POLOKWANE – He built his first multi-purpose tool after receiving his B.Sc in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University.
He spent his time traveling abroad, which included staying at hostels and driving an untrustworthy car.
This convinced Tim of the need for a pliers-based, multi-purpose tool. “I was carrying an old Boy Scouts-type knife and used it for everything from slicing bread to making adjustments to the car but I kept wishing I had a pair of pliers,” he explains.
Tim started to develop and patent his idea of creating a “Boy Scout knife with pliers” and on 5 July 1983, Tim along with his friend and colleague, Steve Berliner, officially incorporated Leatherman Tool Group Inc. based on a few simple but fundamental principles: manufacture the highest quality products that deliver excellent value to the consumer, while providing good, living-wage jobs to the local workforce. In that same year they sold the very first Pocket Survival Tool (PST) after a decade of knocking on doors and perfecting the idea.
Now, 33 years later, they are still going strong in the United States as well as other countries across the world.
“At Leatherman, we’re a group of fixers, outdoor enthusiasts, former service members, adventure seekers and just plain doers. We know our products will stand the test of time because we count on them ourselves everyday.
“Our mission is to inspire and prepare Leatherman owners for the expected and unexpected that inevitably will come their way. Every multi-tool and knife we ship out the door is crafted by one of the 700 Oregonians who call Leatherman a great place to work, and we stand behind our products with a no-questions-asked 25 year warranty.”
Visiting Trappers in Mall of the North last Monday, Tim engraved each customer’s Leatherman tool with a special message. One client, Johan Engelbrecht, even brought along his limited edition 30 year celebration set, so Leatherman could engrave it.
