ATG Honored for 50 Years as First Torx® Drive System Licensee
SPARKS, MD 02/28/17 --- On February 22, Apex Tool Group was honored for a milestone achievement: the 50th anniversary of our Torx® drive tooling licensing relationship with Acument Global Technologies. Executives from Acument visited our Dayton, Ohio plant, location of our Torx manufacturing, to present a commemorative trophy to ATG.
Acument recognized our 50-year partnership, as well as for ATG being the first drive tool manufacturer in its Torx licensing program. Torx screws are commonly found in applications such as automotive and industrial assembly, motorcycles, bicycle brake systems, computer equipment and consumer electronics.
“We are the North American, if not global, market leader in manufacturing industrial grade bits and sockets,” shared Bill Pugh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Apex Fastening Tools and Universal Joints. “There are other Torx licensees, but we stand out from our competitors because of the quality of steel we use, and our manufacturing processes such as heat treating.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Acument Technologies visited our Dayton plant to present an award recognizing the 50th anniversary of our licensing partnership. From left are: Tim Heitkamp, Mechanical Engineering Supervisor, R&D; Bill Pugh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Apex Fastening Tools and Universal Joint Businesses; Jim Wayman, Licensing Marketing Manager with Acument Global Technologies; and Mike Renfro, Director, Operations at our Dayton facility.
The Apex brand has been the trusted name for the most demanding industrial applications for more than 80 years. As the leading innovator in industrial-grade screwdriver bits and bit holders, Apex products can be found in the most challenging production environments.
Apex Tool Group became a licensee of what is now the universally-used Torx® fitment on February 20, 1967. In a press release, Acument’s Marty Bieschke, Director of IP & Licensing, shared that "The history of the Torx® drive system, now used worldwide in almost every industry, had its origins with the dedicated involvement of several key organizations. It was 50 years ago that the Apex Tool Group, then known as the Apex Machine and Tool Company, signed the license to develop the first Torx® drive tools that helped launch the product into the market. Today, ATG remains one of the main suppliers of quality Torx® tools used in every corner of the world. We congratulate them on their milestone achievement of 50 years producing Torx® tooling."
At the recognition event, Howard Steele, Director, Global Sales, Apex Fastening Tools added, "We are proud of our half-century relationship with Acument and its iconic Torx® drive systems. It is an honor to be one of the first Torx® licensees, and over the years our customers have seen tremendous value in ATG being one of the few worldwide manufacturers selected to produce Torx® fitments."