With over 80 years experience in the tool industry, Skil have become an international quality organisation and now form part of the Bosch group.
The company was innovative from the beginning when American inventor, Edmond Michel, decided that hard work should be easier. In 1923 he developed the world’s first electrically powered handsaw. On reading about the invention in a newspaper, Joseph Sullivan set out to find Edmond, and together they worked on how they could mass-produce the new handsaw. Their revolutionary saw was christened the ‘Skilsaw’.
The Michel Electric HandSaw Company was founded in 1924, with the company name being changed to Skilsaw Inc. a year later.
In the 1950s, the company changed its name again, becoming Skil Corporation, and expanded outside its native borders for the first time. International sales began in Canada, followed a few years later by Europe. By that time, Skil had also entered the consumer market and, by 1959, had a full and successful range of DIY tools.
Skil’s European factory was built in 1961 in the Dutch town of Breda, followed soon after by the electric motor plant at Eindhoven.
From the 1970s onwards, Skil constructed a network of factories, service centres and sales offices all around the world, its name becoming synonymous with power tools.
At Skil, quality is integrated into every product and every process. This was officially recognised in 1993 when Skil became the first power tool company to receive the ISO 9001 certificate.
The growth of Skil increased even further after the take-over by Bosch in 1996 and Skil tools really are the products of the 21st century. The company has grown through innovation and a commitment to producing high-quality power tools.
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