iF product design award for Wuppertal-based branded goods manufacturer / Award-winning from more than 3.000 submissions / Wrench convinces the jury thanks to its specific product benefits / Extension of the range with additional dimensions in spring 2013 /

Hanover/Wuppertal. It managed to convince them: the jury members responsible for this year’s iF product design award – one of the most significant design competitions worldwide. It, the “Joker” by Wera – the Wuppertal-based tool manufacturer – is a combination ratchet wrench with specially forged geometry and particular product advantages. The open-end wrench in a practical 4-piece set took top spot from over 3,000 submissions and was the winner in the category “Industry / Skilled Trades” which, besides tools, also encompasses machinery, industrial scanners, vendor parts and other technical products. The assessment criteria for the internationally renowned design award include aspects such as the design quality, degree of innovation, functionality and ergonomics.     

The “Joker” has got everything a winner needs; after all it is not just a wrench but indeed a whole lot more. This means that the user is able to apply the “Joker” when other tools have already reached the end of their tether: quite in keeping with the role of a joker!

Maybe it was its multi-talent that convinced the jury, but perhaps it was the individual advantages like the holding function that allows for the application of bolt and nut without any need for additional tools and effectively prevents any falling out from the jaw. Or was it the limit stop that reduces the risk of the wrench slipping downwards; thus allowing more power to be applied to the actual screwdriving job at hand. Perhaps the jury was also convinced about the double-hex geometry and the hard pointed tips in the metal plate that ensure a perfect connection between wrench and nut whilst reducing the risk of slipping at higher torque loads. Another aspect may also have been the small return angle of only 30 degrees that allows for work even in very confined environments. This makes it unnecessary to need to flip the wrench around. Nobody knows in detail why the jury took their decision. According to the manufacturer, the “Joker” is nothing more than a “reinvention of the open-end wrench”.

For the user the advantages are all too obvious – and that’s what it’s all about! So even in the most difficult screwdriving circumstances the user can remain calm knowing there is a “Joker” in the toolbox. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the range will be extended by both metric and imperial dimensions from the spring of 2013. Let’s wait and see just how wide the “Joker” can open his jaw and keep on smiling.

Further information:

Wera Werk Hermann Werner GmbH & Co. KG

Korzerter Straße 21-25, 42349 Wuppertal / Germany

Telephone: +49 (0)2 02 / 40 45 311, Fax: 40 36 34

Email: info@wera.de, Internet: www.wera.de

Contact persons for the press:

Wuppertal. The Zyklop ratchet by the Wuppertal-based branded goods
manufacturer Wera is now also available in a compact format. Its specific
design has already made it a real hit on the international tool market. The
professional user particularly appreciates the high working speeds and its
multifunctionality. After all, some five different types of ratchet are
combined here in a single tool, which can additionally be used as a
screwdriver.

The ratchet head can be freely swivelled and has five different fixed
positions. The fine-tooth mechanism ensures a minimal return angle of only
5°, something which allows for effective work even when the space
available is very confined. Moreover, the clockwise/anticlockwise
directional switch can be triggered in any position. A ball locking device
ensures a secure fit of the sockets. However, they can be easily released
in every position. The ergonomic Kraftform handle makes handling even
easier and in the 0° position the tool becomes a screwdriver when
equipped with bits.

The new “Kraftform Kompakt Zyklop” set (KK Zyklop) is the next resolute
step in the direction of compact tools, a concept that Wera has already
successfully implemented in many areas. Wera’s KK Zyklop now offers the
trade and industry a ratchet application in a compact set that is as
sophisticated as it is practical. It provides a ratchet and a number of tools
for both manual and power tool applications that can be easily accessed
even in confined spaces and yet can be securely stored for transportation.
Another advantage of the KK Zyklop is that it can be used with both bits as
well as sockets.

In addition to the Zyklop ratchet with a ¼’’ drive, the 26-piece professional
set also includes seven metric sockets, an extension with a free-turning
sleeve, an adaptor for bits as well as 16 bits of a length of 50 mm. The
tools are housed in a clearly arranged and practical folding pouch that can
be attached to the belt.

TECHNO PRESS

Further information:
Wera Werk Hermann Werner GmbH & Co. KG
Korzerter Straße 21-25, 42349 Wuppertal - Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)2 02 / 40 45 311, Fax: 40 36 34
E-Mail: info@wera.de, Internet: www.wera.de

Cologne / Wuppertal. An astonishing 38 pieces are included in a new tool
combination that was presented by the Wuppertal-based screwdriving
specialist Wera Tools at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne.
The particularly compact “Tool-Check” is the perfect universal companion
for a number of screwdriving applications. The combination kit contains a
Bit Ratchet, a “Rapidaptor” bit holder as well as a total of 28 bits, seven
sockets and a socket adaptor. Bits and sockets can be driven with the Bit
Ratchet; and the “Rapidaptor” also serves as an extension. Tools are
clearly arranged and securely housed in a robust plastic box. Despite the
wide range of equipment, the Wera “Tool-Check” measures just 15 x 8 cm.

The tools offer the following advantages:

• Bits for screwdriving applications suitable for both metal and wood
• Hand and machine sockets for use in manual as well as power tool
• applications “Rapidaptor” bit holder with rapid-turn sleeve for particularly fast bit change
• ¼” Bit Ratchet for rapid working when screwdriving with a power tool or hand tool is not possible because the space is too limited

Further information:
Wera Tools UK Ltd
Units 1-2 McGregors Way, Turnoaks Bus. Park, Chesterfield, S40 2WB
Telephone: 01246 277756, Fax: 01246 273335
Email: queries@wera-tools.co.uk, Internet: www.wera-tools.co.uk

Wuppertal. Innovation from a great tradition is the hallmark of the screwdriving tool manufacturer Wera Werk Hermann Werner GmbH & Co. KG (Wuppertal). The company that was founded in 1936 will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in August 2011.

Wera has developed during the course of its corporate history to a successful and internationally renowned group in the hand tool segment. Instead of focusing on diversification, Wera has specialised resolutely over generations on the development and production of ergonomic and durable screwdriving tools for professionals – from screwdrivers, ratchets and bits to L-keys and torque tools.

When the company was founded in 1936 under the name of Hermann Werner KG, trading with tools was the focus of activities. The company name Wera originated in 1951 from the names of the owner families Werner und Amtenbrink. In the following decades it developed very successfully into a manufacturer. Today, Wera numbers among the leading suppliers of high quality screwdriving tools to the trade and industry. The company currently employs some 700 staff in Germany, the USA, Canada, England, Spain and the Czech Republic. Wera screwdriving tools are available worldwide thanks to a comprehensive marketing approach.

Nevertheless, Wera is still – and this is a point that is very much emphasized there – a family enterprise and decisions are always taken with a long-term view in mind. The basis for the company’s success is its relentless pursuit of innovations. Two groundbreaking products - among others - stand as examples for this sustainable innovative power:

• The “Kraftform” screwdriving handle was launched in 1968 in a joint development with the Fraunhofer Institut. Since then it has been acknowledged both nationally and internationally. The shape of the handle fits perfectly into the human hand. The multi-component feature ensures an optimum combination of working speed and power transfer. The soft zones ensure a high degree of grip, meaning that hand injuries such as calluses or blisters are avoided. The integrated non-roll feature makes work even more convenient.
• Additionally, Wera was one of the first German companies to produce bits for power tools. The manufacturer introduced the idea of diamond-coated bits to the market in 1992. Bits with a diamond coating have since ensured a secure fitting of the bit in the screw.

The innovative target is always to be able to offer users concrete, new problem solutions that have not previously been available on the market in such a form. A very successful, current example is the “Wera Zyklop” – a product that combines five different ratchets and a screwdriver in a single, extremely robust tool.

Wera attaches great importance to a systematic, progressively organised innovation process. Supported by the most modern technology and software, the individual development phases are always structured and success oriented. The process ranges from ideas management - that includes current creativity techniques – to the construction of prototypes and even extends to cover the application-oriented training of all staff and partners in sales. To offer customers the best possible benefit, users are involved at a very early stage in the development of any new products in the form of professionally implemented group sessions.

In addition, the “Werarium” in Wuppertal has been available to the trade and end users as a training and competence centre since 2006, something that is quite unique in this field of business. Some 700 square metres of space here allow Wera to provide information interactively on its performance and products.

Naturally, Wera permanently considers any current developments in the users’ day-to-day work. The increasing use of impact drivers in recent years was one of the aspects that had been observed. Therefore, it was only a matter of course for Wera to develop its “Impaktor” range. It is a system consisting of holders and bits that effectively counteracts the heavy impacts and the wear of the tool resulting from this.

To enable Wera to be successful worldwide in the future, too, the Wuppertal-based group pursues a global property right strategy. Thanks to international market monitoring, any infringement of property rights can be immediately addressed. Imitations are then removed from the market directly; stocks as well as any production resources are destroyed instantly.

Further information:
Wera Werk Hermann Werner GmbH & Co. KG
Korzerter Straße 21-25, D-42349 Wuppertal
Tel.: +49 (0)2 02 / 40 45 311, Fax: 40 36 34
Email: info@wera.de, Internet: www.wera.de