Wera plays its “Joker” – and wins

Open-end wrench snatches coveted design award

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

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