decker acquired Van Dorn Electric Tool Company of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., a manufacturer of industrial power tools.
1929 - Black & Decker (Australasia) Pty., Ltd. was established in Sydney, Australia. The subsidiary was a wholly owned assembly, motor winding, sales, service, and warehousing operation.
1941 - The Towson plant began to manufacture fuses, gun shells and other ordnance for the Allies. Despite the diversion of resources to the war effort, the Company continued to produce power tools within legislated limits.
1943 - Black & Decker received the prestigious Army-Navy "E" award for production, one of four World War II citations awarded to the Company.
1946 - A subsidiary was established with responsibility for developing business in the Western Hemisphere. Pushing south, the Company opened sales, service and warehouse facilities in São Paulo, Brazil.
Bottom picture: Black and Decker ad, from the late 1920s, featuring the use of its tools in the building of Conowingo Dam. [Image credit: http://www.conowingolake.com/gpage4.html] Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/o7wxh or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/232652009/black-and-decker-ad-from-the-late-1920s
1950 - The one-millionth 1/4" Home Utility drill came off the assembly line, a milestone in the Company's manufacturing history.
1951 - S. Duncan Black, co-founder and president since 1910, died on April 15 at the age of 68, and Alonzo G. Decker, Sr. became president. The Company broke ground for a 121,000 square foot plant in Hampstead, Maryland U.S.A.
1954 - While continuing to serve as president, Alonzo G. Decker, Sr. was elected to the newly created position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.
1955 - Black & Decker South Africa (Pty.), Ltd. was set up as a wholly owned sales and service subsidiary in Johannesburg (relocated to Cape Town in 1958), and the Company built a 50,000 square foot plant at Croydon, Victoria, Australia.
1956 - Alonzo G. Decker, Sr. died on March 18, at the age of 72. Robert D. Black, a long-time executive of the Company and brother of S. Duncan Black, was named chairman of the board and president.
1957 – 1958 - Black & Decker (Belgium) S.A. was created as a wholly owned sales, service and warehouse subsidiary in Brussels. In 1958, Black & Decker (New Zealand) Ltd. was opened in Auckland while Black & Decker, G.m.b.H. was established in Dusseldorf, Germany, and Black & Decker (Nederland) B.V. was organized in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
1959 - Black & Decker organized a subsidiary called Master Power Corporation to acquire Master Pneumatic Tool Company, a manufacturer of portable air tools with operations in Ohio and Canada.
1960 - Alonzo G. Decker, Jr., son of the co-founder and a Black & Decker employee since 1930, succeeded Robert D. Black as president. Mr. Black continued as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Black & Decker acquired DeWalt, Inc. of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of radial arm saws and other stationary woodworking equipment in the U.S. and Canada.
1965 - The Hampstead plant grew by 240,000 square feet to accommodate a transfer of manufacturing from Towson. The move marked the end of manufacturing at Towson, where plant facilities were refurbished to accommodate expanded research and applied technology activities.
1967 – 1968 - The United Kingdom company was awarded the Queen's Award to Industry for outstanding achievement in increasing exports. The Italian company won the coveted Oscar del Commercia from the Italian government for its overall contributions to the domestic economy.
1970 – 1971 - The Company acquired the Carbide Router Company, Inc. of Moonachie, New Jersey, U.S.A. In 1971, Black & Decker (Nigeria), Ltd. in Lagos and Black & Decker Argentina S.A.C.I. in Buenos Aires were organized as wholly owned sales and service subsidiaries.
1972 - The Japanese government granted approval in 1972 for Black & Decker to manufacture power tools in that country. Nippon B&D KK became the first non-Japanese company in five years to be given such approval on a private ownership basis.
1974 - Sales passed the $500 million mark. The first one-year customer satisfaction guarantee was introduced by Black & Decker in the U.S.A.
1975 - Alonzo G. Decker, Jr. relinquished the position of chief executive officer, but continued as chairman of the board. Francis P. Lucier succeeded Mr. Decker as chief executive officer and continued as president. It was the first time in the Company's history that a member of the Black or Decker families did not hold the post of chief executive officer.
1979 - The U.S. power tools business was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary under the name of Black & Decker (U.S.), Inc. Annual sales topped $1 billion for the first time.
1981 - Robert D. Black, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer, died on March 21, at the age of 84.
1984 - Black & Decker announced a major reorganization plan to realign corporate management and consolidate manufacturing. Plants were closed at Maidenhead and Harmondsworth, England; Kildare, Ireland; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Solon, Ohio U.S.A. Manufacturing was transferred to other Black & Decker facilities. Also in 1984, the Company acquired General Electric Company’s small household appliance business. Black & Decker launched a brand transition program; unprecedented in scope, to transfer the Black & Decker brand name to the household appliances acquired from General Electric.
1984 - Reflecting its broader product line and global marketing expertise, the Company adopted a new logo. The new logo retained the strong orange color that had long been identified with the Company and kept the heritage of the hexagon.
1985 - Black & Decker turned 75. A celebration marking the occasion included placing a capsule of Company memorabilia in the newly renovated engineering building at Towson. The capsule will remain sealed until 2085. Signaling greater emphasis on marketing and sales, the Company’s stockholders approved a name change to The Black & Decker Corporation.
1987 - Black & Decker’s rebound gathered steam. Earnings doubled, and sales were the highest in the Company’s history. Sales exceeded $2 billion, and Black & Decker were ranked by Fortune among the 200 largest U.S.-based industrial companies. Sales & Marketing Management Magazine ranked Black & Decker as having the best sales force in an U.S.A. survey.
1988 - The Company was awarded the Medal of Professional Excellence by Purchasing Magazine for its world-class purchasing operations and expertise.
1989 - Black & Decker acquired Emhart Corporation ($2.8 billion in revenues) in 1989, nearly doubling the Company’s size and adding a compatible global presence and an array of well-respected brand names, including Kwikset® residential door locks and hardware, Price Pfister® faucets, Molly® wall anchors, POP® rivets, True Temper golf club shafts and many other consumer and commercial products. Black & Decker was inducted into the U.S.A. Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame for its cordless power tool achievements and contributions to NASA’s Gemini and Apollo programs.
1990 - The Company repaid nearly $700 million of acquisition debt with proceeds from the sale of six non-strategic businesses. (Two additional operations were sold early in 1991, generating over $100 million in additional proceeds for debt repayment.) Of 6,000 brands surveyed among 10,000 consumers, Black & Decker ranked seventh in brand name awareness and esteem in the U.S. and nineteenth in Europe. Black & Decker initiated a Total Quality Process focusing on raising the level of customer satisfaction within every segment of the Company’s operations.
1992 – The entirely new DEWALT line of professional products for North America was launched.
1993 – The Company’s new product and service commitment to the consumer channel of distribution earned it the Vendor of the Year awards from Wal-Mart, Builders Square, L.G. Cook, BMA, Channel Home Centers, and several other U.S.A. key accounts. Also launched the selected Elu line of professional power tools for Europe.
1995 – The new line of DeWalt Professional Power Tools & Accessories launches in Europe
1996 – Nearly all businesses hold first- or second- place market shares in their industries and improved their positions during the year, reflecting the continuous flow of innovative new products.
1998 – Black & Decker reports the strongest balance sheet in ten years and sales of core businesses reach record levels.
1999 - Focus begins on more fully globalizing the business by employing the internet and "e-business" strategies to support key retail partners as they expand in North America and around the world.
2002 – Black & Decker ® and Hitachi Koki enter into cooperative arrangement in the power tools business
2003 – Black & Decker ® sells its European security hardware business to Assa Abloy for $108 million
2003 - Black & Decker ® purchase Baldwin Hardware Corporation and Weiser Lock Corporation from Masco, for a cash purchase price for the transaction in the region of $275 million
2004 – Black & Decker ® reports earnings per share before restructuring charges of $1.35 for the fourth quarter of 2003 and record $4.02 for the full year; generating $480 million free cash
2004 – Black & Decker ® reports a record earnings per share from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2004
2004 - Black & Decker ® announce the purchase of the Tools Group from Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR) for approximately $775 million in cash. The Tools Group, which includes the Porter-Cable, Delta, DeVilbiss Air Power, Oldham Saw, and FLEX businesses, had sales of $1.08 billion and operating profit of $82 million in 2003.
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