History
The Greenlee brother’s story started in Pennsylvania. Their father, Edmund Greenlee, had developed a machine for wood barrel-making in their hometown of Crawford County in western Pennsylvania. The ink on their father’s patents was barely dry when the first oil well was drilled in western Pennsylvania in 1859 and the demand skyrocketed for barrels to ship the oil in. The twin brothers dedicated their father’s machines to the production of wood barrels to great success. In 1862, as the barrel demand tapered off in Pennsylvania, the brothers moved to Chicago, IL with their father’s blessing to continue the wood barrel-making business. It was there they established the Greenlee Bros. Company.
The Greenlee brother’s focus on problem-solving for customer applications led to their first great invention, the hollow chisel mortiser. The hollow chisel mortiser revolutionized the process of making mortise and tenon joints in woodworking around the world. The hollow chisel mortiser also was the inspiration for the Greenlee "Diamond G" logo that is used today.
Nowadays, Greenlee is a recognized leading manufacturer of high-quality tools for professional tradespeople. Carrying on in the tradition of the Greenlee brothers, the company is dedicated to innovating and developing the next generation of solutions, improving safety, ergonomics, and ease of use for professional tradesmen and women.
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