Same company with different names, for over 100 years! I don't believe "General Tools" by itself was ever an official company name. "General" is now the official company name.
General began as the brainchild of Abe and Lillian Rosenberg in New York City in 1922. Originally dubbed General Hardware Manufacturing Co., the company specialized in the wholesale of "hard goods," offering a full-range of domestic and professional items from clothesline pulleys and screen-door hardware, to specialty hand tools.
It wasn't long before Abe, a former WWI veteran & a vibrant, creative thinker, began to develop his own product ideas. With Lillian running the store, Abe would go out on the road in search of machine shops to manufacture his tools. By 1930 he had outsourced a small line of specialty items, including circle cutters, metal punches and pocket screwdrivers. By 1937, Abe and Lillian were selling their own products exclusively at General Hardware.
Abe’s thirst for new ideas kept General at the forefront of innovation, becoming one of the first to build die-cast tools. It was this innovation that resulted in General becoming charter member of the Sears 100 Club of Craftsman tool suppliers.
Over the years, General grew its product line and expanded into new market segments like digital test and measurement tools. After three generations of leadership by Abe’s family, the company was acquired by High Road Capital Partners in 2014 and most recently became part of Worthington Industries in 2021.
