connectool Inc., (Paladin Tools)
The company was originally named Paladin Corporation after the knight of the middle ages, or paladin, who served the king as a special messenger. The paladin signaled his success or failure to those at the castle using his banner. If the paladin returned from his mission victorious, the knight's banner was turned to the left. If the paladin brought bad news, the banner was turned to the right. Paladin's knight faced left in our logo and brought only good news.
In October 1996, we moved our corporate and production facility to Ashland, Virginia, just north of Richmond. On January 1, 1998, Paladin changed its name to connectool Inc. while keeping our brand name as Paladin Tools.
Our goal at Paladin Tools is to provide our worldwide customers with innovatively-engineered, high-quality tools for wire and cable preparation. Because our focus is on design and customer service, we find solutions where others can't.
Join us for our next twenty years as we develop exciting new products that will become the industry standards of the next century. We originated many of the products that have become standards in the electronics industry including these:
connectool Inc. is a member of the Weidmüller Group along with its sister company connectool GmbH & Co. in Detmold, Germany. The products of the Weidmüller Group connect, condition and network electrical signals and power in equipment, machinery and installations.
C. A. Weidmüller was founded by Carl August Weidmüller in 1850 as a manufacturer of textiles and fasteners. In 1931, Gottfried Gläsel purchased the company. The direction of Weidmüller changed in 1948 with the launch of the first terminal blocks made from thermoset plastic with a tension clamp system and screw fixing.
The Weidmüller Group currently employs over 3,500 people worldwide with 1997 sales of over $500 million.