- Johan Petter Johansson
Johan Petter Johansson (
December 12 1853 –August 25 1943 ), sometimes known as JP, was a Swedishinventor andindustrialist . He invented a modernadjustable spanner (patents in 1891 and11 May 1892 ). He obtained over 100 patents in total.He was born in
Vårgårda in western Sweden, the oldest of six children in a crofter's family. His was first employed as an assistant operator of asteam engine at a localpeat factory. He left Vårgårda at age 19, in 1873, forMotala to work as anavvy . Followingmilitary service in 1874, he moved toEskilstuna where he worked for theMunktells factory, and in 1878 he moved toVästerås where he found employment at a mechanicalworkshop . Following that, he worked as ablacksmith at a nearby farm.At this time, he had made a decision to leave Sweden for the
United States . This never happened; he was instead offered a more esteemed job by his former employer Munktells, and the offer changed his mind.He eventually decided to start his own business and, in 1886, moved to
Enköping where he started "Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad" (the Mechanical Workshop of Enköping) which quickly became a successful venture. It was during the years in his workshop that he invented theadjustable spanner and thepipe wrench . In 1890,B.A. Hjort & Company agreed to distribute his tools worldwide under the "Bahco " trademark. The Bahco tools became greatly successful, and the company is still in operation and has manufactured over 100 million wrenches to date.Johansson transferred the then-large enterprise to his son, Hannes Brynge, and the B.A. Hjort & Company in 1916. He started experimenting with electrical armature and in 1919 opened a new factory, Triplex , which manufactured electrical
pendulum s and various devices.He died 89 years old after having been productive for the most of his life.
References
* Skiftnyckelns Vänner. " [http://hem.passagen.se/skiftnyckelnsvanner/jp_johansson.html Johan Petter Johansson] ". (Retrieved
February 25 ,2005 .)
*Nationalencyklopedin . "Johan Petter Johansson".
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