L-1255 Boilermakers have been making Klein Tools at Elk Grove, Illinois, for decades.
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Craftsmen don’t buy junk tools. They buy the tools that work right and last; the tools that were made right. So, it only makes sense that one of the “go to” brands for craftsmen is Klein Tools. Klein Tools are not only used by craftsmen, they’re made by them.
Local 1255 Boilermakers (Chicago) are the craftsmen and craftswomen who have been making Klein Tools for decades.
“You have to understand how important quality is, and you have to care about the quality of the product,” says Brandon Wilke, Operations Manager for Klein Tools, explaining the company’s foundation of excellence. “The Boilermakers understand what high quality is, and they understand the importance of it to our end user.”
That’s because the end users are often the union brothers and sisters—sometimes other Boilermakers, but also Ironworkers and frequently Electrical Workers. IBEW and Klein Tools have a longstanding partnership, and much of the company’s product line goes into the hands of Electrical Workers.
“These are the best electrical tools in the United States,” says L-1255 President Roberto Andrade.
At the Elk Grove, Illinois, facility where L-1255 Boilermakers work, they make Klein’s tool forgings out of American-sourced, high-quality proprietary tool steel. The final tools are finished and assembled elsewhere, but for a lot of the products that have made a name and reputation for Klein, it all begins right there, with the Boilermakers.
Some of the flagship products made in Elk Grove include wire cutters, wire strippers, cable cutters, wrenches, wire-pulling grips for heavy utility industry, block and tackle and the company’s bread-and-butter tool, a nine-inch sidecut plier better known as “The Klein.” And that’s just a fraction of the Klein catalog.
The Boilermakers’ loyalty to doing their best in any role or for any part of a Klein Tool product goes beyond simple work ethic.
L-1255 member Freddy Lazar has worked for Klein Tools for nearly 48 years. He’s had different roles over the years and seen many changes, but he said it’s consistently been a good company to work for, management has treated employees well and the union and company have maintained a positive relationship.
All these years have been good for us,” he says. “We keep working and having good contracts. It’s good pay and a lot of good people. It’s been fun and it’s been good for the family. And when you see our tools for sale or you meet someone and tell them you work for Klein Tools, it’s just unbelievable.
– Freddy Lazar, L-1255, Klein Tools, 48 years
Lazar is just one of many long-time employees. The parking lot is full of “25-year employee” reserved spots. Andrade, who’s worked there 35 years jokes that he’s “almost a new guy.” He says nobody wants to quit. Everyone works hard, and Klein Tools expects a lot of employees, but, Andrade says, they also make sure needs are met, they reward employees and any problems are quickly resolved.
“Klein Tools is doing something right to keep their workforce here this long,” says Don Hamric, Executive Director of Industrial Sector Operations. “The Boilermakers are doing something right to help this partnership go on like it is.”
They have to. The Boilermakers count on Klein Tools to remain a steady employer and industry leader, and Klein Tools counts on the Boilermakers to keep them on top. It’s a win-win.
“The product itself is better when the company cares, because you care for the product yourself,” says Manuel Busso, a Boilermaker who started with Klein Tools seven years ago. He said it’s especially exciting to witness new tools being developed and seeing how the engineers shape and improve them.
“The company’s been around a long time, and being a part of that is something to be proud of,” he says. “It’s a good company to work for and a good union.”
His father has worked at Klein for 20 years, and Busso looks forward to his own career there.
“I see people who care. I see people that want the product they’re producing to be of the utmost quality,” Wilke says. “You’ve got to have the people out there on the floor with the passion for doing it in order to satisfy your customers.”
As Boilermaker craftsmen and craftswomen do.
“We’re checking dimensions down to thousandths of an inch. On a forging, that’s pretty precise,” he adds. “We can trust them that the product they’re producing is going to be up to the company’s standards and up to the end-users’ standards as well.”
Andrade sums it up—more as a fact than an opinion: “All the quality is here, and all the people around are the best.”
“I love it,” he adds. “I love to make tools.”
