LEATHERMAN

Tim Leatherman comes from Oregon, where he had studied mechanical engineering at the local university.
In 1975, he and his wife traveled across Europe in a Fiat 500. Although he had thought of his Boy Scout knife when packing, he had not thought of the common nickname of his car: faults in all parts - Fiat - which required frequent repairs, plus dripping taps in the hotels, which robbed the young couple of their night's rest. At least a pair of pliers as an additional tool would have been a helpful thing to eliminate annoying circumstances. So in good old Europe, the technically gifted man came up with the idea of building a multitool. The first sketches for this were already created in the FIAT, which, translated from Latin, means “let there be”. Fiat Lux, let there be light. The optimist thought it would take him a month to implement his idea. Which was a big mistake, as it took a great deal of persistence and three whole years before the prototype was built and registered with the patent office. However, knife companies thought his invention was a tool, and tool companies thought it was a promotional gift.
It was only when he merged with his college friend Steve Berliner that light and movement were brought into the business model.
The PST was the quintessential pocket survival tool and the original multi-tool. It took eight years to develop the PST, which stands for “Pocket Survival Tool”. As is so often the case with new ideas, the tinkering was done in a garage. Then the mobile toolbox, with thirteen tools, ten centimeters long and weighing just 140 grams, was ready to conquer the world.
The two friends hoped to sell 4000 tools, but in fact they managed to sell 30,000 within a year. Since then, these high-quality products with excellent value have been manufactured in Portland, Oregon. And where are they tested? Right on the doorstep, so to speak. While hiking in the wild Cascade Mountains, fishing off the beautiful coast or exploring the high desert in the east. The legendary pliers have even saved a dog's life: while playing with a stick, a piece of wood got stuck in its jaw so firmly that it couldn't be removed with just bare hands. Only the pliers became the life-saving surgical tool for the animal. From now on, my ideal companion for walking the dog is called LEATHERMAN. To go with my black fur in highly visible red. And afterwards, a doughnut. Who knows, maybe I'll also come up with a groundbreaking business idea. Mmm, delicious, a doughnut. But where is the idea? I think I need to eat another one.