Company Profile: Fein Tools, Inventor of the First Electric Drill, First Hammer Drill & First Oscillating Delta Sander

C.&E. FEIN GmbH the manufacturer of professional and extremely reliable power tools, has a proud history going back to 1867.

The company's story is characterised throughout by pioneering inventions. This richly inventive spirit has provided the momentum for the company's success and lays the foundations for the ideas of the future: the Company holds more than 800 active industrial property rights, including around 500 patents and patent applications.

FEIN was founded in 1867, in Karlsruhe, by brothers Wilhelm Emil and Carl Fein as a 'workshop for the manufacture of physical and electrical apparatus'. Three years later, the business moved to Stuttgart. The use of electrical energy in numerous inventions was a hallmark of the Company from the beginning.

Diverse electrical innovations like the electric fire alarm, the first portable telephone and the first automatic coffee machine reveal the inventive genius of the company founders. Their aim was to manufacture equipment and develop ideas with practical value and importance in many different areas of day-to-day living, in industry and technology, and in physics. Even in those early days, the Company focused on developing tools with real practical benefits for the user.

In 1895 the world's first electric hand drill left the FEIN development workshop, a tool that would revolutionise manual working. It can still be seen today at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. This was followed in 1906 by a hand held grinder.

FEIN was not slow to recognize the potential of the new hand-operated power tool.

In 1908, FEIN became a 'specialised factory for power tools'.

In 1914 FEIN launched the first hammer drill with electropneumatic hammer action on the market.

FEIN also developed and filed a patent for the first ever jigsaw.

In 1895 FEIN employees engineered a way to make their own work easier, enter the worlds first power tool - The Electric Hand Drill!

In 1967 FEIN invented an oscillating power tool, a new oscillating plaster cast saw. The plaster cast saw formed the basis of Fein's range of sophisticated oscillating power tools.

In recent decades the Company has produced numerous other inventions and innovations.

The forerunner of today's FEIN MultiMaster, the first oscillating delta sander, was developed and patented in 1986. This universal grinder suddenly allowed users to grind work pieces that previously could only be machined by hand. The grinding disc, in the shape of a spherical triangle, and the oscillating motion achieved optimum grinding results even in previously inaccessible areas.

Versatility, robust construction and above all safety have always been at the forefront of development, and these characteristics are specifically deployed to make work safer, faster and more convenient for users in manual trades and industry.

In 1987 FEIN built the first safety angle grinder with brake and QuickIN tool clamping system.

This keyless tool-changing system was then adapted for FEIN core drills and later transferred to other FEIN products.

For dry wall screw guns FEIN developed a special clutch for precise, silent cut-off when the set screw depth is reached.

FEIN angle grinders with TipStart technology offer the convenience of switch-free operation and safety for the user.

In January 2007 FEIN launched the latest generation of the FEIN MultiMaster with the QuickIN tool clamping system. This system significantly reduces the time required to change tools: a real benefit in applications and renovation jobs where frequent tool changes are required.

This universal system for interior construction and renovation is the result of over 110 years of experience in power tools and over 40 years' experience in oscillation technology.

In 2011, FEIN presented the first handheld core drilling system for metal, KBH 25.

Today, FEIN continues to develop new ideas on a daily basis – ideas that will make the applications of tomorrow easier to handle.

THE COMPANY
The world's first power tool was invented by C. & E. FEIN GmbH. Wilhelm Emil Fein founded the Company in 1867. In 1895, FEIN invented the electric hand drill, the first ever power tool.

Today this long-standing Company is a world-renowned power tool manufacturer with 840 employees, 570 of whom work in Germany. The German manufacturer of premium products develops and produces application solutions for the metal, interior work and automotive sectors – professional and extremely reliable power tools for industry and manual trades.

FEIN holds more than 800 active industrial property rights, including around 500 patents and patent applications. FEIN markets its products through 16 international subsidiaries and representations in 61 countries. For over 150 years, FEIN has been synonymous with application solutions and premium quality.