https://archive.ph/N5pPO https://archive.ph/N5pPO > [German] Chairman Horst J. Pudwill, a former Volkswagen executive ... co-founded the company in 1985 as a m

https://archive.ph/N5pPO https://archive.ph/N5pPO > [German] Chairman Horst J. Pudwill, a former Volkswagen executive ... co-founded the company in 1985 as a maker of rechargeable battery packs for cordless tools. It then made tools for do-it-yourselfers on a contract basis for Sears Holdings Corp.'s (SHLD ) Craftsman brand, among others. Then it bought control of brands, including rights to the Ryobi name outside Japan, Royal vacuum cleaners, and Homelite garden tools. The big move was the $626 million purchase of Milwaukee Electric Tool and Germany's AEG Power Tools -- both premier brands used by professionals -- from Atlas Copco. > Techtronic can also take new tools from the conceptual stage to production in as little as six months, thanks to 24/7 collaboration among designers in Asia and Techtronic's "concept centers" in Hong Kong, South Carolina, Germany, and Britain.