Bridis Cuellar
Mr. Skipper
Encounters 7
December 21, 2022
THE TOOL GENIUSES
Introduction
Many people depend on power tools to fix stuff in their life. Black and Decker is the world's leading power tool maker company. The Black and Decker company was founded by Alonzo Galloway Decker and Samuel Duncan Black. Alonzo and Duncan were two power tool engineers that helped many people with their famous tools. Black was the president or leader of the company. The Black and Decker name is “admired by craftsmen and tool users the world over '' (S. Duncan Black). They first started to manufacture electric power tools. They faced many difficulties during big events like the Great Depression and World War Two. Even though many layoffs happened, they went bankrupt many times. Many employees continued to work even though they were not getting paid because the company was going bankrupt. “Black and Decker’s innovation brought power tools to the people and laid the foundation for the modern power tool industry” ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.). Today, the Black and Decker company is an industrial corporation serving builders and makers.
Early History
Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker had very different childhoods in their life. Samuel Duncan Black was born on August 2, 1883, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Samuel W. Black and Alice Duncan. He had a total of five siblings growing up; Millard, Alice, Edith, Edward, and Robert. He got married in 1903 to a woman named Anna. Together they had three kids, Elizabeth, Alice, and Samuel. Black had a way easier childhood than Decker. His parents were in the middle class, so he got to attend high school and graduate. After graduating he began to get into sales and went to work for the Rowland Telegraph Co., and that's when he later met his new business partner. ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr. )
Alonzo Galloway Decker was born on January 16, 1884, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were John A. Decker and Mary Elizabeth Galloway. His father was a cabinetmaker for work. He had two siblings growing up. Alonzo Decker had a very rough childhood. At the age of seven, his dad died. Which resulted in him dropping his education and finding a job at such a young age to support his family financially, his first job was at a foundry, where he poured hot brass into molds to create things. Later he got married to a woman named Fannie Dungan Fox. They had three children together,
-Alonzo Galloway Jr, Virginia L., and Jane T. ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr. )
Beginning of Career
Alonzo and Duncan were very ordinary employees but they didn’t know that they were going to advance so much in their careers. Decker and Black were hired by Rowland Telegraph Company. Decker was offered $25 by another company but when Rowland refused the offer he quit. Then a very loyal customer of Decker encouraged him to start his own company and even offered to pay as much money as possible for the business. Feeling encouraged, Decker opened up his first shop. He even tried to convince Black to join him but Black was very hesitant to quit his job because he had a very good income from working there. Then Rowland cut their sales commission, and Black knew it was time to quit his job. Once both men quit their job in 1910 they began their company with only $1,200 in the capital. The lack of money got in their way but they started making a bottle capping machine and candy-dipping device. The idea of Black and Decker was to develop their own tools and machines that would sell a lot in the market ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.). In 1917 Black and Decker released their portable air compressor tool in the market which they named “Lecrowater”. The product sold really well but it wasn’t enough to keep the company running. They later came out with a second tool not knowing that it would start a power tool revolution and become a signature product that would define the company. It was a portable half-inch electric drill with a patented pistol grip (Highlights In Black and Decker History).
Significant Accomplishments
The Black and Decker company made great products throughout the years, but the product that made this company famous and changed the company forever was the portable electric drill. This product was the best idea that they had ever come up with, the portable electric drill made their company skyrocket and everyone knew about it. "Fueled by Decker's expert engineering and Black's uncanny sales ability, the company took off like a rocket". ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo Decker Sr. ) By 1918 the company expanded all over the world, even though they only started with $1,200 invested and now has one million dollars just by annual sales. They started to sell low-priced products. Even though the company had many problems that they faced in the Great Depression and World War II. They still managed to expand their company all over the world and make sales. There were a lot of layoffs and the company almost went bankrupt. Even though all the layoffs and the company going bankrupt many loyal employees continued to work even though they were not getting paid. When World War II happened Black and Decker started to sell shells, fuses and stuff that contributed to the War that was happening. Alonzo and Duncan were trying to avoid what happened with World War I. “Black and Decker believed that the key was to postwar consumers” (S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.). In 1946 the Black and Decker company released the words of home power tools. Then in 1961, they released the cordless electric drill which had no cord connected to the drill. At first the drill was only seen as an industrial tool, and also was seen as very expensive by the customers. But when the Black and Decker company started to notice that their employees borrowed the drills to take home it sparked a bright idea into their head. The company had made plans for Black and Decker to make power tools for do-it-yourself products. (Highlights In Black and Decker History)
Impact on the world
The Black and Decker company has had a great impact on the world with their power tools. To this day the Black and Decker company is still a very famous company for its power tools that they have made. It’s also the most used power tool company in small household projects. “The company has manufacturing operations in 14 countries, and its products and services are marketed in more than 100 countries” (S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.). Even though the Black & Decker company went through many problems during World War Two and The Great Depression they managed to make their company bigger for the better. After World War Two and The Great Depression Black & Decker became very famous, due to its do-it-yourself home products. The do-it-yourself idea came from the realization that their employees were taking some of the power tools home. After releasing the product they became the world’s largest industrial power tool company. To this day, their company’s product line has increased to include gardening and lawn products. It also includes household items such as “the Dustbuster, security hardware, fastening systems, glass-container-making equipment, plumbing supplies, and even steel golf club shafts” ( S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.).
“S. Duncan Black & Alonzo G. Decker Sr.” Entrepreneur, 10 October 2008,
entrepreneur.com/article/197612. Accessed December 16, 2022